The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) adopts amendments to 22 TAC §535.218, Continuing Education Required for Renewal, §535.219, Schedule of Administrative Penalties, and §535.220, Professional Conduct and Ethics, in Chapter 535, General Provisions, in Subchapter R, Real Estate Inspectors, without changes to the proposed text, as published in the December 7, 2018, issue of the Texas Register (43 TexReg 7862) and will not be republished. TREC also adopts amendments to 22 TAC §535.208, Application for a License, §535.212, Education and Experience Requirements for a License, and §535.213, Qualifying Real Estate Inspector Instructors and Courses, with changes to the proposed text, as published in the December 7, 2018, issue of the Texas Register (43 TexReg 7862), and will be republished. Non-substantive changes were made to §535.208(c)(B)(2) to remove redundant language and §535.212(f)(2)(B)(iv) to correct a citation. A non-substantive re-numbering correction was also made to §535.212(c).

These amendments remove unused provisions, provide guidance to license holders that is consistent with the statute, and provide a better education for inspector candidates. All of this will ultimately benefit the consumers of inspector services in Texas.

Specifically, the amendments to §535.208, Application for a License, update an incorrect cite; amendments to §535.212, Education and Experience Requirements for a License, and §535.213, Qualifying Real Estate Inspector Instructors and Courses, reorganize and clarify the qualifying education, continuing education, and experience requirements for inspectors, including decreasing the ride-along class size; and remove unused provisions. The amendments to §535.218, Continuing Education Required for Renewal, allow inspectors to receive continuing education credit for courses applicable to inspectors that are taken to satisfy continuing education requirements for an occupational license issued by another Texas governmental body. The amendments to §535.219, Schedule of Administrative Penalties, add a statutory violation that was inadvertently omitted; and in §535.220, Professional Conduct and Ethics tie the section back to the parallel requirements of §531.18, which was recently updated to provide more flexibility for license holders. These amendments are recommended by the Texas Real Estate Inspector Committee. After review of comments received, the Commission changed the amendment proposed in §535.213, Qualifying Real Estate Inspector Instructors and Courses, to increase the maximum number of students in a ride-along course from 2 to 4.

One comment was received on §535.212(g)(1)(B)(ii) from an out-of-state provider requesting that the option not be deleted so his business could offer a future course in the video format. The Texas Real Estate Inspector Committee considered a substantially similar comment from the same person at their December 3, 2018, meeting but declined to recommend a change since no provider had offered a course under that section since it was put in place and the committee agreed that the Ride-Along option has been successful and provides a more effective and comprehensive hands on training than a video option could.

Another comment was received from a provider who stated that reducing the maximum number of students per ride-along course from 10 to 2 would increase the cost to students and potentially discourage entry into the industry. The commenter suggested that a compromise between the two numbers could be an option.

No other comments were received on this re-proposal of the amendments. However, seven comments were received against the amendments in §535.213(g)(1)(C) changing the minimum students in a ride-along course from 10 students to 2 in the first proposal. The commenters stated that reducing the number of students would make the course more expensive and be a barrier to entry. The Texas Real Estate Inspector Committee considered increasing the number up from 2 but declined to recommend a change since the benefits of having a better learning experience with the smaller class size outweighed any potential cost increase. The Committee also pointed out that with the reduction of the number of students the amendment also allows more than one instructor to be present in the training house at one time.

The Commission agreed with the Texas Real Estate Inspector Committee's response to the commenters and adopted all of the amendments as proposed except they increased the maximum number of students allowed per ride-along course from 2 to 4 students to ameliorate the additional cost concerns.

The revisions to the adopted rules do not change the nature or scope so much that they could be deemed different rules. The adopted rules do not affect individuals other than those contemplated by the rule as proposed. The adopted rules do not impose more onerous requirements than the proposed rules.

The amendments are adopted under Texas Occupations Code §1101.151, which authorizes the Texas Real Estate Commission to adopt and enforce rules necessary to administer Chapters 1101 and 1102; and to establish standards of conduct and ethics for its license holders to fulfill the purposes of Chapters 1101 and 1102.