View today's Commission meeting in real-time! Make sure to review the full agenda and materials and follow along. 

The Texas Real Commission is accepting applications for appointment to open Inspector and public member positions of the Texas Real Estate Inspector Committee.

The mission and performance of the Texas Real Estate Commission and Texas Appraiser Licensing & Certification Board are under review by the Legislature as required under the Texas Sunset Act.  The Act provides that the Sunset Commission, composed of legislators and public members, periodically evaluate a state agency to determine if the agency is still needed and to explore ways to ensure that the agency's funds are well spent.  Based on the recommendations of the Sunset Commission, the Texas Legislature ultimately decides whether an agency continues to operate into the future.

The Inspector Committee met in Austin on January 22nd to discuss a packed agenda. Several inspectors made the trip to Austin for this meeting.  I would like to thank everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to attend and I appreciate your important input.  Inspector attendance at these meetings is invaluable because it provides the Committee the opportunity to hear the ideas and concerns of inspectors from all over the state.  The Committee is meeting again on Monday, February 26^th at 10am.

The effective date of the new rules is May 15, 2018, and we want to make sure everyone is thoroughly prepared for the changes.

Background

These rules are the result of years of work by the Commission and key stakeholders focusing on clarity of advertisements for consumers with the least restrictions on license holders. The rules also update, interpret and balance revised statutory requirements supporting free commerce and business competition with those protecting the consumer from misleading advertisements.

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the Texas Real Estate Commission and the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board (the Agency) extended all deadlines for two months for all license holders and applicants statewide with license expiration or application deadlines in August and September. This extension ended on October 31, 2017. 

Memorial Day was the last day of the 85^th Legislative session. Several bills were filed this session relating to the agency and its license holders but not all of those bills made it through the process.  Following is a summary of bills that passed both houses of the Legislature and have direct effect on license holders.

Section 535.228(a) of the Texas Administrative Code (Foundations) requires an inspector to render a written opinion as to the performance of the foundation. Many inspectors understand this to mean one of two things; the foundation is either performing or it is not performing. But sometimes the inspector is unable to determine this with sufficient confidence.