ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2059

ByHouse Consumer Protection & Business (originally sponsored by Representatives Gregerson, Leavitt, Morgan, Vick, Gilday, Rude, Chapman, Barkis, and Lekanoff)

AN ACT Relating to real estate agency law, but only to clarify that the statutory duties of real estate brokers apply to all parties and prohibiting the delivery of buyer unfair practice letters to the seller of residential real estate; and amending RCW 18.86.030.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 18.86.030 and 2013 c 58 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Regardless of whether a broker is an agent, ((the))a broker ((owes to all parties to whom the broker))who renders real estate brokerage services owes the following duties to all parties, which may not be waived:

(a) To exercise reasonable skill and care;

(b) To deal honestly and in good faith;

(c) To present all written offers, written notices and other written communications to and from either party in a timely manner, regardless of whether the property is subject to an existing contract for sale or the buyer is already a party to an existing contract to purchase;

(d) To disclose all existing material facts known by the broker and not apparent or readily ascertainable to a party; provided that this subsection shall not be construed to imply any duty to investigate matters that the broker has not agreed to investigate;

(e) To account in a timely manner for all money and property received from or on behalf of either party;

(f) To provide a pamphlet on the law of real estate agency in the form prescribed in RCW 18.86.120 to all parties to whom the broker renders real estate brokerage services, before the party signs an agency agreement with the broker, signs an offer in a real estate transaction handled by the broker, consents to dual agency, or waives any rights, under RCW 18.86.020(1)(e), 18.86.040(1)(e), 18.86.050(1)(e), or 18.86.060(2) (e) or (f), whichever occurs earliest; and

(g) To disclose in writing to all parties to whom the broker renders real estate brokerage services, before the party signs an offer in a real estate transaction handled by the broker, whether the broker represents the buyer, the seller, both parties, or neither party. The disclosure shall be set forth in a separate paragraph entitled "Agency Disclosure" in the agreement between the buyer and seller or in a separate writing entitled "Agency Disclosure."

(2) Unless otherwise agreed, a broker owes no duty to conduct an independent inspection of the property or to conduct an independent investigation of either party's financial condition, and owes no duty to independently verify the accuracy or completeness of any statement made by either party or by any source reasonably believed by the broker to be reliable.

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