83R8860 MAW-D
By: Burnam H.B. No. 3736
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the sale of newly constructed homes and requiring the
Texas Real Estate Commission to adopt contract forms to be used in
the sale of a newly constructed home.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1101.005, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1101.005. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter
does not apply to:
(1) an attorney licensed in this state;
(2) an attorney-in-fact authorized under a power of
attorney to conduct a real estate transaction;
(3) a public official while engaged in official
duties;
(4) an auctioneer licensed under Chapter 1802 while
conducting the sale of real estate by auction if the auctioneer does
not perform another act of a broker or salesperson;
(5) a person conducting a real estate transaction
under a court order or the authority of a will or written trust
instrument;
(6) [a person employed by an owner in the sale of
structures and land on which structures are located if the
structures are erected by the owner in the course of the owner's
business;
[(7)] an on-site manager of an apartment complex;
(7) [(8)] an owner or the owner's employee who leases
the owner's improved or unimproved real estate; or
(8) [(9)] a transaction involving:
(A) the sale, lease, or transfer of a mineral or
mining interest in real property;
(B) the sale, lease, or transfer of a cemetery
lot;
(C) the lease or management of a hotel or motel;
or
(D) the sale of real property under a power of
sale conferred by a deed of trust or other contract lien.
SECTION 2. Section 1101.155(b), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) Except as provided by Section 1101.562, the [The]
commission may not prohibit a license holder from using for the
sale, exchange, option, or lease of an interest in real property a
contract form that is:
(1) prepared by the property owner; or
(2) prepared by an attorney and required by the
property owner.
SECTION 3. Section 1101.557(c), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) For the purposes of this section:
(1) a license holder who has the authority to bind a
party to a lease or sale under a power of attorney or a property
management agreement is also a party to the lease or sale; and
(2) [an inquiry to a person described by Section
1101.005(6) about contract terms or forms required by the person's
employer does not violate Section 1101.652(b)(22) if the person
does not have the authority to bind the employer to the contract;
and
[(3)] the sole delivery of an offer to a party does not
violate Section 1101.652(b)(22) if:
(A) the party's broker consents to the delivery;
(B) a copy of the offer is sent to the party's
broker, unless a governmental agency using a sealed bid process
does not allow a copy to be sent; and
(C) the person delivering the offer does not
engage in another activity that directly or indirectly violates
Section 1101.652(b)(22).
SECTION 4. Subchapter L, Chapter 1101, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 1101.562 to read as follows:
Sec. 1101.562. USE OF BROKER OR SALESPERSON IN CERTAIN
TRANSACTIONS. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, a person shall
use the services of a broker or salesperson for a transaction that
involves the sale of a new single-family home.
(b) The commission by rule shall require a license holder
providing services in a transaction described by Subsection (a) to
use contract forms prepared by the Texas Real Estate Broker-Lawyer
Committee and adopted by the commission for the sale of a new
single-family home. The commission may not prohibit a license
holder from using a contract form for the sale of a new
single-family home if the form is:
(1) prepared by the purchaser; or
(2) prepared by an attorney and required by the
purchaser.
(c) A contract form required by the commission under
Subsection (b) may not include a provision that requires the
parties to submit a dispute arising under the contract to binding
arbitration.
SECTION 5. (a) Not later than December 1, 2013, the Texas
Real Estate Commission shall adopt rules and forms required by
Section 1101.562, Occupations Code, as added by this Act.
(b) Section 1101.562, Occupations Code, as added by this
Act, applies to a transaction that occurs on or after January 1,
2014. A transaction that occurs before January 1, 2014, is governed
by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this
Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2013.