Under existing law, a person holding an equitable interest in real estate, defined as a right in contract or agreement to sell or transfer that real estate, may sell, assign, or offer to assign that right for a fee under certain circumstances without disclosing to the potential buyer that the person is not the deed owner. Also under existing law, it is unlawful for a person to sell real property for a fee unless licensed with the Alabama Real Estate Commission as a broker or salesperson. This bill would provide that a person who holds only an equitable interest in property is not exempt from realtor and broker licensing requirements. This bill would authorize the Alabama Real Estate Commission to initiate disciplinary action and impose penalties for a licensee's failure to disclose certain aspects of the sale or assignment of equitable interests, and failure to include a fixed closing date in an equitable interest contract. This bill would also make nonsubstantive, technical revisions to update the existing code language to current style.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 34-27-2, 34-27-36