Bill
HB 13
HB 13 prohibits showing an individual buyer's name on single-family residential sale contracts before seller acceptance, aiming to reduce bias when a broker is involved.
Status & Timing
- Introduced (prefiled Oct 29, 2024; first read Jan 8, 2025). Referred to Environment & Transportation. Public hearing scheduled Jan 28 at 2:00 p.m.
- Effective date in the bill: October 1, 2026. The bill applies prospectively and does not affect residential contracts executed before that date.
Purpose / Intent
- The bill declares the General Assembly’s intent to reduce intentional and unintentional bias in housing transactions by removing an individual buyer’s name from single‑family residential contracts of sale prior to seller acceptance. It aims to limit access to buyer-identifying information that may reveal membership in protected classes.
Key provisions
- Scope: Applies only to contracts of sale for single‑family residential real property when an individual buyer is represented by, or uses the services of, a real estate broker.
- Prohibition: A residential contract of sale may not contain the name of an individual buyer prior to the seller’s acceptance of the contract.
- Buyer attestations: Before or during preparation of the contract, the individual buyer must execute with the buyer’s broker either:
- a buyer–broker agreement; or
- an unrepresented‑buyer agreement that (a) identifies the buyer as an individual and (b) contains statements that the buyer has not misrepresented their individual status, has no fraud conviction for a misrepresentation in connection with a residential purchase, and intends to occupy the property as their principal residence.
- Exceptions / Limits: The prohibition does not apply to purchases by corporate or other business entities or to fiduciaries acting for third parties.
- Non‑interference with other requirements: The bill explicitly does not change identification requirements:
- for deeds or other instruments offered for recording;
- in mortgage applications, mortgages, or deeds of trust;
- for a buyer’s initials on the contract as required by the statute of frauds; or
- to include the buyer’s name on the contract at the time the seller accepts the contract.
Who is affected
- Primary: individual homebuyers purchasing single‑family residences with broker assistance, real estate brokers and brokerages who will modify pre‑contract procedures and forms.
- Secondary: sellers, title/closing agents, lenders (mortgage/mortgage‑application rules still apply), and housing‑policy stakeholders interested in fair housing outcomes.
- Not affected: corporate purchasers, fiduciary purchases for third parties, and contracts already executed before the effective date.
Fiscal and administrative impact
- Fiscal note indicates no material effect on State or local finances; administrative impact on brokers is expected to be minimal (new forms/agreements and altered contract templates).
Practical implications / considerations
- Real estate brokers will need to obtain the required buyer agreements and may adapt contract templates to omit buyer names until acceptance.
- The bill seeks to reduce pre‑acceptance discrimination based on information accessible from a buyer’s name, but it does not change post‑acceptance documentation, recording, or lending identification practices. Enforcement mechanisms and remedies are not specified in the bill text.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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