SB1968

Buyer agreements: a license holder performing brokerage for a prospective buyer of residential real property must enter a written agreement before showing residential property—or, if none will be shown, before presenting an offer for the buyer. Covered property is a single-family house, duplex, triplex, quadraplex, or individually titled condominium/cooperative unit. This buyer-agreement provision is not written as a universal requirement for every tenant or commercial buyer. The agreement must state services, termination date, exclusivity/non-exclusivity, whether the license holder represents the buyer or merely provides a nonrepresentative showing, and the broker’s compensation amount/rate and how it is determined. It must conspicuously say compensation is not set by law and is fully negotiable. The act sets no commission percentage. Final law, Section 1101.563.

Showing without becoming the visitor’s agent: a broker may show property for sale or lease without representing the visitor only if there is no oral/written representation agreement, no existing agency role, no advice or opinions about the property or real-estate transactions, and no other brokerage act for that visitor. The broker may confirm size, price and terms. Before showing, the broker must disclose representation of the owner if applicable; otherwise the broker must give the specified written brokerage-information notice. For a prospective residential buyer, a showing-only agreement under this arrangement must be nonexclusive and end no more than 14 days after signing. Additional brokerage services require a separate agreement. These restrictions do not make a showing-only broker the buyer’s adviser. Final law, Sections 1101.562–.563; Existing representation-disclosure framework.

Clearer notice and enforcement: the existing written notice at the first substantive discussion of a specific property gains an explanation of duties to people the broker does not represent. Its 10-point minimum type and identifying/contact details remain. Existing exceptions in Section 1101.558(c) concern that notice, not a blanket exemption from the new buyer-agreement rule. Failure to obtain a required buyer agreement becomes an express ground for license discipline; suspension or revocation is discretionary, not automatic. Final law, Sections 9 and 11; Earlier notice and exceptions.

Education shifts from detailed statutory lists toward rules: the law keeps the eleven qualifying-course categories but removes their itemized statutory topic lists. It keeps at least 12 semester hours or equivalent classroom hours for sales-agent applicants, with the required qualifying courses specified by commission rule rather than the old statutory course-by-course allocation. This is not abolition of education, fair-housing law or all fair-housing training: the commission’s course-content authority and separate continuing-education provisions remain. Public-high-school programs join accredited colleges/universities in the exception from Section 1101.301(a)(1)’s course-approval standards. Final law, Sections 1, 4 and 6; Earlier course lists and remaining rule authority; Earlier allocation; Approval framework; Continuing education.

Broker responsibility course: broker applicants must attend the approved course, which may count toward related-course hours. During a license term, the requirement now covers brokers generally and sales agents who supervise another license holder, rather than only the earlier designated/sponsoring/supervising groups. The commission sets content and duration, with a maximum of six classroom hours, replacing the former minimum-six-hour language. Hours may count toward applicable continuing education. The existing exception for certain long-grandfathered brokers remains; the act does not repeal other existing application exceptions. Final law, Sections 5 and 7; Broker application framework; Earlier requirement and retained exception; Grandfathered continuing-education exemption.

Records, investigations and other changes: license holders must supply current mailing/business addresses, business phone/email and changes; associated brokers must identify the broker through whom they work and are paid in an intended continuing relationship. The commission may share investigation notices with associated license holders under Chapters 1101/1102, with recipients specified by rule, notwithstanding the confidentiality section; this is not public release of whole investigation files. Discipline for dishonored payments is no longer limited to checks, and the license-holder payment notice uses the last known address rather than last known business address. The gifts/donations provision removes its reference to Chapter 1303. Final law, Sections 2–3, 8 and 11–12; Investigation confidentiality; Complaint-notice framework.

Subagency provisions: the act repeals the statutory “subagent” definition and the specific protection against liability for a subagent’s misrepresentation/concealment unless the person knew and failed to disclose it. It does not repeal all of Section 1101.805 or automatically make every broker liable for every other person’s conduct. Other liability provisions remain. Final law, Section 13; Repealed definition in context; Earlier liability provisions.

Transition: the new complaint-notice rule applies to complaints filed on or after January 1, 2026; broker/sales-agent application changes apply to applications submitted from that date; the renewal education change applies to renewal applications submitted from that date. The amended brokerage-discipline subsection applies to conduct from that date. Earlier matters in those categories stay under former law. Final law, Sections 14–19.

Amendments: the Senate substitute clarified investigation notices, added the public-high-school provision, clarified course credit and who must take broker responsibility training, and changed the buyer-agreement trigger from before any brokerage act to before a showing or, if none, an offer. It also added the renewal transition. Senate-passed and House-committee operative texts matched that substitute. Harless’s only indexed floor amendment, adopted May 8, added explicit “non-exclusive” wording and required showing-only agreements to be nonexclusive and last no more than 14 days. Both changes survived enrollment; the Senate concurred May 21. Introduced; Senate substitute; Senate-passed; House committee; Harless amendment; Amendment index; Version index; Final law.

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Prospective homebuyers could gain clearer service, representation and compensation terms before a tour or offer, while short nonexclusive showing-only agreements preserve a limited way to see homes without hiring that broker as an adviser. License holders and educators face revised paperwork, reporting and course requirements. Outcomes depend on compliance and implementation; the act does not promise lower commissions, free showings or a particular sale price. This review does not verify current commission forms/rules, individual contracts or private industry settlement obligations. Final law.

The March 30, April 3 and May 11 fiscal notes anticipate no significant state or local-government fiscal implication. They explain that the Texas Real Estate Commission is self-directed and semi-independent, responsible for its operating costs, barred from imposing costs on General Revenue and outside the legislative budgeting process. That is not a finding of zero private compliance cost. The notes do not quantify buyers’ fees, broker costs or education-provider costs. Introduced fiscal note; Substitute fiscal note; Passed-second-house fiscal note; Enrolled-index copy.