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Reviewed by Casa Academy and updated July 29, 2026 using the current DBPR checklist and Pearson VUE scheduling guidance.

Group Boycotting

Group boycotting is an antitrust and fair housing violation where brokers or agents agree to refuse to deal with certain competitors, consumers, or firms to eliminate competition or discriminate, exposing participants to fines, license loss, and civil damages.

Exam context

Select group boycotting when multiple licensees jointly refuse to deal with a party. A single agent declining a listing for business reasons is not a group boycott unless coordinated with others.

Anticompetitive agreements

Agents may not collude to boycott a discount brokerage, withhold commissions from a new entrant, or refuse to show listings to certain buyer groups. Even informal conversations at board meetings can evidence an illegal group boycott under state and federal antitrust law.

Fair housing overlap

Boycotts targeting protected classes or steering clients away from integrated neighborhoods violate fair housing statutes in addition to antitrust rules. MLS policies must be uniformly applied with documented business reasons, not disguised exclusionary agreements.

Examples

  • Competitor exclusion

    Several brokers agree not to show any listings to buyers represented by a low-fee online brokerage. Regulators treat the coordinated refusal as an illegal group boycott.

  • Protected class targeting

    Agents in a market secretly agree not to accept offers from certain ethnic groups. The conduct violates fair housing law and may support antitrust conspiracy claims.

Keep studying

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