Duties owed to an unrepresented person
- Honesty and fair dealing
- Disclosure of known material facts
- Clear disclosure of whom you represent
- Ministerial assistance only (process + mechanics, not advice)
By John Patrick Mijac, Managing Broker & Branch Manager – 1912 Realty, Tucson
If you’ve ever hesitated mid-conversation—“Can I say that?”—you’re already standing on the edge of the most common Arizona compliance problem: confusing what you owe under single agency, limited dual agency, or when someone is unrepresented.
Most violations don’t come from bad intent. They come from agents who are trying to be helpful and accidentally drift into implied agency, unauthorized advice, or undisclosed conflicts.
This guide is built to be clear, usable, and defensible—anchored to Arizona’s duties framework (including the widely cited “duties to client” rule) and consistent with state and industry guidance.
Arizona treats agency duties as more than “best practices.” They show up in discipline, civil exposure, and arbitration outcomes. A clean way to frame it—often quoted from Arizona’s duties-to-client rule—is: you owe a fiduciary duty to your client and must also deal fairly with all other parties.
\1In a single-agency relationship—where you represent one party exclusively—you owe the full fiduciary stack commonly remembered as OLDCAR:
Follow your client’s instructions—as long as they’re lawful and about Real Estate.
Put the client’s interests above all others—including your own.
Disclose known material facts that could affect the client’s decisions.
Protect confidential client information—even after the agency ends.
Properly account for money, timelines, documents, and property entrusted to you.
Act competently, skillfully, and with professional judgment—not guesswork, at the level of your association, your brokerage and your standard of practice.
Plain-English takeaway: single agency is the highest-duty relationship you can owe. It’s built for advocacy—not neutrality.
Here’s the compliance trap: agents sometimes call something “ministerial” when what they really mean is “I was being nice.” Ministerial acts are administrative tasks that do not involve professional judgment, advice, advocacy, or discretion.
Critical clarification: none of the OLDCAR fiduciary duties are purely ministerial.
Some ministerial tasks can support fiduciary obligations (especially accounting), but ministerial acts do not replace fiduciary duties, and they do not protect you if you drift into advice or advocacy.
In limited dual agency, you represent both buyer and seller. The law does not pretend you can provide undivided loyalty to both sides, because you can’t. So the conflicting duties are stripped out, and what remains are the neutral duties you can owe equally. Here, you cannot advocate for one party or the other but instead advocate for a Meeting of the Minds equally to both parties and, if this cannot be reached, to help both parties exit the transaction with as little damage to each as possible.
Disclosure (material facts), Confidentiality, Accounting, Reasonable Care & Diligence
Loyalty, advocacy, and strategic obedience
Practical Arizona safeguard: Use clear agency disclosure early (not late). The AAR “Real Estate Agency Disclosure and Election” materials exist for a reason: preventing confusion, undisclosed dual agency, and implied agency claims. Use the "Consent to Limited Dual Agency" form for any dual agency transaction as the first document, on top of any offer presented by the buyer to the seller.
This is where good agents get into the worst trouble: one side is your client, and the other side is unrepresented. You owe the unrepresented person no fiduciary duties—but you still have duties that matter.
The sentence that protects you (use it):
“I represent the other party. I will be honest with you and disclose material facts, but I cannot advise you or act in your best interest.”
This aligns with the broader professional expectation that you protect and promote the client’s interests while treating all parties honestly.
Agency mistakes spike during transitions: new branding, new systems, new supervision, and lots of conversations with people who already “know you” but do not understand who you represent right now.
If you’re moving brokerages—or coaching someone who is—use this internal sequence to prevent early, high-risk mistakes:
Your central hub for switching brokerages in Arizona with calm, compliant execution.
Secure your contacts, notes, and pipeline so your “move” doesn’t become a business interruption.
Think through active files before you touch a sign, a lockbox, or an escrow.
Simple language that prevents implied promises, confusion, and accidental “advice” to non-clients.
Advertising, file setup, disclosures, and “don’t get cute” rules for your first day at the new shop.
A practical support framework so agents don’t “wing it” in the first month.
Final takeaway for Arizona agents:
If you feel tempted to “just help a little,” pause. That’s usually the moment liability begins.
These links are provided for education and verification. Always confirm current forms and brokerage policy.