Agreement Between Brokers Template for England and Wales

An agreement between brokers sets out the terms on which two property or financial brokers co-operate to complete a transaction, typically where one broker has the client and another has the property or the counterparty. It governs how commission is split, what obligations each broker owes to the other and to the mutual client, how confidential client information is handled, and what happens if the transaction does not complete.

Yes. Under the Estate Agents Act 1979, any arrangement to share or pay commission to another agent must be disclosed to the instructing party. Failure to disclose is a criminal offence and may give the instructing party a right to rescind the agency agreement and recover fees already paid. The agreement between brokers should include a mutual warranty confirming each broker has made all required disclosures to their respective clients.

Commission splits are a matter of commercial negotiation. Common structures are a percentage split of the total gross commission (for example 50/50 or 60/40 depending on who sourced the client and who sourced the counterparty), a fixed referral fee, or a success-based payment triggered only on completion. The agreement should specify the gross amount against which the split is calculated, how VAT is handled, and the payment date.

If the transaction does not complete, the fee entitlement depends on the broker-client agreement's trigger clause. If no fee has been earned under the client agreement, no commission falls to be split. The broker-to-broker agreement should specify whether any abortive costs are shared, how any deposit is treated if the transaction collapses after exchange, and whether either broker retains an entitlement if their client was responsible for the collapse.

Yes, provided the conflict of interest is managed properly. One broker acting for a buyer and another acting for the seller may co-operate without creating a conflict per se, as their duties run to different clients. The agreement should confirm which party each broker represents and include confidentiality provisions to prevent disclosure of one client's negotiating position to the other broker during the transaction.

Both brokers are likely to be obliged persons under the 2017 Money Laundering Regulations if they are involved in a property transaction. The agreement should specify which broker conducts customer due diligence on which party (typically each broker on their own client) and how findings are shared where both parties' identity documents are needed. Duplication of effort can be managed contractually but cannot be avoided entirely by one broker relying on the other.

Client information shared between co-operating brokers is subject to UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. The agreement should limit the use of client data to the specific transaction, prohibit the receiving broker from retaining data for marketing purposes, require deletion after the transaction closes, and confirm the lawful basis for sharing (typically the legitimate interests of completing the transaction or contractual necessity between the parties).

The agreement should specify that either broker may terminate the co-operation arrangement if the other materially breaches its terms, ceases trading, or becomes insolvent. It should address what happens to a transaction already in progress at the date of termination, including how fees are allocated for transactions that complete after termination based on work done before it. A clear termination regime avoids disputes about entitlement once the relationship ends.