Real Estate

Real estate law governs the sale, lease, use, financing, and encumbrance of land, buildings, and fixtures. State real estate law regulates the sale of residential and commercial property, requiring and overseeing the licensing of all brokers, agents, and appraisers. Standard contract law applies to real estate contracts and listing agreements, but each state has real estate-specific provisions. State real estate laws also mandate that sellers provide a disclosure statement to potential buyers. These real estate law disclosure requirements vary substantially from state to state. The Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act, 42 U.S.C.S. 4852d, requires sellers and lessors of most housing built before 1978 to disclose all available records concerning lead-based paint to buyers and lessees at the time of the sale or lease.

Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, 42 U.S.C.S. §§ 3601-3631 (the Fair Housing Act), prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability. The Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act of 1974, 12 U.S.C.S. § 2601 et seq., requires all federally insured lending institutions to provide buyers with a good faith estimate of the details of all closing costs prior to the closing of the loan. Well-defined bodies of state landlord-tenant law govern all rental transactions. Many of these real estate laws are modeled after the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.