New York State Governor David Paterson has signed into law amendments to the state’s real estate agency disclosure law to take effect on January 1, 2011, which will permit consumers to give their advance consent to dual agency representation.
Previously, verbal consent for agency disclosure was accepted for multifamily buildings over four units. The new law specifies that a written agency disclosure form must be used for all residential transactions.
“These amendments will ensure that brokers and consumers are legally protected by requiring written disclosure in all residential transactions,” said Neil Garfinkel, residential counsel of The Real Estate Board of New York.
REBNY, which worked with the state legislature, sought to ensure that the “advanced consent measure” be included so that brokers, who show numerous listings to potential buyers, would not need to have separate agency disclosure forms prior to showing each listing. The group says the law “provides additional safeguards for sellers, buyers, tenants, landlords and brokers to ensure that transactions move forward fairly.”
The board will be holding multiple seminars in the Fall to educate its members to the nuances of the revised disclosure form before it goes into effect.
