5881418 Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, Department of - Notice of Final Rulemaking - Amending 17 DCMR 26 & 27, regulations on Real Estate Code of Ethics and Real Estate Guaranty and Education Fund Assesment

DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS

 

NOTICE OF FINAL RULEMAKING

 

The Director of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, pursuant to the authority set forth in the Second Omnibus Regulatory Reform Amendment Act of 1999, effective April 20, 1999 (D.C. Law 12-261; D.C. Official Code § 47-2853.10(a)(12) (2015 Repl.)), Mayor’s Order 2000-70, dated May 2, 2000, and Mayor’s Order 2009-11, dated February 2, 2009, hereby gives notice of the adoption of amendments to Chapter 26 (Real Estate Licenses) and Chapter 27 (Real Estate Practice and Hearings) of Title 17 (Business, Occupations, and Professionals) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR).

 

This rulemaking expands a licensee’s ethical obligation to disclose a financial interest in real property to the parties involved in a transaction. Also, this rulemaking increases the amount of the maximum balance of funds that can be held in the Real Estate Guaranty and Education Fund, which is maintained by the Real Estate Commission for the purpose of providing educational services to real estate licensees and redress to consumers who have been harmed by real estate professionals in the District.

 

No comments were received and no changes were made to the rules as published in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on December 18, 2015 at 62 DCR 016122.  The DCRA Director adopted these rules as final on January 21, 2016, and they shall become effective on the date of the publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.

 

Chapter 26, REAL ESTATE LICENSES, of Title 17 DCMR, BUSINESS, OCCUPATIONS, AND PROFESSIONALS, is amended as follows:

 

Section 2609, CODE OF ETHICS FOR REAL ESTATE BROKERS, REAL ESTATE SALESPERSONS, AND PROPERTY MANAGERS, is amended as follows:

 

Subsection 2609.13 is amended to read as follows:

 

2609.13                      A licensee shall disclose in writing to all parties to a real estate transaction any ownership or financial interest in the property that is the subject of the real estate transaction held directly or indirectly by the licensee, an immediate member of the licensee’s family, the licensee’s firm, or a member of the licensee’s firm.

 

Chapter 27, REAL ESTATE PRACTICE AND HEARINGS, is amended as follows:

 

Section 2704, REAL ESTATE GUARANTY AND EDUCATION FUND ASSESSMENT, is amended as follows:

 

Subsection 2704.3 is amended to read as follows:

 

2704.3             The Fund shall, at all times, be maintained with a balance of no less than one million forty thousand dollars ($1,040,000) and not more than five million dollars ($5,000,000).