West Virginia House Bill HB4492

West Virginia 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/19/26
• Refer: 1/19/26
• Refer: 1/20/26

Caption

Limiting broker deposits to $500

Summary

HB4492 amends the West Virginia Real Estate License Act provisions governing broker trust fund accounts. The bill changes the amount a licensed real estate broker may place in a trust fund account for the broker’s own money to maintain a minimum balance, increasing that cap from $100 to $500. The rest of the trust-account framework remains in place, including requirements that brokers deposit client-related funds such as earnest money, security deposits, rental receipts, and escrowed closing funds into insured financial institution accounts and maintain records subject to inspection by the Real Estate Commission. The measure is narrowly focused on broker trust accounts and does not alter the broader duties of brokers to segregate client funds, avoid commingling, or comply with commission oversight. It also leaves intact the rules on account authorization, financial institution certifications, notice requirements, and inspection authority. In practical terms, the bill gives brokers more flexibility to keep a slightly larger personal buffer in the account to satisfy minimum balance requirements or avoid account maintenance issues.

Impact

The bill would amend West Virginia Code §30-40-18 by raising the statutory maximum amount of a broker’s own funds that may be deposited into a trust fund account from $100 to $500. This change affects licensed real estate brokers and the financial institutions that hold trust accounts, but it does not change the treatment of client funds or the commission’s supervisory authority over trust accounts. The bill’s caption in the context materials describes the measure as limiting broker deposits, while the bill text and note describe it as increasing the maximum amount of broker deposits, indicating the operative change is the higher permitted personal deposit amount.

Sentiment

The available context suggests the bill is technical and likely noncontroversial, with no recorded committee debate or votes in the materials provided. The stated purpose is administrative rather than policy-driven, and the change appears intended to help brokers maintain compliant trust accounts. Because there is no transcript or voting history, there is no evidence of organized opposition or support beyond the bill’s introduction and referral.

Contention

No specific contention is documented in the provided materials. The only potentially notable issue is the apparent mismatch between the context caption, which says the bill is “Limiting broker deposits to $500,” and the bill text, which clearly changes the allowable broker-owned minimum-balance deposit from $100 to $500. If any concern were to arise, it would likely center on whether allowing brokers to keep more of their own money in trust accounts could affect the clarity of account segregation or compliance oversight, but that concern is not reflected in the record provided.