The Florida Legislature

The Florida Legislature is the law-making body of the State of Florida. Its main role is to create, change, and repeal state laws that affect how Florida is governed and how people live and do business. Before 1900s, the real estate business was largely unregulated and highly competitive, with few rules to protect the public. To bring order to the industry, the Florida Legislature took action in 1923 by passing the Real Estate License Law, known today as Chapter 475 of the Florida Statutes. Just two years later, in 1925, the Legislature established the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC) to oversee and enforce this law. The Commission was given broad authority to keep records, investigate complaints, and decide who could receive, keep, or lose a real estate license. In short, the FREC was created to bring professionalism, accountability, and trust to real estate in Florida.