SB122/HB40, Foreign Ownership of Real Property:
This legislation takes effect July 1, 2023 and prohibits sanctioned nonresidential aliens, sanctioned foreign businesses, sanctioned foreign governments, or their agents, trustees, or fiduciaries, from acquiring real property in Tennessee if their respective country is on the office of foreign assets control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions programs and country information list, which can be found here.
The legislation requires all of the prohibited parties to divest all rights, titles, and interests in property acquired by devise or descent within two years and requires any sanctioned nonresident alien, sanctioned foreign business, sanctioned foreign government, or their agent, trustee, or fiduciary, to register their property with the Secretary of State (SOS) within 60 days after July 1, 2023 or within 60 days after acquiring the real property or the interest in real property. No liability is imposed on anyone licensed under the Tennessee Real Estate Broker License Act of 1973, compiled in Title 62, Chapter 13. Find the public chapter here.
Considering this statutory change, the following forms have been amended to have the buyer certify they are not prohibited from purchasing property within this state pursuant to the legislation:
RF141, Exclusive Buyer Representation Agreement (Designated Agency)
RF142, Exclusive Buyer Representation Agreement (Buyer Agency)
RF143, Non-Exclusive Buyer Representation Agreement (Designated Agency)
RF144, Non-Exclusive Buyer Representation Agreement (Buyer Agency)
CF141, Commercial Exclusive Buyer/Tenant Representation Agreement
RF401, Purchase and Sale Agreement
RF403, New Construction Purchase and Sale Agreement
RF404, Lot/Land Purchase and Sale Agreement
CF401, Commercial Purchase and Sale Agreement
CF404, Commercial Lot/Land Purchase and Sale Agreement
The amended forms will have a publication date of 7/1/23 and have been sent to all approved forms vendors with Tennessee REALTORS®: Transaction Desk, ZipForms, BrokerMint, Glide, Redfin, and Docusign. If you use these vendors, the forms will automatically appear in your library. If you are using a vendor with whom Tennessee REALTORS® does not have a licensing agreement, such as Dotloop, it will be your responsibility to make sure you upload the latest version of the form for use in all transactions after July 1, 2023.
Still have questions?
Reach out directly to the Secretary of State Counsel at (615)253-8739
