Change log
What changed and when. Entries are dated by effective date, and each links its sources. Subscribe via RSS.
2026
- Mississippi
Mississippi requires written brokerage agreements before listing or submitting an offer
SB 2713 and SB 2748 define a written “brokerage agreement” and require one before a licensee lists property or submits an offer on a buyer's behalf for compensation. Showings without an agreement are still allowed. The same amendments extend the earnest-money deposit deadline from one to two banking days after the day of receipt.
- Texas
Texas: TREC 20-19 resale contract (and other revised TREC contracts) take effect
TREC's One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), form 20-19, effective 07/01/2026, replaced 20-18. Other TREC contracts on TREC's list, including New Home, Farm and Ranch, Condominium Resale, Unimproved Property, and Amendment, carry the same effective date.
Sources: TREC: Contracts · TREC 20-19 (PDF)
- Georgia
Georgia REALTORS® mid-year 2026 forms changes (GAR forms, not state law)
The Georgia Association of REALTORS® revised its 2026 forms effective June 1, 2026. These are a trade association's forms, not changes to Georgia law. Residential changes include: (1) The Purchase and Sale Agreement (F201) now gives buyer and seller each a limited, one-time right to extend the closing by 8 days on notice for specific reasons: lender not ready (buyer), unresolved title objections (seller), or closing attorney not ready (either party). (2) New earnest-money notice steps: the holder must notify both parties when a buyer fails to cure late or bounced earnest money, before the seller's termination window runs. The buyer's broker can receive earnest-money disbursement notices for a client after termination. (3) The FIRPTA section was retitled and reworded in F201 and the seller brokerage agreements. (4) The statute-of-limitations provision was removed from its old place in F201 and in the buyer and seller brokerage agreements (F110, F113, F101, F104, F105). It was not eliminated: it now appears as its own section (F201 ¶ C.8(c); F110 ¶ C.11). (5) The Seller's Property Disclosure Statement (F301) added questions on sewer or septic backups and interior water damage.
Sources: GAR 2026 Mid-Year Forms Changes (dated 06/01/26; members-only; reviewed via a GAR member)
- Texas
Texas SB 1968: written agreement required before showing a home to a buyer
New Tex. Occ. Code § 1101.563 requires a written agreement with a prospective residential buyer before showing property, or before presenting an offer if nothing is shown. The agreement must state services, term, exclusivity, representation status, and compensation, plus a conspicuous notice that compensation is negotiable. New § 1101.562 allows non-representation showings under a non-exclusive agreement of 14 days or less. TREC's IABS notice was revised the same day.
Sources: SB 1968 enrolled text · TREC: What Changes in 2026 About Buyer/Tenant Representation
- California
California: altered listing photos must be disclosed; new smoking-history disclosure enacted
AB 723 (Ch. 497, Stats. 2025; Bus. & Prof. Code § 10140.8) applies as of January 1, 2026, per DRE. Licensees who use digitally altered images in advertising must disclose the alteration and link to the original image. AB 455 (Ch. 263, Stats. 2025) requires sellers of single-family homes who know of tobacco or nicotine smoking residue or history to disclose it. DRE's summary doesn't state AB 455's effective date, and we have not confirmed it. AB 1521 (Ch. 200, Stats. 2025) corrected the AB 2992 buyer-agreement disclosure to say compensation is negotiable between buyer and broker.
2025
- Florida
Florida expands the mandatory seller flood disclosure
Amended § 689.302 (ch. 2025-166) requires sellers to disclose any flooding that damaged the property during their ownership, flood insurance claims, and any flood-damage assistance (no longer only federal assistance), at or before contract signing. A parallel lease flood disclosure (§ 83.512) also took effect.
Sources: § 689.302, Fla. Stat. (2026) · Florida Realtors®: Florida Expands Flood Disclosures
- Alabama
Alabama ends limited consensual dual agency and adds designated single agency
Act 2025-380 (HB 382) requires the written, informed consent of all parties for dual agency. It lets a qualifying broker designate in-house licensees as single agents for their own clients, and it renames the “transaction broker” role “transaction facilitator.” AREC's RECAD disclosure rule (790-X-3-.13) was amended to match, with the amendment effective February 14, 2026.
Sources: Alabama HB 382 (2025), enrolled · AREC: Designated Single Agency whitepaper · Ala. Admin. Code r. 790-X-3-.13
- Alabama
Alabama Act 2025-59: brokerage agreement required before submitting an offer
RECAD amendments require a signed brokerage agreement before a licensee lists a property or submits an offer for a consumer, and bar requiring one just to show property. The RECAD disclosure and Agency Disclosure Office Policy must be given before any brokerage service, including showings.
Sources: Act 2025-59 (HB 230), via AREC · AREC: Changes Made to RECAD by Act 2025-59
- California
California AB 2992: buyer-broker agreements required by the time of offer, capped at 3 months
New Civil Code § 1670.50 requires a buyer-broker representation agreement no later than when the buyer signs an offer. Required terms cover compensation, services, when compensation is due, and termination. Agreements may not exceed three months or auto-renew (with an exception for entity buyers).
Sources: Cal. Civ. Code § 1670.50 · AB 2992 bill text
2024
- National
National (NAR settlement): MLS participants need written buyer agreements before touring
Under the NAR settlement practice changes, MLS participants working with buyers must have a written agreement before touring a home, and compensation offers are barred from the MLS. This is a private settlement and MLS rule, not state law. NCREC's explainer is linked as an example of a state regulator's guidance.
Sources: NCREC Bulletin: Has the World Exploded? The NAR Settlement, Commission Law and Rules
- New York
New York ends the $500 PCDS credit opt-out (pre-2025 context)
The amended Property Condition Disclosure Statement took effect. Sellers can no longer give a $500 credit instead of the PCDS, and the form adds flood-related questions.
- Georgia
Georgia SB 90: limits on brokerage engagements; “option to enter into a brokerage engagement” defined (pre-2025 context)
BRRETA amendments define an “option to enter into a brokerage engagement” and bar residential brokerage engagements from claiming to run with the land, from being assigned without the owner's notice and agreement (with exceptions), or from creating recordable liens.
Sources: O.C.G.A. § 10-6A-10 · O.C.G.A. § 10-6A-3