SENATE BILL 204
By Oliver
HOUSE BILL 565
By Hemmer
HB0565
001041
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 40,
Chapter 33, Part 2; Title 47; Title 65 and Title 66,
relative to consumer protection.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. This act is known and may be cited as the "Tennessee Homebuyer
Harassment Prevention Act."
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 47, Chapter 18, is amended by adding
the following as a new part:
47-18-5801.
As used in this part:
(1) "Affiliate" means any person controlling, controlled by, or under
common control with such person;
(2) "Division" means the division of consumer affairs in the office of the
attorney general and reporter;
(3) "Government agency" means a branch, department, agency,
commission, or instrumentality of this state, or an official or employee of a
branch, department, agency, commission, or instrumentality of this state; and
(4) "Person" means a natural person, individual, partnership, corporation,
trust, estate, incorporated or unincorporated association, and any other legal or
commercial entity however organized, including any affiliate.
47-18-5802.
(a)
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(1) A person shall not contact a property owner more than one (1) time in
a calendar year in connection with an unsolicited request or offer to buy the
property owner's real property.
(2) The limitation described in subdivision (a)(1) applies to contact made
through a telephone call, text message, email, mail, facsimile transmission, or
another form of contact.
(b) When a person contacts a property owner in connection with an unsolicited
request or offer to buy the property owner's real property, prior to making the solicitation,
the person shall provide to the property owner:
(1) The person's legal name;
(2) The address from which the person operates;
(3) A telephone number at which the person can be contacted; and
(4) An email address at which the person can be contacted.
(c) If the contact between a person and a property owner is part of an ongoing
negotiation between the person and the property owner, such contact is not an
unsolicited request or offer until the property owner states that the property owner does
not want to continue the negotiations, or, in the case of negotiations occurring through
text message, writes that the property owner does not want to continue negotiations.
47-18-5803.
(a) If a property owner believes a person has violated § 47-18-5802, then the
property owner may submit a complaint to the division. The division shall:
(1) Begin reviewing a complaint submitted pursuant to this subsection (a)
within twenty (20) business days from the date the complaint is submitted;
(2) Send a written notice to the property owner that the division is
reviewing the complaint; and
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(3) Send a written notice to the property owner upon completion of the
review describing the findings of the review, including whether the individual who
contacted the property owner is a licensed real estate agent, and the actions
taken, if any, as a result of the findings. The written notice must also include
information about the purposes of, and the means by which, the property owner
may enroll in the Tennessee Do Not Call Register as described in title 65,
chapter 4, part 4.
(b)
(1) With regard to alleged violations of § 47-18-5802, the attorney
general and reporter has all of the investigative and enforcement authority that
the attorney general and reporter has under part 1 of this chapter. The attorney
general and reporter may institute a proceeding involving alleged violations of
this part in Davidson County circuit or chancery court or another venue otherwise
permitted by law.
(2) The attorney general and reporter shall require the person being
investigated pursuant to a complaint submitted in accordance with subsection (a)
to disclose any affiliates of the person that have sent an unsolicited request to
buy the property owner's real property.
(3) If a court finds that a person violated § 47-18-5802, then the court
shall assess a civil penalty of up to two thousand dollars ($2,000) per violation.
The court may also order reimbursement to this state for the reasonable costs
and expenses of investigation and prosecution of actions under this part,
including reasonable attorneys' fees.
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(4) For purposes of determining how many violations a person has
committed, each contact beyond the permitted number under § 47-18-5802 by a
person, including any affiliate of the person, is a separate violation.
47-18-5804.
In addition to the penalties provided under § 47-18-5803, a violation of § 47-18-
5802, where a person knowingly causes any caller identification service to transmit
misleading or inaccurate caller identification information, including caller identification
information that does not match the area code of the person, to a property owner with
the intent to violate or otherwise circumvent § 47-18-5802 is also a violation of § 47-18-
2302, and subject to the remedies and penalties provided under part 23 of this chapter.
47-18-5805.
This part does not apply to:
(1) An individual who is licensed as a real estate agent in the state in
which the real property about which the individual contacted the property owner
is located; or
(2) A government agency.
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 47-18-2302(a), is amended by
adding the following as a new subdivision:
(3) A person to knowingly cause any caller identification service to transmit
misleading or inaccurate caller identification information, including caller identification
information that does not match the area code of the person, to a subscriber with the
intent to violate or otherwise circumvent § 47-18-5802.
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 65-4-405, is amended by deleting
subsections (g) and (h) and substituting:
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(g) The commission is authorized to allow access to the database and develop a
fee schedule for access to the database by independent contractors and the entity that
employs such contractors.
(h)
(1) As supplementary to the authority granted in this part, the attorney
general and reporter, at the request of the commission, may bring an action in
any court of competent jurisdiction in the name of the state against any person or
entity relative to a violation of this part or any rules promulgated pursuant to this
part. The courts are authorized to issue orders and injunctions to restrain and
prevent violations of this part, and such orders and injunctions must be issued
without bond. In any action commenced by the state, the courts are authorized
to order reasonable attorneys' fees and investigative costs be paid by the violator
to the state. An action brought by the attorney general and reporter may also
include other causes of action, including a claim under the Tennessee Consumer
Protection Act of 1977, compiled in title 47, chapter 18, part 1.
(2) If the commission is unable to enforce this part against a person or
entity because of a suspected violation of § 47-18-2302(a), then the commission
may refer the suspected violation to the attorney general and reporter for
enforcement in accordance with §§ 47-18-2302 and 47-18-2304.
SECTION 5. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it, and
applies to prohibited conduct occurring on or after that date.