| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to mandatory sales price disclosure in certain real |
|
|
property sales; providing a civil penalty. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Chapter 12, Property Code, is amended by adding |
|
|
Section 12.0012 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 12.0012. MANDATORY SALES PRICE DISCLOSURE. (a) In |
|
|
this section: |
|
|
(1) "Commercial property" means real property that is |
|
|
primarily used in the course of a business that provides items or |
|
|
services for sale to the general public. |
|
|
(2) "Multifamily residential property" means real |
|
|
property that includes two or more residential units under single |
|
|
ownership. |
|
|
(3) "Vacant land" means unimproved real property. |
|
|
(b) A person may not file for record or have recorded in the |
|
|
county clerk's office an instrument conveying commercial property, |
|
|
multifamily residential property, or vacant land under a contract |
|
|
for sale unless the instrument discloses the sales price of the |
|
|
property. |
|
|
(c) The purchaser of any property for which an instrument is |
|
|
recorded in violation of Subsection (b) is liable to the state for a |
|
|
civil penalty for each violation in an amount equal to five percent |
|
|
of the sales price of the property. |
|
|
(d) The attorney general or the county or district attorney |
|
|
for the county in which the property is located may bring suit to |
|
|
recover a penalty under this section. |
|
|
(e) This section does not apply to an instrument conveying |
|
|
only a mineral interest in real property. |
|
|
SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
|
|
an instrument recorded on or after the effective date of this Act. |
|
|
An instrument recorded before the effective date of this Act is |
|
|
covered by the law in effect when the instrument was recorded, and |
|
|
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
|
|
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |