SB 1968 revises the Texas Occupations Code provisions governing real estate brokers, sales agents, and certain certificate holders regulated by the Texas Real Estate Commission. The bill updates the list of qualifying real estate courses, changes education and experience requirements for broker and sales agent licensing, and modifies broker responsibility course requirements for license renewal. It also expands and clarifies notice obligations, including what information must be provided in first substantive communications with parties to a transaction and what address/contact information license holders must keep current with the commission.
The bill adds new rules for brokerage conduct in residential transactions. It authorizes a broker to show property without representing the party under specified conditions, but limits what advice or services may be provided in that setting. It also requires a written agreement before a license holder performs brokerage services for a prospective buyer of residential real property, including before showing property or presenting an offer, and requires the agreement to disclose services, term, exclusivity, compensation, and that compensation is negotiable. The bill also broadens disciplinary grounds for violations of these requirements and updates several existing grounds for suspension or revocation of licenses and certificates.
SB 1968 also makes administrative changes to the commission’s authority. It allows the Texas Real Estate Commission to accept gifts, grants, and donations for activities under the real estate licensing chapters, and it clarifies when the commission may send complaint notices to associated license holders. In addition, it revises disciplinary provisions related to fraud, misrepresentation, discrimination, escrow handling, advertising, and failure to comply with commission rules, while repealing two existing statutory provisions.
The bill’s impact is to tighten and modernize regulation of real estate professionals in Texas, especially around buyer representation, disclosure, and written agreements in residential brokerage. It affects brokers, sales agents, associated brokers, certificate holders, and the commission itself by imposing new compliance duties and giving the commission additional enforcement tools. The changes apply prospectively, with different effective-date rules for complaints, applications, renewals, and conduct, and the act takes effect January 1, 2026.
The overall sentiment appears strongly favorable and largely noncontroversial. The bill passed the Senate unanimously and the House by a wide margin, with only a small number of مخالف votes in the House and no recorded opposition in the Senate. The voting pattern suggests broad bipartisan support for the regulatory updates and consumer-protection measures. The main points of contention, to the extent they appear in the text and vote history, are the new written-agreement requirement before showing residential property and the expanded disclosure/disciplinary obligations for license holders, which increase compliance burdens on brokers and agents.
SB 1968 amends multiple sections of Chapter 1101 of the Occupations Code and related provisions governing Texas real estate licensing and discipline. It changes education standards for broker and sales agent applicants, updates broker responsibility training, expands required disclosures to consumers, creates new rules for non-represented property showings and written buyer agreements, and broadens grounds for disciplinary action by the Texas Real Estate Commission. It also repeals two existing provisions and includes transition rules so the new requirements apply only to future applications, renewals, complaints, and conduct as specified.
The bill appears to have been received positively overall, with broad support in both chambers. It passed the Senate 31-0 and later the House by 138-5, then the Senate concurred in the House amendment 31-0. That voting pattern indicates the bill was viewed as a routine but meaningful update to real estate regulation rather than a highly divisive measure.
The most notable substantive tension is between consumer-protection goals and the added compliance obligations for real estate professionals. The new requirement for a written agreement before a broker may perform brokerage services for a prospective buyer of residential property, along with limits on showing property without representation, could be seen as increasing paperwork and formalizing buyer-broker relationships. Likewise, the expanded disclosure duties and disciplinary grounds may concern brokers and sales agents, while supporters likely view them as improving transparency, accountability, and consumer clarity in real estate transactions.