How Can a Broker Prevent a Landlord Capturing the Client?
Protect the introduction. Protect the relationship. Protect the commission.
Client capture is a real commercial risk for property brokers, particularly on large leases, new developments and transactions that take months to negotiate. The broker may introduce and qualify the client, establish the requirement and bring the parties together, only to find that direct landlord-client communication gradually excludes the broker from the process.
That can create practical problems around the broker’s mandate, contribution and commission position. The strongest protection is usually not a last-minute argument about procuring cause. It is a clearly documented process from the beginning.
Six practical protections
Use a formal introduction letter
Confirm the client introduction, the requirement and the broker’s role before confidential client information is disclosed.
Record the commission basis upfront
The commission basis should be acknowledged before the landlord or developer begins dealing directly with the client.
Keep the broker copied
Material proposals, meetings, feedback and correspondence should include the broker so that the transaction history remains clear.
Control the process
The broker should continue coordinating viewings, proposals, feedback and negotiations rather than allowing the introduction to become detached from the broker’s ongoing role.
Keep a paper trail
Retain emails, WhatsApps, meeting notes, offers and written summaries that show the broker’s introduction and continuing involvement.
Avoid referral-fee dilution
Where the broker has procured and managed the opportunity, any change from the agreed commission basis should be dealt with expressly and in writing.
The introduction should be documented before disclosure
A formal introduction letter should ideally be issued before sensitive client information is released. It should identify the client, record the property requirement, describe the broker’s role and confirm the basis on which commission will be dealt with.
Where the broker is acting for the tenant, the client should also understand that the broker is providing an ongoing advisory and negotiation service rather than merely passing contact details to a landlord.
Why the communication protocol matters
Once the landlord, developer or property manager has direct access to the client, excluding the broker from meetings and material correspondence can weaken the broker’s practical control of the transaction and make later disputes harder to resolve.
A simple protocol — copy the broker on proposals, arrange meetings through the broker where practical, and circulate written summaries of key discussions — helps preserve a clear record of who introduced, coordinated and progressed the deal.
Commission should be dealt with before the deal matures
The worst time to discover a disagreement about commission is when the lease or sale agreement is already ready for signature. By then, the commercial relationship may have shifted and the parties may be focused primarily on closing the transaction.
The commission basis, including who pays it and the circumstances under which it becomes due, should therefore be recorded as early as possible and aligned with the applicable mandate and transaction documents.
A broker does more than introduce two parties
In a substantial commercial-property transaction, the broker may identify the opportunity, qualify the requirement, source options, organise inspections, compare proposals, test assumptions, negotiate commercial terms and keep the transaction moving over many months.
That continuing contribution is why the broker’s role should be clearly recognised in the transaction process rather than being reduced retrospectively to a simple referral.
Key takeaway
The best protection is early documentation, a clear communication protocol and written acknowledgement of the commission arrangement before direct landlord-client engagement takes over the transaction.
This article is practical industry commentary and not legal advice. Mandates, commission arrangements and procuring-cause disputes should be considered against the applicable agreement and, where necessary, with professional legal advice.