Tennessee House Bill HB0569

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/29/25
• Refer: 2/5/25
• Refer: 3/18/26
• Refer: 3/25/26
• Engrossed: 3/31/26
• Enrolled: 4/7/26
• Passed: 4/21/26
• Chaptered: 4/27/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 56, Chapter 35 and Title 66, relative to real property transactions.

Summary

HB0569 amends Tennessee law governing real property transactions and title insurance practices. The bill creates new rules for situations where two title insurance agencies separately represent the buyer and seller and agree to share premiums, commissions, or other fees: both agencies must give written notice to the buyer and seller and obtain signed written acknowledgement from both parties. It also prohibits an agency in that arrangement from implying it is assuming or guaranteeing liability for a policy it did not issue, and it makes clear that no agency is required to participate in such a fee-sharing arrangement. The bill also gives the settlement agency named in the purchase contract exclusive authority to act as the issuing title insurance agency in certain residential real estate transactions, subject to any approval rights of a mortgage lender, mortgage loan broker, or mortgage loan servicer. This exclusivity applies only to Tennessee transactions involving one- to four-unit residential property, and it cannot be waived or modified by the parties. The bill excludes first-time sales of new construction and sales by auction, including online auctions. In practical terms, the bill affects title insurance agencies, settlement agencies, buyers, sellers, and mortgage-related entities by regulating who may issue title insurance and how fee-sharing arrangements must be disclosed. It adds new sections to Title 56, Chapter 35 of the Tennessee Code Annotated and takes effect July 1, 2026. The overall sentiment appears favorable, with the bill advancing through committee and floor votes by wide margins. The House Business and Utilities Subcommittee and House Commerce Committee both recommended passage, and the full House passed the measure overwhelmingly, indicating broad support for the bill’s consumer disclosure and transaction-structure provisions. The main points of contention appear to involve market control and transaction flexibility. The bill limits parties’ ability to choose or alter the issuing title insurance agency in covered residential transactions, and it restricts fee-sharing arrangements by requiring disclosure and acknowledgements. The narrow no votes in committee and on the floor suggest some concern about these constraints, though the bill still received strong bipartisan approval.

Impact

HB0569 adds new statutory requirements to Tennessee’s title insurance and real estate settlement framework by creating Sections 56-35-134 and 56-35-135. It regulates disclosure and acknowledgment requirements for title insurance agencies that share premiums, commissions, or other fees, bars agencies from suggesting they assume liability for policies they did not issue, and establishes an exclusive issuing title insurance agency rule for certain residential transactions. The act also carves out exceptions for new construction first sales and auction sales, and it cannot be waived by contract in covered transactions.

Sentiment

The bill’s legislative path suggests generally positive sentiment. It moved through subcommittee and committee with strong support and passed the House by large margins, indicating that lawmakers broadly accepted its consumer-protection and transaction-clarity goals. The limited opposition reflected in a small number of no votes suggests some reservations, but not enough to prevent passage.

Contention

The likely areas of disagreement were the bill’s restrictions on private ordering and market choice. Title insurance and settlement participants may object to the mandatory disclosure regime for fee-sharing and to the rule that the contract-selected settlement agency is exclusively authorized to issue title insurance in covered transactions. Mortgage lenders, brokers, and servicers retain approval rights, but the bill otherwise limits flexibility for buyers, sellers, and agencies, which may explain the small number of dissenting votes.