Real estate firm hit with record fine

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Thursday, June 2, 2005 | 11:10 a.m.

SUN CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY -- The owners of a Las Vegas real estate firm have been fined a record $105,000 by the state for carrying on business without a license.

The state Real Estate Commission said it imposed the punishment on Brian and Danielle Roth, owners of Rent Las Vegas, on grounds they failed to honor a cease and desist order to stop operating.

The commission, in a press release Wednesday, said the company listed its business on the Web as a "free apartment locating service." But it charged a referral fee -- a minimum of 50 percent of one month's rent for a six-month lease.

The commission said the Roths violated the law that precludes a person or corporation from receiving compensation as a broker soliciting prospective lessees or renters of real estate.

The commission found there were 21 violations and this is the first time it has imposed fines up to $5,000 per violation.