Starting October 1, active license holders whose licenses expire will be set to inactive status as of the expiration date, and any license relationships to sales agents and/or brokers will be terminated.

If you late renew—up to six months after your expiration date—your license will be renewed on inactive status.

These changes were adopted during the May TREC Meeting.

Legislation passed by the 88th Texas Legislature requires the Texas Real Estate Commission to update two frequently used forms: the Consumer Protection Notice and the Seller’s Disclosure Notice.

Consumer Protection Notice

What changed? It no longer references the real estate inspection recovery fund, which was repealed this session.

A bill passed by the 88th Texas Legislature requires all licensing agencies, including the Texas Real Estate Commission, to remove or redact certain details about applicants and current and past license holders in publicly available information, such as the TREC website license holder search or via public information requests.

A new rule effective earlier this summer sets a timeline of two calendar days to respond to parties to a real estate transaction you’re involved in. Here’s what you need to know.

What Is the Rule?

535.157, Obligation to Respond Timely

When Did it Go into Effect?

June 11, 2023

During the August 2023 TREC Meeting, the Commission adopted TREC Rule 535.46, Broker Responsibility Advisory Committee, establishing a new committee to advise the Commission on issues relating to broker responsibility. The Commission is seeking to appoint nine members to begin service on January 1, 2024.

During the August 2023 TREC Meeting, commissioners considered rule changes up for adoption, new proposed changes, and conducted emergency rulemaking resulting from the 88th Texas Legislature. Read on for what happened.

Outgoing Volunteers Recognized

Three Broker-Lawyer Committee members were recognized for their service:

The Commission in May adopted revisions to the Real Estate Brokerage and Property Management course approval forms. Beginning October 1, 2023, qualifying education providers may begin submitting course application forms to offer these revised courses.

The Texas Real Estate Inspector Committee (TREIC) met July 17. We received public comments on new items and some comments on some agenda items. It is good to see stakeholders taking an interest in the process and providing input more frequently.

One public comment expressed concern that inspectors are being strongly encouraged to pay brokerages for the opportunity visit their offices or even just talk to their agents.

The Texas Real Estate Commission's Education Standards Advisory Committee (ESAC) is accepting applications to fill two education member positions by real estate instructors or owners of real estate schools, accredited by the Commission, that provide qualifying or continuing education.

Effective October 1, 2023, sales agents renewing their license for the first time—both active and inactive—are required to complete an approved 30-hour Real Estate Brokerage course as part of their 90 hours of Sales Agent Apprentice Education (SAE). This change was adopted during the May Commission meeting.