Q: My brokerage firm handles property management for an apartment complex that is primarily rented to students of the local university. We want to offer a $45 gift certificate to any tenant who refers college classmates to our apartment complex. May we legally give this compensation to an unlicensed tenant?
A: Yes. As long as the value of the gift certificate doesn't exceed $50. Section 475.011(13), Florida Statutes, allows any property management firm of an apartment complex to pay a finder's fee, up to $50, to an unlicensed tenant for "introducing or arranging an introduction between parties to a transaction involving the rental or lease of an apartment unit."