The coming of new laws is an annual summer tradition for us here at Virginia REALTORS®, and also for you as licensees. However, a less-regular occurrence is happening this year, one which might have just as much of an impact on your business. A set of updated and revised regulations (“regs”) from DPOR will become effective on April 1 of this year. Here are the main things you should know. 

First, the general goal of the regs rewrite was to condense and streamline them. As part of that, a lot of the content that was already covered in the Virginia Code was removed from the regs. For example, one of the most-cited regulations is 18 VAC 135-20-165, which covers duties of the supervising broker. Instead of simply listing the duties in the regulations, they now direct viewers to the code section that lists those duties (specifically § 54.1-2110.1).  

That same regulation has also been updated to include mandatory elements required for the supervision of agents. These include following the duties set out in the Code as well as ensuring that only licensees perform licensed activities, supervising brokerage services in a timely manner, and acting with reasonable diligence in responding to inquiries from cooperating brokers. 

There are also a few updates to the escrow section. Here, DPOR fully repealed the old regulation (18 VAC 135-20-180) and replaced it with a new section (18 VAC 135-20-181). Just as with the supervising broker regulation, this new section now leaves the detailed compliance obligations in the Code and simply refers to them. Significantly, the new regulations no longer require that brokers report escrow noncompliance to VREB within three business days. 

The advertising regulations were also tweaked. Instead of making a distinction between electronic and “other” advertising, there is now a universal standard that requires all advertising by a firm or affiliated licensee to contain the firm’s name and the office contact information. What that “contact information” is, and any additional requirements must now be specified in the firm’s written policies. The update also removes the “one click away” requirement. 

There are many other changes that are part of this update, so be sure to watch your emails for additional education opportunities from Virginia REALTORS®.  Mark your calendars for Thursday, March 12th, at 2:00 p.m. when we present a live webinar on the new regs.