Should agents disclose restricted real estate licenses to clients?

Buyers get warned about lead-based paint, meth and golf balls. Nobody is required to tell them their agent’s license is on restriction. We disclose almost everything in real estate: lead-based paint, mold, natural hazards and airport noise. In California, buyers get a heads-up about stray golf balls in the Statewide Buyer and Seller Advisory. Along the coast, someone might mention that a foghorn comes with the neighborhood. It can look like overkill, but there’s a reason for all of it. Disclosures protect buyers and sellers, and they put information in front of people before they make a decision. We disclose material facts about the property, the transaction and the agency relationship. Buyers get an explanation of who represents them. Sellers sign listing paperwork. Dual agency has to be spelled out. As an industry, we talk about informed consent constantly. So here’s what I can’t get past: There’s one fact that matters a lot more than a foghorn a mile away, yet nobody has to disclose it — the agent who handles your deal, or the broker who supervises that agent, may be working on a restricted license because a regulatory body disciplined them. Why isn’t that on a form somewhere? ‘...