*HB1347.1*
January 21, 2025
HOUSE BILL No. 1347
_____
DIGEST OF HB 1347 (Updated January 21, 2025 1:18 pm - DI 154)
Citations Affected: IC 25-34.1; IC 32-21.
Synopsis: Real estate matters. Requires a broker company to deposit
funds belonging to others into a trust account that the broker company
maintains. Requires that residential real estate sales disclosure forms
include disclosures by an owner that a property is located within a
locally designated historic district. Requires that residential real estate
sales disclosure forms include disclosures by an owner of any
conservation easement. Makes a technical correction.
Effective: July 1, 2025.
Clere, O'Brien, Dant Chesser
January 13, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on Financial Institutions.
January 21, 2025, amended, reported — Do Pass.
HB 1347—LS 7673/DI 151 January 21, 2025
First Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2025)
PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
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additions will appear in this style type, and deletions will appear in this style type.
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provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
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a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts
between statutes enacted by the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
HOUSE BILL No. 1347
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
property.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
1 SECTION 1. IC 25-34.1-4-5, AS AMENDED BY P.L.116-2015,
2 SECTION 10, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
3 JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 5. (a) Each broker company shall do the
4 following:
5 (1) shall keep in Maintain one (1) or more trust accounts (interest
6 or noninterest bearing).
7 (2) Deposit into a trust account described in subdivision (1) all
8 funds belonging to others that come into the possession of the
9 broker company or of any broker whose license the broker
10 company is holding. and
11 (2) (3) shall Clearly identify any account containing those funds
12 as that is a trust account.
13 The trust accounts shall contain all earnest money deposits, funds held
14 for closing escrows, sale proceeds not yet disbursed, and all other funds
15 belonging to others.
16 (b) The broker company shall not use any trust account for the
17 deposit of any personal funds or other business funds and shall keep a
HB 1347—LS 7673/DI 151 2
1 detailed record of the funds and any interest accrued in each trust
2 account that identifies the amount of funds held for each beneficiary.
3 Any interest earned shall be held for the beneficiary.
4 (c) Upon:
5 (1) the death of the sole proprietor, in the case of a sole
6 proprietorship broker company;
7 (2) the termination of a broker company; or
8 (3) the expiration, revocation, or suspension of a broker
9 company's license;
10 the commission shall take custody of each trust account of the broker
11 company and may appoint a successor trustee to protect and distribute
12 the proceeds of that account.
13 SECTION 2. IC 32-21-5-7, AS AMENDED BY P.L.175-2023,
14 SECTION 5, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
15 JULY 1, 2025]: Sec. 7. (a) The Indiana real estate commission
16 established by IC 25-34.1-2-1 shall adopt a specific disclosure form
17 that contains the following:
18 (1) Disclosure by the owner of the known condition of the
19 following:
20 (A) The foundation.
21 (B) The mechanical systems.
22 (C) The roof.
23 (D) The structure.
24 (E) The water and sewer systems.
25 (F) Additions that may require improvements to the sewage
26 disposal system.
27 (G) Other areas that the Indiana real estate commission
28 determines are appropriate.
29 (2) Disclosure by the owner of known:
30 (A) contamination caused by the manufacture of a controlled
31 substance (as defined by IC 35-48-1-9) on the property that
32 has not been certified as decontaminated by a qualified
33 inspector who is certified under IC 16-19-3.1; or
34 (B) manufacture of methamphetamine or dumping of waste
35 from the manufacture of methamphetamine in a residential
36 structure on the property.
37 (3) A notice to the prospective buyer that contains substantially
38 the following language:
39 "The prospective buyer and the owner may wish to obtain
40 professional advice or inspections of the property and provide for
41 appropriate provisions in a contract between them concerning any
42 advice, inspections, defects, or warranties obtained on the
HB 1347—LS 7673/DI 151 3
1 property.".
2 (4) A notice to the prospective buyer that contains substantially
3 the following language:
4 "The representations in this form are the representations of the
5 owner and are not the representations of the agent, if any. This
6 information is for disclosure only and is not intended to be a part
7 of any contract between the buyer and owner.".
8 (5) A disclosure by the owner that an airport is located within a
9 geographical distance from the property as determined by the
10 Indiana real estate commission. The commission may consider the
11 differences between an airport serving commercial airlines and an
12 airport that does not serve commercial airlines in determining the
13 distance to be disclosed.
14 (6) A disclosure by the owner that:
15 (A) the property is located near a military installation, within
16 a state area of interest (as defined in IC 36-7-30.2-6), and may
17 be impacted to some degree by the effects of the installation's
18 military operations; and
19 (B) local laws may restrict use and development of the
20 property to promote compatibility with military installation
21 operations.
22 (7) If the owner has personal knowledge of the fact that all or a
23 portion of the real estate is located within a community's
24 floodplain flood plain boundaries, as indicated in a Federal
25 Emergency Management Agency Flood Insurance Rate Map, a
26 disclosure by the owner of that fact.
27 (8) A disclosure by the owner that the property is located
28 within a locally designated historic district under IC 36-7-11.
29 (9) A disclosure by the owner of a conservation easement (as
30 defined in IC 32-23-5-2).
31 (b) Responsibility for the disclosure required under subsection
32 (a)(6) rests solely with the owner of the property and no liability for the
33 owner's failure to make the required disclosure shall accrue to any third
34 party. Failure of the owner to make the required disclosure under
35 subsection (a)(6) shall not:
36 (1) invalidate the transfer of the property; or
37 (2) create any encumbrance or lien upon any legal or equitable
38 title to the property.
HB 1347—LS 7673/DI 151 4
COMMITTEE REPORT
Mr. Speaker: Your Committee on Financial Institutions, to which
was referred House Bill 1347, has had the same under consideration
and begs leave to report the same back to the House with the
recommendation that said bill be amended as follows:
Page 3, between lines 26 and 27, begin a new line block indented
and insert:
"(8) A disclosure by the owner that the property is located
within a locally designated historic district under IC 36-7-11.
(9) A disclosure by the owner of a conservation easement (as
defined in IC 32-23-5-2).".
Page 3, delete lines 27 through 33.
and when so amended that said bill do pass.
(Reference is to HB 1347 as introduced.)
TESHKA
Committee Vote: yeas 11, nays 0.
HB 1347—LS 7673/DI 151