What Is Real Estate Compliance?
Real estate compliance refers to following the legal and regulatory requirements for your property management firm. These rules detail licensing, accounting, advertising requirements, fair housing laws, and more. Compliance also ensures properties are safe and accessible for everyone and helps maintain professional standards.
Rules Change State to State
One of the biggest challenges in real estate compliance is that the rules shift depending on your properties' locations. Rules and regulations in California look completely different from those in Texas or Florida.
If you are operating the same way in every jurisdiction, you are not compliant. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, stay current with state requirements, and adjust your policies and procedures accordingly.
Federal standards that overlay state regulations should be considered as well. Knowing how these levels of law interact can save you time, money, and legal headaches.
What Real Estate Compliance Should Cover
Compliance isn’t limited to paperwork. It extends to everything on and around the property. For example, banking requirements vary – does the bank need to be in the state or just licensed to do business in the state? What information needs to be included in advertising in a particular state?
Fair housing laws ensure every person is treated equally, regardless of race, gender, disability, or family status. These laws apply to leasing, advertising, and screening.
It is imperative to know compliance requirements in each state and ensure they are carried out from a corporate level to the front lines in the leasing office.
Which Real Estate Laws Are Most Often Violated?
Several regulations are commonly overlooked, especially by those new to the industry or managing large portfolios. Understanding these can help you reduce risk:
- Fair housing violations: Includes discriminatory language in listings or unequal treatment of applicants
- Licensing violations: Brokers and property managers must have up-to-date licenses for each state they operate in and post the appropriate licenses onsite.
- Advertising: If you are operating under a name other than the licensed entity, this must be filed and coordinated appropriately.
- Banking: The bank(s) used must fit required state criteria and accounting practices must line up with state requirements.
These issues can stem from simple oversight or a misinterpretation of the law. Staying informed and organized is essential.
Why Choose Lariat Realty Advisors to Provide the Materials You Need?
Think of Lariat Realty Advisors as your interpreter for the varying rules and regulations of each jurisdiction.
At Lariat Realty Advisors, we understand the real estate industry’s compliance challenges. We work to give real estate property management firms the tools to stay abreast of regulations and protect their investments.
Lariat specializes in helping firms navigate the licensure and compliance requirements for the jurisdictions where we are licensed. Whether you are concentrated in a few states or present across the United States, we tailor our compliance materials to fit your needs.
What sets us apart is our proactive approach to helping you prevent problems. We equip you with everything necessary to stay compliant and keep your property operating smoothly, from checklists and state compliance manuals to alerts about changing laws.
Essential Checklist
A proactive compliance strategy should include the following essentials:
- Internal compliance audit: Review all policies, procedures, and records on a recurring basis..
- Training programs: Educate staff on fair housing laws, safety standards, and ethical practices..
- Review advertising: Ensure advertising includes the licensed entity name or DBA, and includes the required items per state rules and regulations.
- Banking Setup: Make sure that your accounts are named properly, in a bank that meets the requirements set by the Real Estate Commission, and that reconciliations follow state rules.
Lariat partners with you to help ensure the firm and employees have access to and abide by rules and regulations. When you make compliance part of your daily operations, you proactively protect your properties, serve your community, and avoid unnecessary risks.