Massachusetts License Discipline, Penalties & Recovery Fund

📋 The 1-minute cheat sheet

• The Board may deny, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a license, and may impose fines for violations.
• Common grounds: misrepresentation, fraud, commingling of funds, false advertising, and failure to disclose required relationships.
• Disciplinary action follows an administrative hearing process with notice and the right to be heard.
• Massachusetts maintains a real estate Recovery Fund to reimburse consumers harmed by a licensee's fraud or deceit.
• A claim against the Recovery Fund generally requires first obtaining a court judgment against the licensee that goes unsatisfied.
• Payment from the Recovery Fund results in automatic suspension of the licensee's license until the fund is repaid with interest.
• Operating without a valid license or letting one lapse can lead to penalties and bars practice for compensation.