- What is the San Francisco Association of REALTORS®’s MLS Rules Clear Cooperation Policy?
8.1 Clear Cooperation Policy.
Within one business day of marketing a property to the public, the listing broker must submit the listing to the MLS for cooperation with other MLS participants. Public marketing includes, but is not limited to, flyers displayed in windows, yard signs, digital marketing on public facing websites, brokerage website displays (including IDX and VOW), digital communications marketing (email blasts), multi-brokerage listing sharing networks, and applications available to the general public.
Listings described as mandatory for submission by the service (see section 7.5) are required for submission under this policy once marketing to the public has started. Any listing found to have been submitted to the MLS more than one business day after first marketing a property to the public or found to have not been submitted at all after the one business day period, shall be subject to a violation.
8.1.1 Satisfying Mandatory Submission.
Mandatory submission is satisfied by entering the listing with a status of Coming Soon or Active.
8.1.2 Signs and Yard Signs.
The word “Signs” in this section includes but is not limited to any type of “For Sale” sign, or “Coming Soon” sign, whether in the window, or on an A-Frame or other freestanding display, located on the premises, or in the vicinity of the premises.
2. What is the timeline?
The Clear Cooperation Policy is effective from May 1, 2020. We will be enforcing the requirement to submit listings within one day of public marketing starting on that same day.
3. What are the exceptions to the Clear Cooperation Policy?
Section 7 of the SFARMLS Rules & Regulations describe in detail the exceptions for the policy, which can be summarized as follows:
Property Types - Only Single Family Residential homes (and all subtypes including Condos, TICs, etc…), 2 to 4 unit buildings, and Vacant Lots zoned for residential, are covered by this new rule. No other property types are required under the new rule. New construction is not covered by this rule. Rentals/Leases are not covered by this rule.
Office Exclusives - In the rare case that your seller really does not want to have their listing input or disseminated, an Office Exclusive exception still exists. Any type of public marketing (see rule 8.1) immediately voids the Office Exclusive definition and triggers mandatory submission. Click here for a complete work up on JUST "Office Exclusives".
4. What is the penalty for San Francisco REALTORS® who violate the policy?
A new Fine Level “E” has been added to our SFARMLS Rules & Regulations and carries a $5000 penalty on the first offence. These fines double and triple for subsequent offences just like any other violation of the Rules & Regulations.
5. Where can I find the complete SFARMLS Rules & Regulations document?
The new version of the rules including this clear cooperation language will be posted in advance of the May 1 deadline. You will receive an email when they are posted, and after the May 1 deadline, you will be able to download the full PDF from the Links & Documents section of the MLS system.
6. It can be difficult to get a yard sign installed on a given specific day. If the sign company installs a sign two days early it sounds like a REALTOR® can be subjected to a $5000+ fine. That seems like an unreasonable burden given the lack of precise control we have over sign companies. Will there be leniency exercised with regard to signs?
We recommend that the day that you order your signs, put your listing into Coming Soon on SFARMLS. That way you don’t have to worry about when exactly the sign goes up.
7. Does this rule extend to rentals? What about commercial?
No, the policy does not apply to rental properties or commercial properties. The language in rules 7.5 and 7.6 are comprehensive in their description of required vs. non-required property types. You only have to submit Singe Family Homes (and all subtypes including Condominiums, TICs, Coops), 2 to 4 unit buildings (whether mixed use, or not) and any Lots and Land listings where the land is zoned for residential use. New construction projects are also not covered by this rule.
8. Who can I contact with a question? Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
9. #PutItOnTheMLS
Download the new 2020 spring SFARMLS Rules & Regulations here.
Download the accompanying SFARMLS Rules Change Log here.
