The Texas Real Estate Commission’s Broker-Lawyer Committee (BLC) met on January 8–9, 2026, to review and recommend updates to the agency’s contract forms. The committee discussed changes aimed at clarifying and reorganizing several sections of the contracts used in real estate transactions across Texas.
One key area addressed was broker compensation. The BLC proposed revisions to Paragraph 12, which would reorganize section 12A(1) and introduce a new section, 12B, specifically focused on brokerage compensation. Additionally, the committee recommended removing Paragraph 8B from the forms.
The committee also suggested updates to Paragraph 21 regarding notices. The revised language aims to clarify acceptable delivery methods for notices and specifies that they are effective when sent either to a party or that party’s agent. It also provides more options for including contact information for buyers, sellers, and agents.
To improve usability, the BLC recommended consolidating all addenda and notices into Paragraph 22 of the contract forms. These would be organized under clearly labeled categories: Financial, Leases, Additional Tests and Reports, Statutory Disclosures and Notices, and Other. References requiring addenda attachments were removed from Paragraph 6; one subsection—Paragraph 6(E)(12)—was eliminated to reduce redundancy.
In response to federal reporting requirements such as those by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the committee recommended language in Paragraph 20 that would require buyers and sellers to promptly provide any information requested by escrow agents for governmental reporting purposes. Under these changes, buyers would be responsible for any charges related to gathering or reporting this information.
Changes were also proposed concerning back-up contracts. Specifically, an amendment was recommended so that the effective date of a back-up contract becomes the date when the seller delivers notice of termination of a prior contract—not when the buyer receives it as previously stated. A new form titled Seller’s Notice to Buyer of Removal of Contingency under Addendum for ‘Back-Up’ Contract was drafted; its use would be voluntary.
Other updates include recommending that “generator” be added as a term in Paragraph 2B of contract forms and further revising draft language about water-related disclosures in Paragraph 7I.
The updated drafts will be forwarded to the Texas Real Estate Commission at its next meeting in February with a request that they be proposed for public comment. If adopted after this process, these changes could take effect as early as June 2026.
Materials from this meeting are available for download along with minutes documenting all recommendations made by the committee. The remaining Broker-Lawyer Committee meetings scheduled for this year are April 10, July 10, and October 9.
