NY Real Estate Continuing Education Requirements Updated

What are the Continuing Education requirements for real estate agents in NY?

As of 9/21/2022. All licensees must receive 22.5 hours of continuing education every 2 years to stay licensed. NY Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons that were previously exempt from Continuing Education will no longer be exempt and will need to have completed the full CE requirements. The 22.5 hours must include:

• 3 hours on Fair Housing &/or Discrimination
• 2.5 hours on Ethical Business Practices
• 1 hour on Recent Legal Matters governing the practice of real estate brokers and salespersons in New York, which may include statutes, laws, regulations, rules, codes, Department of State Opinions and Decisions, and Court Decisions
• 1 hour on the Law of Agency (2 hours in the initial 2-year cycle)
• 2 hours of Implicit Bias Awareness
• 2 hours of Cultural Competency Training

Effective September 21, 2022, as part of the 22.5 hours of continuing education required to renew both real estate salespersons and brokers will be required to complete at least 2 hours of instruction pertaining to implicit bias awareness and at least two hours of cultural competency training. Implicit bias is defined as the attitudes or stereotypes that affect an individual’s understanding, actions and decisions in an unconscious manner. Cultural competency is defined as understanding cultural norms, preferences and challenges within our diverse communities.

Below lists the new requirements effective September 21, 2022.

Any real estate licensee submitting an application for renewal for a license expiring on or after September 21, 2022 must successfully complete 22.5 hours of approved continuing education. The education must include at least two hours on the subject of cultural competency, at least two hours on the subject of implicit bias, at least two and a half hours on the subject of ethical business practices, at least one hour of recent legal matters, at least three hours of instruction pertaining to fair housing and/or discrimination in the sale or rental of real property or an interest in real property and at least one hour of instruction pertaining to the law of agency except in the case of the initial two-year licensing term for real estate salespersons, two hours of agency related instruction must be completed within the two-year period immediately preceding a renewal.

If you are renewing your license before 9/21/22: All licensees must receive 22.5 hours of continuing education every 2 years to stay licensed. NY Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons that were previously exempt from Continuing Education will no longer be exempt and will need to have completed the full CE requirements, including the new subjects prior to submitting a renewal on or after 7/1/2021. The 22.5 hours must include:

• 3 hours on fair housing &/or discrimination
• 2.5 hours on ethical business practices
• 1 hour on recent legal matters governing the practice of real estate brokers and salespersons in New York, which may include statutes, laws, regulations, rules, codes, Department of State Opinions and Decisions, and Court Decisions
• 1 hour on the law of agency (2 hours in the initial 2-year cycle)

Are there any exemptions for Continuing Education requirements for real estate agents in New York?

NY Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons that were previously exempt from Continuing Education will no longer be exempt and will need to have completed the full CE requirements, including the new subjects prior to submitting a renewal on or after 7/1/2021.

To satisfy your 2022 NY real estate continuing education requirements you can take our Package F. 

Handicapped Parking Discrimination - Proposed Legislation

A disabled individual can sue a property owner and its tenants for discrimination if technical specifications for handicapped parking are not followed to a tee. 

The Americans with Disabilities Act provides disabled individuals with a national right to have access at places of public accommodation, including by such places providing the right number / dimensions / signage as to handicapped spaces. On the state and local level, disabled individuals have even greater rights as against property owners and tenants for parking access discrimination. Taken together, property owners and tenants are charged with doing the right thing or losing their shirt in a discrimination lawsuit. 

Yet, what happens when a property owner and their tenants do the right thing, but some IDIOT blocks the spaces? New York State's Legislators have proposed an amendment to the Vehicle and Traffic Law to increase enforcement against blocking spots by expanding the types of properties that are subject to the law where officers can ticket the offender and remove / impound the vehicle. 

If the law passes, A9805 will also become applicable to "a shopping center or facility which at least one but less than five separate retail stores and at least twenty off street parking spaces provided for use by the shopping public." 

However, the ticket is just $50 to $75. Is that enough? 

Stop Sexual Assault and Harassment in Transportation Act Passes the House

The Stop Sexual Assault and Harassment in Transportation Act passed the House on March 30, 2022 and now makes its way to the senate. 

If passed, the Act will require airlines, railroads, vessels, buses, and transit entities (e.g., Uber / Lyft) to establish "a formal policy with respect to transportation sexual assault or harassment incidents" together with appropriate trainings. 

It is specifically designed to notice, warn, prevent, and combat sexual assault and harassment by the public and staff making transportation safe for all involved. 

The Act establishes civil penalties against harassers starting at $35,000. 

Shouldn't it be safe to travel and shouldn't it be safe to work in transit?

NYC Salary Transparency in Job Advertisements FAQ Published

The NYC Commission on Human Rights published its FAQ that needs to be reviewed and adhered to by any employer advertising positions that may be performed in NYC starting on May 15, 2022.  

If you are an employer who is seeking an employee whose job may be performed, in whole or in part, in NYC, you will need to comply with Local Law 32 of 2022, which requires salary transparency. 

To comply, employers' advertisements "must state the minimum and maximum salary they in good faith believe at the time of the posting." 

Be sure to do this correctly because the FAQ reminds employers that "[e]mployers and employment agencies who are found to have violated the NYCHRL may have to pay monetary damages to affected employees and civil penalties of up to $250,000."

Construction Workers' Wage & Hour Claims are about to Blow-Up

On March 18, 2022, a new NYS law provides that a General Contractor will now have 10 business days from receipt of notice of unpaid wages by a subcontractor's employee to pay such subcontractor's employee earned wages, benefits, and/or wage supplements earned, or such General Contractors can be sued for the wages for the previous 3 years. 

General Contractors must implement hour tracking for their subcontractors' employees immediately because they are liable for time and a half for overtime. 

Plus, General Contractors should act swiftly if they receive the new statutory 10 business day notice because if the subcontractors' employee sues, they will be liable for statutory penalties (liquidated damages) plus attorneys' fees in a court case.

Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing. Analysis with Andrew Lieb on NBC LX