Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: The GAR Brokerage Agreements

Unilateral Termination Protects Brokers—and Mutual Termination Cuts the Cord

When brokerage agreements fall apart, many agents assume “termination is termination.” The Georgia REALTORS® forms tell a very different story.

How a brokerage agreement ends determines whether the broker remains protected—or walks away entirely. In practice:

• Unilateral termination provides the broker the most protection

• Mutual termination should be used when the broker wants no further connection with the client

Understanding that distinction is critical for agents, brokers, and anyone advising clients on how to “end the relationship.”

Two Very Different Outcomes, One Big Choice

Brokerage agreements termination choices are strategic, not just procedural.

The question is this:

• Do you want protection to survive?

• Or do you want the relationship fully extinguished?

• Are you and your client on the same page?

Mutual Termination: When You Want a Clean Break

Mutual termination occurs when both the broker and the client agree in writing to end the brokerage engagement.

From a legal and practical standpoint, mutual termination is the cleanest—and final—exit.

What Mutual Termination Does

For both Buyer and Seller Brokerage Agreements:

❌ No Protected Period

❌ No future compensation claims

In Seller Brokerage Agreements, the parties may still address reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses—but that is a negotiated choice, not an automatic right.

When Mutual Termination Makes Sense

Mutual termination should be used when:

• The broker wants no future involvement

• The relationship is broken beyond repair

• The client will not accept any termination with continuing compensation obligations and the broker decides to agree to this request

Bottom line:

Mutual termination is an intentional decision to give up future protection.

Unilateral Termination: Maximum Broker Protection

Unilateral termination occurs when one party ends the agreement without the written consent of the other.

While it may feel aggressive, unilateral termination is the mechanism that preserves broker protections built into the agreement.

Buyer Brokerage Engagement Agreements

When a Buyer unilaterally terminates:

• It is a default of the brokerage agreement

• A Protected Period applies for Protected Properties

• Compensation exposure survives if the Buyer later purchases a property the broker showed them

Buyer unilateral termination does not punish Buyers—but it prevents them from bypassing the broker after receiving services.

Seller Brokerage Engagement Agreements

Seller unilateral termination offers even stronger broker protection.

When a Seller unilaterally terminates:

• The Seller is in default

• The Seller is liable for the Broker’s out-of-pocket expenses

• A Protected Period applies

If the Seller enters into a contract during the Protected Period with a Buyer who was shown the property during the terms of the brokerage agreement, compensation may still be owed.

Expiration: Protection Depends on the Agreement Type

Expiration is not termination—and it does not produce the same results.

Buyer Brokerage Agreements

• Expiration ends the relationship cleanly

• No Protected Period if the Buyer hires another exclusive broker

Seller Brokerage Agreements

• A Protected Period still applies

• Compensation is cut off if the Seller hires another broker and closes through that broker

Unilateral Extension: Protection Continues by Design

Most clients and many agents do not know about the possibility of a unilateral extension of the brokerage agreement.

Both Buyer Brokers and Seller Brokers may:

• Extend the brokerage agreement for the number of days a property was under contract

• Preserve compensation rights when a deal collapses late

• Do so only if timely written notice is provided

This right exists because the client already consented to it in the original agreement. The choice of whether to do it rests solely with the broker.

The Strategic Takeaway for Agents

• Unilateral termination preserves broker protection

• Mutual termination severs the relationship entirely

• Protected Periods exist to stop end-runs around compensation

• Extensions protect work already performed—not future work

Final Thought

If a broker wants:

• Protection → unilateral termination

• Finality → mutual termination

The forms give you both tools. There is not one right want to end a brokerage agreement, but it is often the broker's agent who is providing the form to terminate so they can certainly present the form that best presents their preference for ending the relationship.

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