Commercial real estate: disclosures.

The Real Estate Law provides for the licensure and regulation of real estate brokers by the Real Estate Commissioner and makes a willful violation of that law a crime. Existing law requires the commissioner to enforce all provisions of that law and authorizes the commissioner to adopt, amend, or repeal rules and regulations that are reasonably necessary for the enforcement of that law. Existing law authorizes the commissioner to temporarily suspend or permanently revoke the license of a real estate licensee who has committed specified acts, including making any substantial misrepresentation. This bill would specify that a substantial misrepresentation for purposes of that provision includes, but is not limited to, the inaccurate reporting of, or failure to report, among other things, any and all dues related to ownership of the property, taxes associated with the property, liens on the property, or all ongoing or pending litigation affecting the property. Existing law governing disclosures upon the transfer of residential property requires the transferor of any real property to deliver to the prospective transferee a specified written statement disclosure subject to specified requirements. If any disclosure, or any material amendment of any disclosure, is delivered after the execution of an offer to purchase, existing law requires the transferee to have a specified period of time to terminate his or her offer by delivery of a written notice of termination to the transferor or the transferor's agent. Existing law requires these disclosures to be made on a specified form. This bill would provide for a voluntary certified commercial real property disclosure to be provided by the transferor of commercial real property, as defined, to a prospective transferee. The bill would require any transferor that elects to provide that disclosure to include within the contract for the transfer of the property a provision allowing the transferee to have a specified period of time to terminate his or her offer following receipt of the disclosure. The bill would require the disclosure to be made in good faith and to include specified information regarding the property, and would make any person who willfully or negligently violates or fails to perform any duty imposed by these provisions liable in the amount of actual damages suffered by a transferee, and for any other civil fines or penalties allowed by law. The bill would provide that a violation of these provisions is not punishable as a crime.