The Texas Real Estate Broker-Lawyer Committee met for more than six hours on June 13, covering topics ranging from legislative session outcomes and whether they affect TREC forms, considered a draft water rights notice, and discussed how license holders have implemented the changes to Paragraph 12.

New Law Changes Temporary Lease Forms

Governor Greg Abbott signed SB 2349, which is effective September 1, 2025. The law excepts temporary residential leases and short-term leases from the obligation to provide the landlord notice related to flooding. The committee discussed redlines for the three forms affected by the law: Seller’s Temporary Residential Lease, Buyer’s Temporary Residential Lease, and Landlord’s Floodplain and Flood Notice.

Sunset Advisory Commission and Disclosure Working Group Update

BLC members discussed the Sunset Advisory Commission report and its management actions, which included directives to add questions to the TREC Seller’s Disclosure Notice and to provide buyers with information about groundwater and surface water rights. The BLC’s Disclosure Working Group has been drafting a water rights disclosure form and other contract changes in response to these management actions.

Groundwater and Surface Water Rights

BLC Co-Chair Ron Walker summarized the working group’s discussion of the draft Water Notice: Seller’s Disclosure About Groundwater and Surface Water Rights and related changes to the contract forms.

The purpose of the new form is for sellers to disclose their knowledge of groundwater and surface water rights on their property, including whether the property is in a groundwater district, if it has water wells, and information related to surface water and water courses, among other information.

See page 12 of the BLC Meeting Materials document for the draft form and pages 15-79 for related additions to existing contract forms. BLC will continue its discussion of these drafts during its July 11 meeting.

TREC Seller’s Disclosure Notice

Section 5.008 of the Texas Property Code provides the minimum information required to be in a seller’s disclosure notice. Historically, the committee has not recommended the addition of information to the TREC Seller’s Disclosure Notice beyond what is outlined specifically in statute. However, the request from the Sunset Advisory Commission led to a discussion of how to best address its directives.

Ultimately, BLC drafted revisions to the TREC Seller’s Disclosure Notice in line with the directives, so that TREC Commissioners may determine if it is appropriate to depart from the historical practice.

Changes to Paragraph 12A and Page 10 Disclosure

Considering comments received, the committee discussed Paragraph 12A of the contract forms and compensation issues. The committee recommended changes to Paragraph 12A(1)(b) and (c) to read as follows:

(b) an amount not to exceed $______ or ______% of the Sales Price (check one box only), to be applied toward the brokerage fees owed by Buyer to Buyer’s broker.

(c) an amount not to exceed $______ to be applied to Buyer’s Expenses other than brokerage fees.

Additionally, the committee recommended removing the disclosure at the bottom of Page 10 of the contract forms related to compensation between brokers. BLC will review and discuss updated contract drafts containing these changes at their meeting next month.

What’s Next?

The next BLC meeting is July 11 at 9 a.m. CT. The committee will continue its form draft discussion from June’s meeting as well as deferred topics, including defining "legal holiday," changing the term "Other Broker" in the contract forms to "Buyer Broker," and buyer agreements or showing agreements as outlined in SB 1968, which is a law pending enactment.

Where to Find Meeting Materials

View a recording of the meeting and download related materials.