InfoBytes Blog
West Virginia enacts act to prevent unfair real estate service agreements
Recently, West Virginia passed a new law, HB 5346, titled the Unfair Real Estate Services Agreements Act (the “Act”). This new Act will amend the Code of West Virginia with respect to real estate service agreements. The Act would make the entering into of an “Unfair Real Estate Services Agreement” a deceptive act, including any real estate services agreement between a licensed real estate service provider and a consumer that included terms that would purport to run with the land or be binding to future owners of interest, purport to create a property lien, allow for assignment of the contract without timely notification to the owner of the property, or create a listing agreement for a property that has been listed for over a year past its listing date. Under the law, any unfair real estate service agreement created after the bill’s effective date would be void, and parties may bring a civil action against a real estate service provider. The Act will go into effect on June 6.