Miscellaneous: Disclosures, Documents, Fair Housing and Special Property
Area V is five items spread across five subtopics: property disclosures, documents and forms, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, time-shares and community-association property, and rentals and property management.
Property disclosures and mandatory contract terms
The Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law, 68 Pa.C.S. Chapter 73, applies to residential transfers other than fiduciary transfers and qualifying new construction. Section 7303 requires the signed and dated disclosure statement to reach the buyer before the agreement of transfer is signed; section 7310 makes an agent liable only where the agent had actual knowledge of an undisclosed material defect; section 7311 says non-compliance does not invalidate the transfer but gives the buyer actual damages, with a two-year limitation from final settlement. Section 608.2 requires every sales contract to identify the broker's capacity, describe the Recovery Fund with the Commission's telephone number, state the zoning classification unless the property is zoned solely or primarily for single-family dwellings, and warn that public road access may need a highway occupancy permit. Omitting the zoning statement makes the contract voidable at the buyer's option, with deposits returned without court action.
Fair housing under the Human Relations Act
Section 604(a)(22) makes a violation of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, or of an order or consent decree of the Human Relations Commission, a prohibited act where it arose from a discrimination complaint in an area RELRA authorizes. Its illustrative list covers accepting listings on the understanding that illegal discrimination will be practiced, giving false information for purposes of discrimination, and manipulating the location or availability of housing. The State Real Estate Commission keeps its own investigative power, but on an initial complaint it waits: if the Human Relations Commission has not acted within 90 days it may proceed, and on second and subsequent complaints it may act directly.
Time-shares, community associations, and rentals
Section 609 gives a purchaser of a time share or campground membership until midnight of the fifth day after signing to cancel, in bold face type of at least ten point immediately above the signature and separately initialed, with all payments refunded within ten business days and no waiver permitted. Compare section 610, added by Act 52 of 2024, which gives a consumer in a wholesale transaction until midnight of the 30th day after execution or until conveyance, whichever comes first. For rentals, section 511.1 of the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 caps the security deposit at two months' rent in the first year and one month thereafter, and section 511.2 requires deposits over $100 to sit in escrow at a regulated institution, with interest owed to the tenant after the second anniversary less a one per cent annual administrative fee.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission (BPOA)
- Exam vendor
- Pearson VUE
- Prelicensing education
- 240 hours (16 credits) of broker-level real estate education, including 2 credits in a Commission-approved office management course and 2 in a Commission-approved law course
- Passing score
- Scaled score of 75 on each portion
- Scored questions
- 120
- Time limit
- 210 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Pennsylvania?
The Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission, part of the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs in the Department of State, licenses brokers and salespersons under the Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act. The Commission has contracted with Pearson VUE to administer its examinations.
What experience do I need before the Pennsylvania broker exam?
RELRA section 511 requires three years as a licensed salesperson, or educational and experience qualifications the Commission deems equivalent, plus 240 hours of approved broker-level education. Commonwealth Court held in Bhala v. State Real Estate Commission that simply holding a salesperson's license for three years is not by itself enough; 49 Pa. Code section 35.271 requires experience qualifications the Commission considers adequate for practice as a broker.
How is the Pennsylvania broker exam structured?
The broker exam has two separately timed portions: 80 scored national/general questions in 150 minutes and 40 scored Pennsylvania questions in 60 minutes, 120 scored questions over 210 minutes, plus 5 to 10 unidentified pretest questions on each portion. Pearson VUE's handbook lists a minimum passing score of 75 on each portion; scores are scaled to a 0-100 range and are, in the handbook's words, neither the number nor the percentage of questions answered correctly.
Sources: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dos/programs/professional-licensing.html, https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/093900.pdf
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