85R11318 BEE-F
 
  By: Kuempel H.B. No. 2534
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to certain real estate brokerage and advertising
  activities and to certain functions of the Texas Real Estate
  Commission.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 1101, Occupations Code, is
  amended by adding Section 1101.0045 to read as follows:
         Sec. 1101.0045.  EQUITABLE INTERESTS IN REAL PROPERTY. (a)
  A person may acquire an option or an interest in a contract to
  purchase real property and then sell or offer to sell the option or
  assign or offer to assign the contract without holding a license
  issued under this chapter if the person:
               (1)  does not use the option or contract to purchase to
  engage in real estate brokerage; and
               (2)  discloses the nature of the equitable interest to
  any potential buyer.
         (b)  A person selling or offering to sell an option or
  assigning or offering to assign an interest in a contract to
  purchase real property without disclosing the nature of that
  interest to a potential buyer is engaging in real estate brokerage.
         SECTION 2.  Section 1101.156(b), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The commission may not include in rules to prohibit
  false, misleading, or deceptive practices by a person regulated by
  the commission a rule that:
               (1)  restricts the use of any advertising medium;
               (2)  restricts the person's personal appearance or use
  of the person's voice in an advertisement;
               (3)  relates to the size or duration of an
  advertisement used by the person; [or]
               (4)  restricts the person's advertisement under an
  assumed or [a] trade name that is authorized by a law of this state
  and registered with the commission; or
               (5)  requires the term "broker," "agent," or a similar
  designation or term, a reference to the commission, or the person's
  license number to be included in the person's advertisement.
         SECTION 3.  Section 1101.652(b), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The commission may suspend or revoke a license issued
  under this chapter or take other disciplinary action authorized by
  this chapter if the license holder, while engaged in real estate
  brokerage:
               (1)  acts negligently or incompetently;
               (2)  engages in conduct that is dishonest or in bad
  faith or that demonstrates untrustworthiness;
               (3)  makes a material misrepresentation to a potential
  buyer concerning a significant defect, including a latent
  structural defect, known to the license holder that would be a
  significant factor to a reasonable and prudent buyer in making a
  decision to purchase real property;
               (4)  fails to disclose to a potential buyer a defect
  described by Subdivision (3) that is known to the license holder;
               (5)  makes a false promise that is likely to influence a
  person to enter into an agreement when the license holder is unable
  or does not intend to keep the promise;
               (6)  pursues a continued and flagrant course of
  misrepresentation or makes false promises through an agent or sales
  agent, through advertising, or otherwise;
               (7)  fails to make clear to all parties to a real estate
  transaction the party for whom the license holder is acting;
               (8)  receives compensation from more than one party to
  a real estate transaction without the full knowledge and consent of
  all parties to the transaction;
               (9)  fails within a reasonable time to properly account
  for or remit money that is received by the license holder and that
  belongs to another person;
               (10)  commingles money that belongs to another person
  with the license holder's own money;
               (11)  pays a commission or a fee to or divides a
  commission or a fee with a person other than a license holder or a
  real estate broker or sales agent licensed in another state for
  compensation for services as a real estate agent;
               (12)  fails to specify a definite termination date that
  is not subject to prior notice in a contract, other than a contract
  to perform property management services, in which the license
  holder agrees to perform services for which a license is required
  under this chapter;
               (13)  accepts, receives, or charges an undisclosed
  commission, rebate, or direct profit on an expenditure made for a
  principal;
               (14)  solicits, sells, or offers for sale real property
  by means of a lottery;
               (15)  solicits, sells, or offers for sale real property
  by means of a deceptive practice;
               (16)  acts in a dual capacity as broker and undisclosed
  principal in a real estate transaction;
               (17)  guarantees or authorizes or permits a person to
  guarantee that future profits will result from a resale of real
  property;
               (18)  places a sign on real property offering the real
  property for sale or lease without obtaining the written consent of
  the owner of the real property or the owner's authorized agent;
               (19)  offers to sell or lease real property without the
  knowledge and consent of the owner of the real property or the
  owner's authorized agent;
               (20)  offers to sell or lease real property on terms
  other than those authorized by the owner of the real property or the
  owner's authorized agent;
               (21)  induces or attempts to induce a party to a
  contract of sale or lease to break the contract for the purpose of
  substituting a new contract;
               (22)  negotiates or attempts to negotiate the sale,
  exchange, or lease of real property with an owner, landlord, buyer,
  or tenant with knowledge that that person is a party to an
  outstanding written contract that grants exclusive agency to
  another broker in connection with the transaction;
               (23)  publishes or causes to be published an
  advertisement [, including an advertisement by newspaper, radio,
  television, the Internet, or display,] that:
                     (A)  misleads or is likely to deceive the public;
                     (B)  [,] tends to create a misleading impression;
                     (C)  implies that a sales agent is responsible for
  the operation of the broker's real estate brokerage business; [,]
  or
                     (D)  fails to include [identify] the name of the
  broker for whom the license holder acts, which name may be the
  licensed name, assumed name, or trade name of the broker as
  authorized by a law of this state and registered with the commission
  [person causing the advertisement to be published as a licensed
  broker or agent];
               (24)  withholds from or inserts into a statement of
  account or invoice a statement that the license holder knows makes
  the statement of account or invoice inaccurate in a material way;
               (25)  publishes or circulates an unjustified or
  unwarranted threat of a legal proceeding or other action;
               (26)  establishes an association by employment or
  otherwise with a person other than a license holder if the person is
  expected or required to act as a license holder;
               (27)  aids, abets, or conspires with another person to
  circumvent this chapter;
               (28)  fails or refuses to provide, on request, a copy of
  a document relating to a real estate transaction to a person who
  signed the document;
               (29)  fails to advise a buyer in writing before the
  closing of a real estate transaction that the buyer should:
                     (A)  have the abstract covering the real estate
  that is the subject of the contract examined by an attorney chosen
  by the buyer; or
                     (B)  be provided with or obtain a title insurance
  policy;
               (30)  fails to deposit, within a reasonable time, money
  the license holder receives as escrow or trust funds in a real
  estate transaction:
                     (A)  in trust with a title company authorized to
  do business in this state; or
                     (B)  in a custodial, trust, or escrow account
  maintained for that purpose in a banking institution authorized to
  do business in this state;
               (31)  disburses money deposited in a custodial, trust,
  or escrow account, as provided in Subdivision (30), before the
  completion or termination of the real estate transaction;
               (32)  discriminates against an owner, potential buyer,
  landlord, or potential tenant on the basis of race, color,
  religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, or
  ancestry, including directing a prospective buyer or tenant
  interested in equivalent properties to a different area based on
  the race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status,
  national origin, or ancestry of the potential owner or tenant; or
               (33)  disregards or violates this chapter.
         SECTION 4.  Section 1105.003(f), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (f)  Not later than August 31 of each fiscal year, the agency
  shall remit [$750,000] to the general revenue fund the sum of
  $750,000 minus amounts expended each fiscal year to construct or
  maintain a building in the Capitol Complex, including for repayment
  of a construction loan.
         SECTION 5.  Subchapter D, Chapter 5, Property Code, is
  amended by adding Section 5.086 to read as follows:
         Sec. 5.086.  EQUITABLE INTEREST DISCLOSURE. Before entering
  into a contract, a person selling an option or assigning an interest
  in a contract to purchase real property must disclose to any
  potential buyer that the person is selling only an option or
  assigning an interest in a contract and that the person does not
  have legal title to the real property.
         SECTION 6.  (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
  section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
         (b)  Section 1105.003(f), Occupations Code, as amended by
  this Act, takes effect September 1, 2019.