Connecticut bill targets private real estate listings
Lawmakers
in
Connecticut
have
joined
other
state
legislators
in
seeking
to
establish
a
process
to
ensure
public
marketing
of
certain
real
estate
listings.
Connecticut
legislators
introduced
Senate
Bill
340
last
week,
sponsored
by
the
Insurance
and
Real
Estate
Committee,
which
is
a
bipartisan
committee
composed
of
both
state
senators
and
representatives.
A
public
hearing
on
the
bill
was
held
on
Tuesday.
Under
the
bill,
any
real
estate
agent
representing
a
seller
or
a
landlord
involving
the
seller
or
landlord’s
residential
property
containing
one
to
four
units
must
“publicly
advertise
or
market
the
seller’s
or
landlord’s
property
for
sale
or
lease,
unless
the
seller
or
landlord
completes
and
signs
the
Seller/Landlord
Opt-Out
of
Real
Estate
Public
Marketing
form.”
According
to
the
bill,
public
marketing
includes
publication
of
the
listing
through
any
medium
that
is
“reasonably
accessible
to
the
general
public
and
real
estate
licensees,
that
provides
open
and
nondiscriminatory
access
to
property
information.”
Additionally,
the
bill
states
that
if
a
property
is
marketed
through
a
private
or
limited
access
channel,
concurrent
marketing
through
a
public
channel
must
also
occur.
The
bill
says
this
will
“promote
transparency
and
ensure
open
and
nondiscriminatory
access
to
property
information
for
all
prospective
buyers
or
tenants.
The
bill
also
includes
a
proposed
version
of
the
seller-opt
out
form.
Through
the
form,
the
seller
or
landlord
must
acknowledge
that
by
not
publicly
marketing
their
listing,
prospective
buyers
may
not
be
aware
that
the
property
is
for
sale
and
that
the
limited
exposure
may
limit
the
number
of
offers
they
receive
or
lower
the
sales
price
on
the
property.
The
form
also
states
that
“excluding
or
limiting
the
ability
for
prospective
buyers
to
tour
the
property
may
not
be
in
the
Seller’s
best
financial
interest.”
Hawaii
bill
A
similar
bill
in
Hawaii
also
faced
a
hearing
on
Tuesday.
Known
as
Hawaii
Senate
Bill
2806,
the
bill
was
introduced
in
late
January
and
amended
in
mid-February.
The
bill
is
sponsored
by
four
democratic
state
senators:
Donovan
Cruz,
Michelle
Kidani,
Rachele
Frenandez
Lamosao
and
Chris
Lee.
If
the
bill
is
signed
into
law,
no
real
estate
broker
in
Hawaii
would
be
allowed
to
list
or
offer
the
sale
or
lease
of
a
residential
property
to
a
limited
or
exclusive
group
of
buyers,
brokers
or
agents,
unless
the
property
is
also
marketed
to
the
general
public
at
the
same
time.
However,
the
bill
does
provide
a
carve
out,
allowing
agents
and
sellers
to
use
private
marketing
techniques
when
they
are
“reasonably
necessary
to
protect
the
health
or
safety
or
the
owner
or
occupant.”
These
two
bills
join
similar
ones
introduced
in
both
Washington
and
Illinois
in
recent
months.
All
four
of
these
bills
could
potentially
hamper
any
possible
uptick
in
private
listing
network
usage
by
real
estate
brokers.
The
lawmakers
sponsoring
these
bills,
as
well
as
Connecticut
Realtors
and
Hawaii
Association
of
Realtors,
did
not
immediately
return
HousingWire’s
request
for
comment.
