Is Telemarketing for Real Estate Legal?

Telemarketing for real estate, along with other forms of advertisement through phone calls, texts, or fax, may violate a federal law enacted to protect consumers. Those in the process of buying or selling their home, who have been contacted unexpectedly by a real estate agent may wonder “is telemarketing legal in real estate?”

How Can Telemarketing for Real Estate Break the Law?

Congress enacted the Telephone Consumer Protection Act in 1991 to help shield consumers from annoying telemarketing behavior. Under the Act, also known as the TCPA, telemarketers must obtain the consent of consumers prior to contacting them by phone with an advertising message. The TCPA extends to fax and text messaging communications.

All industries, including real estate, are bound by TCPA compliance. In fact, real estate companies may violate the Act when they contact consumers without permission in pursuit of a lead or commission. The SF Gate reports that real estate agents often generate business by contacting homeowners who have let their listing agreement expire.

When real estate agents make these calls, they likely intend to ask the homeowner to sign up to sell their home with their representation; however, these real estate agents may also be breaking the law.

What’s Required for TCPA Compliance?

TCPA compliance requires real estate telemarketing be conducted with the prior permission of the consumer or homeowner being contacted. In addition, telemarketers must ensure that the numbers on their real estate call lists are not also listed on the Do Not Call Registry.

The National Do Not Call Registry was established by the TCPA. Also called the Do Not Call List, it is managed by the Federal Trade Commission. Consumers can register their number for the list. If a consumer’s number has been registered, telemarketers are prohibited, with some exceptions, from contacting that consumer using that number.

SF Gate reports that, since it went into effect in 2003, over fifty million consumers have registered a number on the Do Not Call list.

In addition, telemarketers are restricted from using automated dialing systems or random number generators, called autodialers or robocalls, to contact consumers. Further the use of pre-recorded marketing messages can be a violation of the TCPA.

Real estate agents and other marketers are also restricted to certain time frames to make marketing calls, between eight a.m. and nine p.m. for residential numbers.

According to the National Association of Realtors, there are a handful of exemptions to TCPA compliance for real estate agents. If the agent has a prior business relationship with a consumer, they may call them with a marketing message. Further, consumers who are on the Do Not Call Registry can provide permission to real estate agents to receive telemarketing calls.

What if I Had a Previous Contract to Sell My Home Through a Real Estate Agent?

If you were a client of a real estate agent to sell, rent or lease property, that real estate agent has an 18-month exclusion period during which it is legal to contact you by the phone number you provided to do business. Be sure to note the date the last payment was made or the date the final transaction between you took place because that is when the clock starts ticking on the 18-month time span, even if your number is on the Do Not Call Registry.

Certain programs and phone apps designed to help a real estate agent find prospective customers actually compare phone numbers against the Do Not Call Registry. These programs may allow you to filter phone numbers by whether or not they are listed on the Do Not Call list, whether or not they are cell phone numbers and whether the phone number belongs to a fellow real estate agent.

Even with such tools, it’s up to the real estate agent to ensure his or her own compliance with federal, state and local regulations.

Some apps will only allow you to dial a number on the Do Not Call list after you confirm with a pop-up message that you truly wish to make the call. This safeguard helps stop real estate agents from mistakenly violating the TCPA, but because the warning can be overridden, the responsibility to respect the law still resides with the agent who is conducting the telemarketing for real estate.

Have There Been Any Real Estate Telemarketing Class Action Lawsuits?

Real Trends reports that a number of real estate class action lawsuits over alleged TCPA violations have been filed against some major names in the business recently. Fines for violations of the TCPA are steep, amounting to up to $1,500 per noncompliant call, text or fax.

According to Real Trends, Coldwell Banker and NRT face a complaint that alleges real estate agents affiliated with the companies used autodialers to contact the plaintiff on a cell phone. The plaintiff also alleged that his cell phone number was on the Do Not Call Registry. The complaint accuses the companies of training their agents to use these practices to help generate business.

Another lawsuit was reportedly filed against RE/MAX Presidential in 2019. The plaintiff also alleged that the company used an illegal autodialer to contact her and other consumers as a part of a marketing campaign.

Keller Williams also faces a class action lawsuit over alleged violations of the TCPA. The 2018 lawsuit alleges that consumers who had not provided consent received telemarketing calls. Further, the company allegedly continued to call these consumers despite being told they did not wish to receive the calls.

Can You File a TCPA Lawsuit?

Buying or selling a home can be a stressful time. In addition, the process leads many consumers in the real estate market to add their contact information to various lists. Agents then use these records to generate real estate call lists and potentially bombard consumers with telemarketing messages.

If you received telemarketing messages from a real estate agent or company without providing consent, you may be able to file a TCPA lawsuit. In addition, if your number is listed on the Do Not Call Registry, yet you received an advertising message using that number, you may qualify for a lawsuit.

Do I Qualify to File a Realtor TCPA Lawsuit?

If a real estate company sent you a text message, left you a pre-recorded message, or called your phone and you have never done business with the company or given them the consent to contact you, there may be legal recourse.

It is important that you DO NOT delete any text messages, voicemail or any records you have showing that the real estate company called you. 

Get a Free Case Evaluation

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.