TREC Contract Changes Coming September 1
During the August quarterly Texas Real Estate Commission meeting, several rule and form changes were proposed and adopted. See the full agenda and materials on TREC’s Meetings and Minutes page.
Form Changes
Changes were adopted to the following contract forms on an emergency basis:
- Unimproved Property Contract
- One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale)
- New Home Contract (Incomplete Construction)
- New Home Contract (Complete Construction)
- Farm and Ranch Contract
- Residential Condominium Contract (Resale)
In addition to changes to the existing forms, a new form—Addendum containing Notice of Obligation to Pay Improvement District Assessment—was also adopted on an emergency basis to comply with the requirements of HB 1543.
The following is a list of changes made to the contract forms. Changes apply to all contract forms unless specified otherwise. Paragraph numbers referenced below are from the One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale).
- Paragraph 6(E)(7) is amended to align the contract language with statutory changes in HB 1543 related to public improvement district notice requirements.
- Paragraph 7(H) is amended to remove the language “licensed by TREC” to conform with the statutory changes in HB 1560, which transfers regulation of residential service companies to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. This change does not apply to the Unimproved Property Contract.
- Paragraph 22 is amended to add a box for the new Addendum containing Notice of Obligation to Pay Improvement District Assessment.
Finally, the Commission also approved changes on an emergency basis to the Disclosure of Relationship with Residential Service Company (RSC-3). These forms are effective September 1, 2021.
The updated contract forms will be for mandatory use beginning September 1; however, the new addendum will be for voluntary use beginning September 1 (this is because some public improvement districts may have their own notice). The forms will be posted to TREC’s website soon. Note, however, that because these changes are tied to legislative changes which do not go into effect until September 1, use prior to that date is not authorized.