During the November quarterly Commission meeting, several rule changes were proposed and adopted. See the full agenda and materials on the Commission Meetings and Minutes page. The next Commission meeting is scheduled for February 14, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.

Proposed Rules

Changes to the following rules were proposed at the Commission meeting. Be sure to comment before the official comment period ends on December 26, 2021. Use the Commission's online public comment tool to submit comments. Comments can also be sent via email to general.counsel@trec.texas.gov or can be mailed to General Counsel, Texas Real Estate Commission, P.O. Box 12188, Austin, Texas 78711-2188.

• §531.18, Consumer Information. The proposed amendment and the corresponding change to the Consumer Protection Notice are necessary to implement statutory changes enacted by the 87th Legislature in HB 1560, which moved the regulation of residential service companies, also known as home warranty companies, from TREC to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) effective September 1, 2021. The proposed amendment to the Consumer Protection Notice removes a reference to home warranty companies being regulated by TREC.

• §535.56, Education and Experience Requirements for a Broker license. The proposed change to §535.56 and the forms adopted by reference incorporate a new point system that is easier to understand.   This simplified point system does not increase the requirements to obtain a broker’s license and is intended to further streamline the broker license application process.  The proposed amendment and forms adopted by reference also include changes to the requirements by mandating an applicant must have performed at least one transaction per year for at least four of the five years preceding the date the application is filed. They also remove the low point value categories of Exclusive Right to Sell Listings, Buyer and Tenant Representation Agreements, and Listings, but increase the opportunity for agents to count team management and now delegated supervision by eliminating the previous maximum amount of points that could be counted under that category.   The proposed amendments are recommended by the Broker Responsibility Working Group.

Rule Review

Texas law requires state agencies – including the Commission—to undergo a comprehensive rule review every four years. During this process, the Commission reviews all of its currently enacted rules to determine if they should be continued, amended, or repealed. At the November meeting, the Commission approved the FY2022 rule review plan and formally opened the rules within the following chapters for review:

• Chapter 531, Canons of Professional Ethics and Conduct
• Chapter 533, Practice and Procedure
• Chapter 534, General Administration
• Chapter 541, Rules Relating to the Provisions of the Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 53

The Commission wants your feedback on these rules—both now and as changes are proposed. Questions or comments on the review can be be sent via email to general.counsel@trec.texas.gov or can be mailed to General Counsel, Texas Real Estate Commission, P.O. Box 12188, Austin, Texas 78711-2188. And as rules are proposed, comments can be provided as outlined above. The remaining chapters will be opened for review throughout 2022.

Adopted Rules

The following rules were also adopted at the meeting. These updated rules will become effective December 2, 2021.

• §535.43, Education Standards Advisory Committee. The amendments update the date the committee is abolished to correspond with the revised sunset review date adopted under SB 713 and make conforming changes related to instructors pursuant to SB 624 enacted by the 86th Legislature. Finally, the amendments correct outdated terminology--replacing a reference to “administrator” with “executive director.”
• §535.92, Continuing Education Requirements. This change eliminates subsection (f), which allowed license holders to obtain continuing education (CE) credit for a course taken to fulfill a requirement of a professional designation and included a list of specific professional designations recognized by the Commission for purpose of obtaining CE credit. License holders may still receive CE credit for such courses if providers have submitted and the Commission has approved the course for credit through the usual course approval process.
• §535.148, Receiving an Undisclosed Commission or Rebate. The amendment corrected a statutory reference and updated the Disclosure of Relationship with Residential Service Company form pursuant to HB 1560. Note there was a previous emergency adoption of this rule and form in August.
• §535.201, Definitions. This change corrects a reference to the Standards of Practice in subsection (3) and corrects a citing error.
• §535.206, The Texas Real Estate Inspector Committee. The amendments extended the year the committee is abolished to correspond with SB 713 , which extended the Commission’s sunset review date to 2031.
• Form changes. The previous form changes were formally adopted, after the emergency adoption in August. For more details about those changes, check out the August meeting update.

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