                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

EXEMPTIONS FROM CHAPTER (§ 54.1-2103)

A. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to:

   1. Any person, partnership, association, corporation, entity, or their regular
   employees, who as owner or lessor perform any of the acts enumerated in &#xA7;
   54.1-2100 with reference to property owned or leased by them, where the acts
   are performed in the regular course of or incident to the management of the
   property and the investment therein. For property governed by the Virginia
   Real Estate Time-Share Act (&#xA7; 55.1-2200 et seq.), the term
   &#8220;owner&#8221; for purposes of this subdivision shall include affiliated
   entities, provided that (i) the owner has a controlling interest in the
   affiliated entity or (ii) the affiliated entity and the owner have a common
   parent company;

   2. Any person acting without compensation as attorney-in-fact under a power of
   attorney issued by a property owner solely for the purpose of authorizing the
   final performance required of such owner under a contract for the sale, lease,
   purchase, or exchange of real estate;

   3. Service rendered by an attorney-at-law in the performance of his duties as
   such;

   4. A person acting as a receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, administrator, or
   executor, or any person selling real estate under order of any court;

   5. A trustee acting under a trust agreement, deed of trust, or will, or the
   regular salaried employees thereof;

   6. Any corporation managing rental housing when the officers, directors, and
   members in the ownership corporation and the management corporation are the
   same and the management corporation manages no other property for other
   persons, partnerships, associations, or corporations;

   7. Any existing tenant of a residential dwelling unit who refers a prospective
   tenant to the owner of the unit or to the owner&#8217;s duly authorized agent
   or employee and for the referral receives, or is offered, a referral fee from
   the owner, agent, or employee;

   8. Any auctioneer licensed in accordance with Chapter 6 (&#xA7; 54.1-600 et
   seq.) selling real estate at public auction when employed for such purpose by
   the owner of the real estate and provided the bidding at such auction is held
   open for no longer than 48 hours. An auctioneer shall not advertise that he is
   authorized to sell real estate. An auctioneer may advertise for sale at public
   auction any real estate when employed to do so as herein provided, and may
   advertise that he is authorized to auction real estate at public auction;

   9. [Expired.]

   10. Any person who is licensed and is in good standing as a real estate broker
   or salesperson in another state, and who assists a prospective purchaser,
   tenant, optionee, or licensee located in another state to purchase, lease,
   option, or license an interest in commercial real estate, as defined in &#xA7;
   55.1-1100, in the Commonwealth. Such real estate licensee from another state
   may be compensated by a real estate broker in the Commonwealth. Nothing in
   this subdivision shall be construed to permit any person not licensed and in
   good standing as a real estate broker or salesperson in the Commonwealth to
   otherwise act as a real estate broker or salesperson under this chapter.

B. The provisions of this chapter shall not prohibit the selling of real estate
(i) by an attorney-at-law in the performance of his duties as such, (ii) by a
receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, administrator, executor, or special
commissioner, or any person selling real estate under order of court, or (iii)
by a trustee acting under the trust agreement, deed of trust, or will, or the
regular salaried employees thereof.

C. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any person employed by a
licensed real estate broker for and on behalf of the owner of any real estate or
the improvements thereon that the licensed broker has contracted to manage for
the owner if the actions of such employee are limited to (i) exhibiting
residential units on such real estate to prospective tenants, if the employee is
employed on the premises of such real estate; (ii) providing prospective tenants
with factual information about the rental of residential real estate; (iii)
accepting applications for the rental of such real estate; (iv) accepting and
signing broker-approved rental agreements, state or federal required
disclosures, and any documents required for compliance with Chapter 5.1 (&#xA7;
36-96.1 et seq.) of Title 36 related to such rental transaction; and (v)
accepting security deposits, periodic rent, and other payments as contracted for
in the rental agreement for such real estate. Such deposits and rent shall be
made payable to the owner or the broker employed by such owner. The employee
shall not negotiate the amounts of such security deposits, periodic rent, or
other payments contracted for in the rental agreement and shall not negotiate
any rental agreements on behalf of such owner or broker.

D. A licensee of the Board shall comply with the Board&#8217;s regulations,
notwithstanding the fact that the licensee would be otherwise exempt from
licensure under subsection A. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to
require a person to be licensed in accordance with this chapter if he would be
otherwise exempt from such licensure.

E. An attorney-at-law referring a client to a licensee shall not be entitled to
receive any compensation from a listing firm or offered by a common source
information company to cooperating brokers, unless the attorney is also licensed
under this chapter as a real estate broker or salesperson.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 54-734; 1972, c. 324; 1973, cc. 487, 527; 1975, c. 238;
1980, c. 127; 1982, cc. 633, 682; 1988, c. 765; 1992, c. 84; 1993, cc. 816, 899;
1995, c. 227; 1998, cc. 261, 262; 2001, Sp. Sess. I, c. 9; 2009, cc. 88, 262;
2015, cc. 24, 272; 2024, cc. 459, 621; 2025, cc. 463, 466.