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One of the most popular questions posed to the IAR Legal Hotline in 2014 was worded something like this: “Must I have a real estate license to engage in property management or rental activities?”

That kind of question isn’t surprising since the Hotline has received more inquiries in the last four years about activities governed by real estate license law than any other category. Our answer to this question has always been “yes” if:

• those activities are included in the Illinois Real Estate License Act of 2000, Section 1-10, under the definition of “Broker” and
• you perform the activities for another person and for compensation.

To clarify what Broker activities are included in our answer, here are the pertinent examples listed in the Illinois Real Estate License Act:

(1)  … rents or leases real estate.
(2)  Offers to … rent or lease real estate.
(3)  Negotiates, offers, attempts or agrees to negotiate the … rental or leasing of real estate.
(4)  Lists, offers, attempts or agrees to list real estate for … lease …
(6)  Supervises the collection, offers, attempts or agrees to collect rent for the use of real estate.
(7)  Advertises or represents himself or herself as being engaged in the business of … renting or leasing real estate.
(8)  Assists or directs in procuring or referring of leads or prospects, intended to result in the … lease or rental of real estate.
(9)  Assists or directs in the negotiation of any transaction intended to result in the … lease or rental of real estate.
(10) Opens real estate to the public for marketing purposes.
(11) … leases or offers for … lease real estate at auction.