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1996 SESSION
964161701Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 54.1-2105 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 54.1-2105. General powers of Real Estate Board; regulations; educational and experience requirements for licensure.
A. The Board may do all things necessary and convenient for carrying into effect the provisions of this chapter and may promulgate necessary regulations.
B. The Real Estate Board shall include in its regulations
educational requirements as conditions for licensure to ensure the protection
of the public interest. The Board is authorized to regulate any school which is
established to offer real estate courses except such schools as are regulated
by another state agency. Such authority shall include, but not be limited to,
qualification of instructors, approval of course curricula and the requirement
that such schools submit evidence of financial responsibility to ensure that
these schools protect the public health, safety and welfare. The Board shall
have the discretion to waive any requirement under the regulations relating to
education or experience when the broker or salesperson is found to have
education or experience equivalent to that required. No regulation imposing
educational requirements for initial licensure beyond those specified by law
shall apply to any person who was licensed prior to July 1, 1975, and who has
been continuously licensed since that time, except that licensure as a
salesperson prior to such time shall not exempt a salesperson who seeks to be
licensed as a broker from the educational requirements established for brokers.
Regulations promulgated by the Board shall include the following requirements:
1. a. Every applicant to the Real Estate Board for an initial license as
a real estate salesperson shall have completed a course in the principles of
real estate which carried an academic credit of at least three semester hours
or six quarter hours (but not less than forty-five hours of classroom or
correspondence or other distance learning instruction hours in
either any case). The course shall be one offered by an
accredited university, college, community college, high school offering adult
distributive education courses, or other school or educational institution
offering an equivalent course.
b. However, on and after January 1, 1991, the academic credit required for the initial license as a real estate salesperson shall be at least four semester hours, but not less than sixty classroom or correspondence hours.
2. Every applicant to the Real Estate Board for an initial license as a
real estate broker shall have completed not less than twelve hours of
classroom or correspondence or other distance learning instruction
semester hours in real estate courses offered by an accredited
university, college, community college, or other school or educational
institution offering equivalent courses.
C. The Board shall establish criteria, including appropriate testing
procedures, for the purpose of correspondence courses upon a showing by the
applicant that classroom courses are not available in a reasonable geographical
proximity to the applicant's residence or business location in the
Commonwealth to ensure that prelicensure and broker licensure courses
meet the standards of quality deemed by the Board to be necessary to protect
the public interests. For correspondence and other distance learning
instruction offered by an approved provider, such criteria may include
appropriate testing procedures.
Noncollegiate institutions shall not be authorized to grant collegiate semester hours for academic credit.
The specific content of the real estate courses shall be in real estate brokerage, real estate finance, real estate appraisal, real estate law, and such related subjects as are approved by the Board.
D. The Board shall include in its regulations educational requirements
as a condition for relicensure of brokers and salespersons to whom active
licenses have been issued by the Board beyond those now specified by law as
conditions for licensure. Brokers and salespersons to whom active licenses have
been issued by the Board shall be required to satisfactorily complete courses
of not less than eight hours of classroom or correspondence or other
distance learning instruction hours during each licensing term, no
less than two hours of which shall include training in fair housing laws and
recent developments in federal, state and local real estate law state
real estate laws and regulations. If the licensee submits a notarized
affidavit to the Board which certifies that he does not practice residential
real estate and shall not do so during the licensing term, training in fair
housing shall not be required; instead; such licensee shall receive training in
other applicable federal and state discrimination laws and regulations.
The remaining six hours shall include real estate-related subjects as are
approved by the Board. For correspondence and other distance learning
instruction offered by an approved provider, the Board shall establish the
appropriate testing procedures to verify completion of the course and require
the licensee to file a notarized affidavit certifying compliance with the
course requirements. The Board shall not require testing for continuing
education courses completed through classroom instruction. For purposes of
this chapter, "distance learning" means instruction delivered by an approved
provider through a medium other than a classroom setting. Such courses
shall be those offered by an accredited university, college, community college,
high school offering adult distributive education courses, other school or
educational institution, or real estate professional association or related
entities.
E. As of July 1, 1990, every applicant for relicensure as an active salesperson or broker shall complete the continuing education requirements prior to each renewal or reinstatement of his license. The continuing education requirement shall also apply to inactive licensees who make application for an active license. Notwithstanding this requirement, military personnel called to active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States may complete the required continuing education within six months of their release from active duty.
F. The Board shall also include in its regulations remedial educational requirements for any salesperson or broker who has been inactive for more than three years. The regulations shall require the applicant to meet the educational requirements for a salesperson or broker in effect at the time either becomes active.
G. When the license has been inactive for more than three years the
Board may waive the educational requirements for reactivation of a license
under the following conditions: (i) during the time the license has been
inactive the holder of such inactive license has been engaged in an occupation
whereby the knowledge of real estate would be retained; or (ii) the
holder of such license is a member of or the spouse of a member of the
Armed Forces of the United States who has been permanently assigned outside
Virginia for a portion of the time the license has been inactive and the holder
of the inactive license remained current in the field of real estate and
demonstrates this fact to the satisfaction of the Board.
H. The Board shall develop a residential property disclaimer statement form and a residential property disclosure statement form for use in accordance with the provisions of § 55-519.