Emerging Legal Issues in Real Estate

The National Association of Realtors® has published the key findings of a comprehensive study of legal issues and trends in the real estate industry.

Some of the more interesting findings:

• The most common type of real estate dispute being litigated involved property management issues, including debt collection, liability for tenant’s property condition, liability for the condition of a common area, liability for crimes occurring on leased property, and fair-housing claims;
• In nearly three quarters (72 percent) of the real estate court cases in which liability was determined, the real estate brokers or agents involved in the dispute were not held liable;
• Indoor mold continues to be a hot and growing issue for real estate litigation, with more states enacting laws that require disclosure of mold and more court cases being reported;
• Agency disclosure issues are drawing significant legislative attention, with 19 new or amended statutes and regulations regarding the subject being introduced in the past two years; and
• Additional real estate hot topics targeted for increased preventive training include dual agency, breach of fiduciary duty, internet advertising, and anti-solicitation laws.

It is not surprising that indoor mold is becoming more and more of a problem. I cannot imagine moving in to a home and finding a mold problem.