(a) In addition to acting pursuant to the authority provided under Sections 10086, 10176, and 10177, the commissioner may, after appropriate notice and opportunity for a hearing, by order, suspend, bar from any position of employment, management, or control, or bar from participation in an examination for licensure, for a period not exceeding 36 months, a real estate salesperson or real estate broker, or an unlicensed person issued an order under Section 10086, if the commissioner finds either of the following:
(1) That the suspension or bar is in the public interest and that the person has committed or caused a violation of this division or rule or order of the commissioner, which violation was either known or should have been known by the person committing or causing it or has caused material damage to the public.
(2) That the person has been convicted of or pleaded nolo contendere to any crime, or has been held liable in any civil action by final judgment, or any administrative judgment by any public agency, if that crime or civil or administrative judgment involved any offense involving dishonesty, fraud, or deceit, or any other offense reasonably related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a person engaged in the real estate business in accordance with the provisions of this division.
(b) Within 15 days from the date of a notice of intention to issue an order pursuant to subdivision (a), the person may request a hearing under the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 11400) of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). If no hearing is requested within 15 days after the mailing or service of that notice and none is ordered by the commissioner, the failure to request a hearing shall constitute a waiver of the right to a hearing.
(c) Upon receipt of a notice of intention to issue an order pursuant to this section, the person who is the subject of the proposed order is immediately prohibited from engaging in any business activity involving real estate that is subject to regulation under this division.
(d) Persons suspended or barred under this section are prohibited from participating in any business activity of a real estate salesperson or a real estate broker and from engaging in any real estate-related business activity on the premises where a real estate salesperson or real estate broker is conducting business. Persons suspended or barred under this section are also prohibited from participating in any real estate-related business activity of a finance lender, residential mortgage lender, bank, credit union, escrow company, title company, or underwritten title company. Persons suspended or barred from a position of employment, management, or control under this section are also barred from participating in examinations for licensure.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 380, Sec. 1. (SB 875) Effective January 1, 2013.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018