Practice of Real Estate: Disclosures, Fair Housing, Antitrust, and Environmental Issues
Seller and agent disclosures
Montana requires a written property disclosure statement for most residential transfers, with limited statutory exemptions; late or inaccurate delivery can give the buyer a rescission right, so read the contract's timing clauses. Licensees must disclose known material adverse facts and latent defects they are aware of, while avoiding speculation about stigma, neighborhood demographics, or off-site conditions they cannot verify.
Federal disclosure duties include the lead-based paint pamphlet and disclosure for pre-1978 housing. Environmental concerns to recognize: radon, asbestos, mold, underground storage tanks, methamphetamine contamination, and wetlands. Federal CERCLA imposes liability on current owners regardless of fault, and Montana's cleanup statute (CECRA) governs state-supervised remediation.
Fair housing
Federal protected classes: race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, familial status, and disability. Montana's Human Rights Act adds state grounds and provides an administrative complaint route through the Human Rights Bureau in addition to HUD. Watch for steering, discriminatory advertising, refusal to make reasonable accommodations, and occupancy standards that exclude families with children.
Antitrust
Price fixing, group boycotts, market allocation, and tying arrangements violate the antitrust laws. Never discuss commission rates or cooperative splits with competitors; commission is negotiable between broker and client.
Rule of thumb: if a fact would make a reasonable buyer rethink the price or the purchase, disclose it in writing; if the conversation is about what other brokerages charge, end it.