Legislation would exempt Realtors from closure during pandemic

Legislation recently introduced in the state Senate would exempt real estate work from Pennsylvania’s business closure order, so long as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines are used to slow the spread of COVID-19.

“As long as real estate workers adhere to social distancing and other mitigation practices, we need to get them back to work,” Boscola said. “Real estate is not only a critical component of our state’s economy, it is a basic necessity for Pennsylvanians,” Sen. Lisa M. Boscola (D-Lehigh/Northampton) said. “Pennsylvania is not on the cutting edge…Every one of our neighboring states allowed realtors to operate with CDC recommendations throughout the crisis. Pennsylvania needs to get the industry open again.”

Boscola introduced the legislation with bipartisan support among its co-prime sponsors.

Under the bill, real estate practices would need to fully comply with the CDC guidelines and follow 11 other rules to be exempt.  The additional rules include that showings can only held after a buyer has viewed the property online and shows a serious interest; purchasers are the only people permitted to attend the showing; both the Realtor and homebuyer must wear masks and stay six feet apart; the Realtor must sanitize any doors or fixtures touched; the seller cannot be home during the showing; documentation to facilitate the sale/lease is done electronically; home inspector may inspect the home alone, but must use video communication with the buyer, and must bring and use sanitary wipes for anything touched; an appraiser can only enter a house once it is under contract and must also use sanitary wipes for any door handles; title companies must adhere to CDC guidelines, and sellers can have documents pre-signed and are not required to attend the closing; open houses are banned; and prior to showing a home, the Realtor, seller and buyer all electronically sign disclosure statements indicating that they are not aware of being exposed to COVID-19.

“My legislation would help get realtors and their important industry back up and running,” Boscola said. “This can be effectively achieved along with precautionary efforts to continue our state’s successful Covid-19 mitigation effort.”