Senate Bill 690 is a broad real estate and business law measure that makes four main changes. First, it updates North Carolina’s Appraisers Act to recognize the Appraiser Qualifications Board’s PAREA pathway as an alternative way for certified residential appraiser applicants to meet experience requirements, allowing applicants to complete an approved program and submit 15 appraisals for board review. That appraiser provision is temporary and is set to repeal on December 31, 2030.
Second, the bill changes real estate brokerage registration rules so a salesman or broker may be registered with more than one dealer when those dealers are under common ownership or control, or when otherwise allowed by rule or order. Third, it clarifies what out-of-pocket expenses and litigation costs a landlord may recover from a tenant, including court filing fees, service-of-process costs, and certain attorneys’ fees, and it applies that clarification retroactively to September 9, 2024. Fourth, it authorizes a broker acting as an agent in a real estate transaction to use a preprinted offer or sales contract form that includes commission or compensation terms, including forfeiture of earnest money, and directs the Real Estate Commission to adopt conforming rules.
The bill’s impact is mainly on the licensing, regulatory, and contract practices of appraisers, real estate brokers, landlords, tenants, and the Real Estate Commission. It amends Chapters 93E, 78A, and 42 of the General Statutes and creates a temporary pathway for appraiser licensure, a more flexible broker registration structure for affiliated dealers, expanded landlord cost recovery language, and express authority for commission-related contract provisions in offers and sales contracts.
The general sentiment around the bill appears strongly favorable and largely noncontroversial. The recorded votes were overwhelmingly in favor in both chambers, including unanimous or near-unanimous procedural and second-reading votes, and the bill was ultimately ratified and signed into law. The absence of committee transcript debate also suggests the measure moved with limited public disagreement.
The main points of contention, to the extent they can be inferred from the text, are likely to center on the landlord-tenant and real estate compensation provisions. Tenant advocates could view the expanded recovery of attorneys’ fees and litigation costs as increasing eviction-related burdens, while real estate professionals may see the broker and compensation provisions as clarifying and modernizing practice. The temporary PAREA appraiser pathway may also draw attention from those concerned about maintaining traditional supervision standards versus expanding entry into the profession.
The bill amends North Carolina law governing real estate appraisers, real estate brokerage registration, landlord recovery of eviction-related costs, and real estate offer-and-sales contract practices. It adds statutory definitions and a temporary licensure pathway under the Appraisers Act, permits multiple dealer registrations for associated brokers under common ownership or control, clarifies landlord recoverable expenses in summary ejectment matters, and authorizes commission-related compensation language in preprinted offer forms while directing the Real Estate Commission to adopt conforming rules. It affects applicants for appraiser certification, real estate brokers and dealers, landlords and tenants, and the Real Estate Commission.
The bill appears to have enjoyed broad bipartisan support and little visible opposition. The vote history shows strong majorities in both chambers, including unanimous or near-unanimous votes at several stages, and the bill was ratified and signed into law. With no committee transcripts provided, there is no evidence of sustained controversy in the recorded legislative discussion.
The most likely areas of disagreement are the landlord-tenant fee provisions and the real estate compensation language. The landlord section expands the types of actual out-of-pocket expenses and attorneys’ fees that may be recovered from tenants, which could be viewed as favoring landlords in eviction disputes. The broker/offer-form provisions may raise concerns about commission disclosure, earnest money forfeiture, and how compensation terms are presented in real estate transactions. The appraiser PAREA provision is less contentious on its face, but it changes the traditional experience model and could prompt debate over training standards versus workforce access.