Florida license law is only one layer. On an industrial or single-tenant NNN deal (a net lease where the tenant pays taxes, insurance and most upkeep), federal and cross-cutting rules show up too, usually as a small moment: a buyer's odd answer, a tenant's parking complaint, a competitor's fee remark. Your job is to notice early and route to the right person.

Builds on. Lesson 1, Lesson 3, Lesson 4 and Lesson 5.

Education, not legal advice. You are not counsel, and nothing here is a compliance opinion. This lesson teaches you to spot issues and route them to your broker of record and an attorney. Several items below were in flux as of late September 2026. Confirm legal and tax points with a Florida attorney and a CPA.

Equal treatment in commercial deals

The federal Fair Housing Act, and Florida's version, cover dwellings, so neither governs industrial, NNN, retail, office or commercial land deals. That does not make discrimination legal. These still apply:

Law	What it covers	Why you care
Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. 1981	Equal right to make and enforce contracts, including leases and purchase contracts. Race and ethnicity based. Reaches private parties	Different terms, refusals to show, or steering because of race
42 U.S.C. 1982	Equal right to buy, lease, sell and hold property, not limited to dwellings	Any sale or lease
Florida Civil Rights Act, F.S. 760.08	Equal enjoyment of places of public accommodation	The list is narrow (lodging, restaurants, gas stations, entertainment), but a restaurant tenant at an NNN pad is on it

Situation	Do	Do not
Two tenants ask about the same small-bay flex unit	Quote the same asking rent and process, then negotiate on merits	Quote a higher rent because of who someone is
A buyer's name or accent suggests a foreign background	Ask every buyer the same ownership questions	Ask only the buyers who "sound foreign"

Base showings, terms and speed on use, credit, rent, term and timing. Our equal opportunity policy states the same commitment.

ADA Title III at a broker level

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title III reaches two kinds of property. Places of public accommodation (stores, restaurants, medical offices, banks) must remove barriers where that is readily achievable, meaning easily done without much difficulty or expense. Commercial facilities (offices, factories, warehouses) face rules mainly for new construction and alterations.

Property	Likely category	Broker-level question
Warehouse and distribution building	Commercial facility	Any planned alteration or build-out?
Small-bay flex with a trade counter	Public accommodation (public-facing part)	Is there an accessible entrance and restroom?
NNN pharmacy, bank or restaurant pad	Public accommodation	Who maintains and pays for parking, ramp and entrance?

Both landlord and tenant can be responsible. Under 28 CFR 36.201(b), a lease may allocate compliance costs, but only between the two parties. A customer with a claim can still name both, so an absolute-net lease putting ADA work on the tenant does not remove your investor client's exposure.

On tours and in diligence, ask and write down:

Parking: Are accessible spaces marked near the entrance?
Entrance and route: Is there a step, steep slope or heavy door between sidewalk and space?
Restrooms: Can a person using a wheelchair reach and use them?
Lease: Who is responsible for ADA compliance and alterations?

Florida adopts the federal accessibility standards into its own code (F.S. 553.503). Never tell a client a building is "ADA compliant." Say what you observed and recommend a specialist.

Antitrust for brokers

The Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. 1) bars agreements among competitors that restrain trade, and Florida has a parallel statute, F.S. 542.18. In 1950 the U.S. Supreme Court held that brokerage is trade and that a board's standard commission schedule was price fixing. Violations are federal felonies, and for an individual the statute allows a fine up to $1,000,000 and up to 10 years in prison.

Your fee is your own decision, made deal by deal with your client. Commercial commissions are negotiable and there is no standard rate.

Situation	Fine	Problem
Trade association or networking event	Market conditions, closed comps, interest rates	Agreeing on fees, splits or who will work with whom
A competitor asks what you charge on NNN listings	"I set my fee with each client"	Comparing rates, or "everyone here charges the same"
A firm discounts its tenant-rep fee	Compete on service and value	Agreeing with other brokers to refuse to co-broke with that firm (a group boycott)

Assume no safe harbor for swapping fee information. If a conversation drifts, leave and tell your broker.

Sanctions and money-laundering awareness

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) publishes the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. Its rules bind every U.S. person, including a brokerage and its agents, whether or not a violation is intentional. Under the 50 percent rule, an entity owned 50 percent or more in total by blocked persons is itself blocked, even if unlisted.

Illustrative math: an LLC buying an NNN asset is owned 30% by one listed person and 25% by another. 30 + 25 = 55, which is over 50, so the LLC is blocked. You do not accept funds. You call your broker.

Screening: check the disclosed owners of any entity buyer, tenant or seller in OFAC's public search tool at contract and again before closing, and file a dated printout. As we read 31 CFR 501.601, sanctions records are kept 10 years, so do not delete screens on your own schedule. Red flags are not proof. They are reasons to slow down and ask.

Red flag	First move
Buyer will not name the owners behind the entity	Ask every buyer the same questions, then call your broker
Cash from an unclear source, or a sudden change of funding	Accept no funds. Route to your broker and closing agent
Layers of new entities, no clear purpose	Ask for the ownership chart. Escalate

Two reporting rules are easy to misread:

FinCEN residential real estate reporting rule. It is a residential-only rule and does not govern commercial deals. Its start date slipped from December 1, 2025 to March 1, 2026, and a Texas federal court vacated it nationwide on March 19, 2026. An appeal followed and current status is unverified, so ask your broker. Title agents may still ask about buyer identity and source of funds.
Corporate Transparency Act. As we read FinCEN's final rule (effective August 14, 2026), U.S.-formed companies and U.S. persons no longer report beneficial ownership. Only entities formed under foreign law and registered in a U.S. state still report, and only for non-U.S. persons. So a Florida LLC's owners will not be in a federal database. Learn them from the buyer, Sunbiz (Florida's business-entity records site) and the title agent.

Environmental liability awareness

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) can make the current owner of a contaminated property liable for cleanup even if a prior owner caused it. That is why buyers of industrial, industrial outdoor storage (IOS) and light-manufacturing sites, and NNN pads with fuel, dry-cleaning or auto-service history, order a Phase I environmental site assessment.

Three landowner protections exist, and each depends on all appropriate inquiries (AAI) before buying:

Protection	Plain meaning	Watch for
Innocent landowner	Buyer did not know and had no reason to know	A known red flag defeats it
Contiguous property owner	Contamination came from a neighbor	Conditions still apply
Bona fide prospective purchaser (BFPP)	Buyer acquired after AAI and meets continuing duties	Reasonable care continues after closing

The current standard is ASTM E1527-21, recognized by EPA since February 13, 2023 (the older E1527-13 was accepted only until February 13, 2024). The assessment must fall within one year before acquisition, and five components (interviews, lien search, records review, site visit and the professional's declaration) within 180 days before closing.

Do: tell the buyer to order the Phase I in the buyer's own name, early, and to share every concern.
Do: report what you saw or know (odor, staining, old tanks, floor drains) to your client in writing, and disclose known material facts as your broker directs.
Do not: call a property "clean," say a Phase I is "not needed," or guess at contamination.

How commercial disclosure duties work is covered in Lesson 3. Go deeper on environmental diligence in Course 10, Lesson 4, Course 25, Lesson 6 and our environmental due diligence guide.

Property type	Common red flags
Flex, light manufacturing	Solvents, floor drains, metal finishing
IOS yard	Fueling, vehicle washing, stained soil
NNN pads	Gas station, dry cleaner, auto service history

Foreign ownership and buyers

Florida's SB 264, codified at F.S. 692.201 to 692.205, restricts purchases by "foreign principals" tied to seven countries of concern: China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Syria and the Venezuelan regime of Nicolas Maduro. Being a foreign buyer is not itself a bar. The rules turn on the country, the property's location and the buyer's ownership. Penalties can include criminal charges and forfeiture of the property. As we read it:

Provision	What it says	Takeaway
F.S. 692.202	Foreign principals may not acquire agricultural land	Land listings
F.S. 692.203	No interest in real property on or within 10 miles of a military installation or critical infrastructure facility	Check proximity to bases, airports, seaports, refineries, power plants
F.S. 692.204	China-tied foreign principals: no real property anywhere in Florida	Ownership questions apply on every deal
F.A.C. 61J2-10.200	FREC forms for a buyer affidavit signed under penalty of perjury	Put it in every purchase timeline

"Critical infrastructure" is defined narrowly (fenced facilities of listed types). Whether a parcel is inside a ring is a title or counsel call, not something you measure. In November 2025 a federal appeals court held challengers lacked standing, so the law remains in force. We found no later amendments, but ask counsel for current text. Course 25, Lesson 7 covers the closing timeline.

How to ask without discriminating. Ask every buyer the same questions, and screen by law, not ethnicity. A name or accent says nothing about foreign principal status.

(a) Situation: writing a letter of intent (LOI) with any entity buyer. "Before we send the offer, I ask every buyer the same ownership questions because Florida and federal rules can affect who may buy and how we close. Can you list the entity, who owns it, and where each owner is domiciled? Your attorney and the title company will confirm the rest."

FIRPTA. The Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act generally requires the buyer to withhold 15% of the amount realized when a foreign person sells U.S. real property. Amount realized is cash plus assumed liabilities plus other property. Sellers may give a non-foreign affidavit or seek a withholding certificate. This is tax, so route it to a CPA. Ask early whether the seller is a foreign person.

Industrial (illustrative): a foreign entity sells a flex building for $3,000,000. The buyer pays $2,000,000 cash and assumes a $1,000,000 loan. 2,000,000 + 1,000,000 = $3,000,000. 0.15 x 3,000,000 = $450,000 withheld.
NNN (illustrative): a foreign seller sells a pharmacy for $5,200,000 cash. 0.15 x 5,200,000 = $780,000 withheld.

Privacy and data

Commercial files hold guarantor Social Security numbers, tenant financials, ID copies and bank details. Florida's Information Protection Act (F.S. 501.171) requires reasonable measures to protect electronic personal information, secure disposal, and notice after a breach. The statute shows a 2026 amendment we could not confirm, so treat these as category-level points.

Topic	What to do
Storage	Use the brokerage's approved system with multi-factor authentication. Keep ID copies off personal devices and out of email
Collection	Collect only what the deal needs. For skip-traced data, see Course 23, Lesson 3 and Lesson 4
Disposal	Shred or securely erase when your broker's retention schedule allows (see Lesson 4)
Breach	Tell your broker the same day. Notice to individuals is generally due within 30 days of determination, and to the state when 500 or more Floridians are affected.

Who you call first

Issue	Call first	Then
Unequal treatment concern, complaint or demand letter	Broker of record	Florida attorney
ADA question or complaint	Broker of record	Attorney, accessibility specialist
Competitor raises fees, splits or boycotts	Broker of record	Attorney
Sanctions hit, unclear funds or ownership; lender questions	Broker of record, immediately	Attorney, closing agent, lender
Contamination signs	Broker of record	Environmental consultant, attorney
Foreign principal question, affidavit, 10-mile ring	Broker of record	Attorney, title agent
FIRPTA or withholding	Broker of record	CPA, closing agent
Data incident or wire change	Broker of record, same day	Bank, closing agent, attorney

(b) Situation: escalating to your broker of record. "I need five minutes on [property]. Here is what I saw or was told: [facts]. Here is the document: [source]. Here is what I have and have not said to the client. What should I do next?"

A worked example (illustrative buyer, invented numbers)

Assumptions (invented, not market data and not MaxLife results): Coastline Precision LLC, a Florida entity, wants to buy a 24,000 SF light-manufacturing and warehouse building in Orange County for $4,200,000. Its parent is organized outside the United States. Seller records show a former fuel tank. A rough map check puts the parcel about 7 miles from a military installation. Closing is Friday, April 30, 2027, and the Phase I site visit is planned for October 20, 2026.

Issue	What you ask	Who you call
Parent and owners	"Please list the entity, each owner and where each is domiciled." Same questions as every buyer. Whether the parent's country is of concern is counsel's call	Broker, then attorney and title agent
Sanctions	Ask for the ownership chart. Screen each owner at contract and before closing	Broker if any hit or gap
Military proximity	"Can counsel or title confirm whether the parcel is inside a 10-mile ring?"	Attorney, title agent
Former fuel tank	"Is there a closure report, tank registration record or known release?" Recommend a Phase I in the buyer's name now	Environmental consultant, attorney
Seller status	"Is the seller a foreign person?"	CPA, closing agent

Proximity: 10 - 7 = 3 miles inside the ring if the rough check is right. That is a reason to call counsel, not a conclusion.

Phase I date arithmetic: April 30, 2027 minus 180 days is November 1, 2026. Check: November 1 to December 31 is 60 days, and December 31 to April 30 is 120 days, so 60 + 120 = 180. An October 20, 2026 site visit is 192 days before closing (11 + 30 + 31 + 31 + 28 + 31 + 30 = 192), which is 12 days over, so it must be updated. Fix: schedule the visit on or after November 1, 2026.

Never say "the foreign parent is fine," "the site is clean," or "you are outside the ring." Say what you asked and who is answering.

Key takeaways

Sections 1981 and 1982 and the Florida Civil Rights Act reach commercial deals. Treat every prospect the same.
ADA duties can fall on both landlord and tenant. Observe and ask; never certify compliance.
Your fee is your own decision. Never agree with competitors on rates, splits or who to work with.
Screen entity buyers against the OFAC list, remember the 50 percent rule, and escalate red flags.
Never give an environmental opinion. Get the Phase I ordered in the buyer's name in time.
Ask every buyer the same ownership questions. Foreign-principal calls belong to counsel and title.
Protect personal data and report any incident to your broker the same day.

Next: Lesson 7 applies everything through ethics scenarios and a decision framework.

Federal and Cross-Cutting Rules Commercial Agents Meet