On September 28, 2021, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 948, legislation which contains multiple provisions related to appraisal bias. Beginning July 1, 2022, all California Residential Sales Contracts must include a statement promising that appraisals are unbiased and not influenced by improper or illegal considerations. California refinance transactions must also include the same statement in loan documents provided to borrowers.
Section 1102.6g has been added to the California Civil Code, to read:
1102.6g(a) After July 1, 2022, every contract for the sale of real property shall contain, in no less than 8-point type, the following notice:
“Any appraisal of the property is required to be unbiased, objective, and not influenced by improper or illegal considerations, including, but not limited to, any of the following: race, color, religion (including religious dress, grooming practices, or both), gender (including, but not limited to, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related conditions, and gender identity and gender expression), sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin (including language use and possession of a driver’s license issued to persons unable to provide their presence in the United States is authorized under federal law), source of income, ancestry, disability (mental and physical, including, but not limited to, HIV/AIDS status, cancer diagnosis, and genetic characteristics), genetic information, or age. If a buyer or seller believes that the appraisal has been influenced by any of the above factors, the seller or buyer can report this information to the lender or mortgage broker that retained the appraiser and may also file a complaint with the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers at https://www2.brea.ca.gov/complaint/ or call (916) 552-9000 for further information on how to file a complaint.”
(b) The notice described in subdivision (a) shall also be delivered by a licensed person refinancing a first lien purchase money loan secured by residential real property containing no more than four dwelling units, either prior to, or with, the loan estimate as required by the federal Truth in Lending Act, as amended (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1601 et seq.), or the mortgage loan disclosure statement as required pursuant to Section 10240 of the Business and Professions Code. The notice described in subdivision (a) may be included as part of the disclosure required under Section 1002.14(a)(2) of the federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B) (12 C.F.R. Sec. 1002 et seq.).
To comply with this new requirement, the anti-discrimination disclosure language will now appear on the CA Notice of Right to Receive Copy of Appraisal Report (Cx18023). Since this language may also be included in the Equal Credit Opportunity Act notice required under Section 1002.14(a)(2), the anti-discrimination disclosure language will also print on the Notice of Right to Receive Copy of Appraisal Report (Cx17903 & Cx17904) when:
Lender State (1073) dt_LState/@v, = California (CA)
OR
Property State (1714) dt_PropertyState/@v = California (CA)
Effective Date
These changes will be in effect on July 1, 2022 and are currently on Stage servers for testing. If you have any questions or concerns about these changes, please contact Client Support at 1.800.497.3584.
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