An agent owes fiduciary duties of loyalty, good faith, and fair dealing. An agent has to always prioritize the best interests of the principal, and must never act beyond his/her authority.
An agent who acts contrary to the duties of an agent can be liable to the Principal or the Principal's successors in interest for the amount required to restore the value of the Principal's property to what it would have been had the violation not occurred.
It is referred to as an "agency agreement."
In a typical principal-agent relationship, the principal is responsible for giving instructions and providing resources to the agent to carry out tasks on their behalf. The agent is responsible for acting in the best interest of the principal, following their instructions, and keeping them informed of progress and any issues that arise. Both parties have a duty to act in good faith and with loyalty towards each other.
A principal authorizes another person, known as an agent, to act on their behalf in certain transactions or duties. The agent is given the authority to make decisions and take actions as specified by the principal within the scope of their relationship.
The fiduciary duties created by a contract of agency are principles of loyalty, obedience, disclosure, confidentiality, and care. These duties require the agent to act in the best interests of the principal, follow their instructions, provide all relevant information, keep the principal's information confidential, and act with reasonable care and diligence. Violating these duties can result in legal consequences for the agent.
Sub-agent and substituted agent: The general rule is that an agent cannot delegate his authority and appoint another agent. (Delegatus non potest delegare). An agent being delegate cannot transfer his authority or duties to another. As per Section 190, an agent cannot lawfully employ another to perform acts which he has expressly or impliedly undertaken to perform personally unless by the ordinary custom of trade a sub-agent may or from the nature of the agency, the agent must be appointed. According to Section 191, a "sub-agent" is a person employed by and acting under the control of the original agent in the business of agency. The relation of the sub-agent and the original agent is as between themselves that of the agent and the principal. Where a sub-agent is properly appointed, the principal is so far as regards third parties represented by the sub-agent and is bound by and responsible for acts as if he were an agent originally appointed by the principal. The agent is responsible to the principal for the acts of the sub-agent. The sub-agent is responsible for his acts to the agent, but not to the principal except in case of fraud or wilful wrong. (Section192) There is no privity of contract between the sub-agent and the principal and, hence, sub-agent is not directly responsible to the principal except in cases of fraud or wilful wrong. If the sub-agent is properly appointed, the principal is liable to third parties for the acts of the sub-agent. If the sub-agent is appointed without proper authority, the principal is not represented by or responsible for the acts of the sub-agent and sub-agent is not responsible to the principal. As between the agent and the sub-agent, the relationship is that of the principal and agent and the agent is responsible for the acts of such sub-agent and both to the principal and to third parties (Section 193). Substituted agent: Where an agent holding an express or implied authority to name another person to act for the principal in the business of the agency has named another person accordingly, such person is not a sub-agent, but an agent of the principal for such part of the business of agency as is entrusted to him. (Section194). Where the agent has authority to appoint an agent and the person so appointed is in the nature of a substitute for the original agent, the contract arises between the principal and the substitute and the substituted agent becomes responsible to the principal for the due discharge of the duties as if he is appointed by the principal himself. According to Section 195, in selecting substituted agent for his principal an agent is bound to exercise the same amount of discretion as a man of ordinary prudence would exercise in his own case; and if he does so, he is not responsible to the principal for acts or negligence of the substituted agent so selected. Sub-agent and substituted agent: The general rule is that an agent cannot delegate his authority and appoint another agent. (Delegatus non potest delegare). An agent being delegate cannot transfer his authority or duties to another. As per Section 190, an agent cannot lawfully employ another to perform acts which he has expressly or impliedly undertaken to perform personally unless by the ordinary custom of trade a sub-agent may or from the nature of the agency, the agent must be appointed. According to Section 191, a "sub-agent" is a person employed by and acting under the control of the original agent in the business of agency. The relation of the sub-agent and the original agent is as between themselves that of the agent and the principal. Where a sub-agent is properly appointed, the principal is so far as regards third parties represented by the sub-agent and is bound by and responsible for acts as if he were an agent originally appointed by the principal. The agent is responsible to the principal for the acts of the sub-agent. The sub-agent is responsible for his acts to the agent, but not to the principal except in case of fraud or wilful wrong. (Section192) There is no privity of contract between the sub-agent and the principal and, hence, sub-agent is not directly responsible to the principal except in cases of fraud or wilful wrong. If the sub-agent is properly appointed, the principal is liable to third parties for the acts of the sub-agent. If the sub-agent is appointed without proper authority, the principal is not represented by or responsible for the acts of the sub-agent and sub-agent is not responsible to the principal. As between the agent and the sub-agent, the relationship is that of the principal and agent and the agent is responsible for the acts of such sub-agent and both to the principal and to third parties (Section 193). Substituted agent: Where an agent holding an express or implied authority to name another person to act for the principal in the business of the agency has named another person accordingly, such person is not a sub-agent, but an agent of the principal for such part of the business of agency as is entrusted to him. (Section194). Where the agent has authority to appoint an agent and the person so appointed is in the nature of a substitute for the original agent, the contract arises between the principal and the substitute and the substituted agent becomes responsible to the principal for the due discharge of the duties as if he is appointed by the principal himself. According to Section 195, in selecting substituted agent for his principal an agent is bound to exercise the same amount of discretion as a man of ordinary prudence would exercise in his own case; and if he does so, he is not responsible to the principal for acts or negligence of the substituted agent so selected.
In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, the law generally considers most agent transactions to be fiduciary in nature, meaning that the agent (or producer) has a duty to act in the best interests of the principal. This includes obligations of loyalty, disclosure, and care in performing their duties. The relationship is characterized by trust, where the agent is expected to prioritize the principal's interests above their own.
Disclose your identity as an agent whenever you act for the principal by writing or printing the principal's name and signing your own name as "agent" in the following manner: (Principal's Name) by (Your Signature) as Agent, or (Your Signature) as Agent for (Principal's Name).
They can, but only if their principal (the seller) has given them express permission to do so. If they do this without the seller's permission it is a breach of the agent's duties to his/her principal. If this happened in the US the seller should notify the Real Estate Commission in their state and file a complaint against their agent. This is extremely unethical.
An agent may resign by giving notice to the principal, to the guardian if the principal is incapacitated and one has been appointed for the principal, and to any co-agent, or if none, the next successor agent.
The principal-agent model involves a principal delegating tasks or decision-making to an agent to act on their behalf. The challenge arises from the divergence of interests between the principal and agent, leading to potential conflicts, information asymmetry, or moral hazard. Incentive alignment mechanisms, such as contracts or monitoring, are typically used to mitigate these issues and align the agent's actions with the principal's objectives.
A principal can certainly cancel the general power of attorney without giving notice to the agent, but if notice is not given the agent might continue to act upon the principal's behalf. If the agent does continues to act without being told he shouldn't his actions for the Principal will still be effective against the Principal and the agent will not be held to have done anything wrong. The problem is that the agent will be acting with "apparent authority", which will be just as binding on the Principal as if the POA had never been revoked.