Steve Strode, Real Estate Commissioner - December 2021
Q: What does the law require?
A: A seller's agent must reject any communication, including photographs, provided by a prospective buyer other than documents that are customary in a real estate transaction.
Q: Does the law govern the actions of buyer, buyer's agents, or sellers?
A: No.
Q: When does the law go into effect?
A: January 1, 2022. A lawsuit challenging the law has been filed. Unless the court issues an injunction to stop the law from being enforced while the lawsuit is pending, the new law will come into effect on January 1 as planned.
Q: What documents does the Agency consider to be “customary"?
A: Customary documents include disclosure forms, sales agreements, counter offer(s), addenda, and reports.
Q: Are lender preapproval letters for financed transaction, or verification of funds for cash transactions, considered customary documents that may be accepted by a seller's agent?
A: Yes. The residential real estate sale agreement most commonly used in Oregon includes options for the prospective buyer to note “Buyer has attached a copy of a Pre-Approval Letter from Buyer's Lender" or “Buyer to provide verification of readily available funds…."
Q: May a cover letter written by a buyer's agent explaining the prospective buyer's interest in the property be accepted by a seller's agent?
A: Yes.
Q: What prevents a seller from using other sources of information to discriminate in a purchase decision?
A: It is illegal to discriminate on the basis of a protected class in the sale of residential real estate. A seller should exercise caution in seeking out information regarding these characteristics of buyers to ensure their decisions regarding the transaction are not based on a protected class. For more information about Oregon's fair housing laws, see the
Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries fair housing webpage
Q: How will the agency address complaints about violations of the law?
A: The Agency's approach to responding to complaints is outlined in
Oregon Administrative Rules Chapter 863, Division 27. Complaints related to this new provision would be treated like any other relating to violations of affirmative duties, which follow the steps described in rule. (See OAR 863-027-0010 to learn more.) The Agency has a long established progressive disciplinary process as described in OAR 863-027-0020. The goal of progressive discipline is to correct a licensee's inappropriate behavior, deter the licensee from repeating the conduct, and educate the licensee to improve compliance with applicable statutes and rules.