Legislative Wins
NC REALTORS® PAC is effective because we work across party lines to enact legislation that protects the real estate industry, homeowners, the economy, and property rights. These legislative victories speak volumes to the impact of your investment.
Thanks to investors, NC REALTORS® has had numerous successful advocacy years on essential topics that impact your clients, your business, and your industry. Check out just some of our wins over the past 10+ years!
2007
- Transfer Taxes: Prevented county governments from enacting transfer taxes unilaterally on real estate. Defeated 24 transfer tax referenda.
2009
- Private Transfer Fees: Prevented allowance of fees upon transfer due to investors, previous developers or owners which were not the current seller, other than fees to homeowners’ associations.
- Appraisal Management: Passed the first state legislation regulating Appraisal Management Companies to protect our appraisers and consumers.
2010
- Inspections: Streamlined home inspections summary documents to only material facts and issues of safety.
2011
- Transfer Taxes: Repealed legislation authorizing referenda on transfer taxes.
- Commercial Broker Lien Law: Passed a bill allowing commercial brokers to file liens on properties to ensure their commission is paid.
2012
- Broker Price Opinion (BPO): Convinced legislators that BPOs aid the consumer.
- Copper Theft: Increased the penalties for criminals who steal copper.
2013
- Mortgage Interest Deduction: Protected the mortgage interest and property tax deductions from elimination. Legislation allows filers to take the standard deduction or itemize their deductions with a cap at a maximum of $20,000. These remained as two of three deductions allowed.
- Tax on Services: Prevented 8.05% tax on real estate services and commissions.
- Transfer Tax: Prevented 1% state transfer tax.
- Business License Tax: Prevented 1.05% tax on all business entity assets regardless of profitability.
2014
- Patent Abuse Legislation: Protected brokers, firms and MLS services through legislation preventing frivolous litigation filings.
2015
- Tax Credits and Grants: Restored state historic preservation tax credit program for income-producing properties and increased funding for film grant program.
- Housing Affordability: Protected tax deductions and improved funding for the Workforce Housing Loan Program and Housing Trust Fund.
- Aesthetic Design: Ended municipal overreach on residential construction and design standards.
2016
- Vacation Rental Act: Improved the state’s act to allow for improved owner/broker responsibility.
- Affordable Housing: Protected tax deductions and improved funding for affordable housing programs in 2016 budget.
- Map Act Changes: Prevented NCDOT from perpetually holding property without just payment to landowners and adjusted fair market payments to property owners in new corridors.
2017
- Various Changes to Revenue Laws: Updated the tax structure for RMI services and linen rentals under residential property rental agreements in response to concerns from the REALTOR® community.
- Appropriations Act of 2017: Required the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) to complete rules regarding clean-up and remediation for underground storage tank removal.
- Repeal Orange County Impact Fees: Repealed impact fees placed on developments in Orange County for use in school construction.
2018
- Recoverable Summary Ejectment Fees: Passed legislation to prevent class action lawsuits preventing the reimbursement of fees when evicting a tenant. Landlords and property managers may now explicitly collect: filing, service, and lawyers’ fees.
- Blight: Passed legislation allowing receivership of vacant properties to clean up blight and put back into the housing and commercial supply.
2019
- Led the coalition to pass Association Healthcare Plans legislation, giving independent contractors an additional option for health insurance.
- Passed legislation to require NC DOT to compile a searchable database of state-maintained roads to provide needed information to consumers.
- Extended the Historic Preservation Tax Credits for an additional four years.
- Repealed the Map Act to compensate property owners for future DOT use.
- Protected property management contracts from taxes on typical services offered by property managers.
2020
- Successfully advocated for continued funding of the Housing Trust Fund and Housing Finance Agency.
- Enacted liability protections for employers and offices to protect them from claims arising from contraction of COVID19.
- Secured a permanent change to the definition of the year-round school calendar to prevent schools from skirting the school calendar law enacted in 2004.
- Passed legislation to allow real estate transactions to continue during the pandemic:
- Legalized remote, video conference notarizations.
- Allowed disbursement of funds prior to deed recording if the Register of Deeds was closed.
2021
- Successfully passed legislation to ensure roads intended for the Department of Transportation (DOT) adoption do not end up abandoned, leaving homeowners’ safety and financial security in jeopardy.
- No new taxes on RE or RE services.
- Helped secure $180 million for Workforce Housing Loan Program through the Housing Finance Agency.
- Ended NC Eviction Moratorium (protecting NC REALTORS® property managers and their landlord clients)
- Negotiated substantial changes to the HOPE Program including allowing landlords to submit a rental assistance application on behalf of the tenant.
- Prevented 30 school calendar bills from becoming law and changing the school calendar law.
- Worked to Contain Insurance Costs (as a direct benefit to all homeowners
2022
- Helped secure $10,660,000 in funding provisions for the Housing Finance Agency and $170,000,000 for Workforce Housing Loan Program.
- Passed HB 776, Remote Online Notarization (RON). North Carolina now joins 39 other states who have passed this necessary legislation that’s a reflection of the technology-based world we live in.
- Worked for the passage of Weston’s Law (HB619), a bill addressing elevator safety by requiring elevators in rental homes eliminate or reduce the space between elevator doors and landing doors.
- Passed the Marketable Title Issues (SB278) legislation. The bill provides changes that are necessary to protect the ability of homeowners’ associations to be able to collect their dues to maintain common areas and key infrastructure.