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Question: 

How does the recently enacted California Fair Appraisal Act (AB 948) affect mortgage lenders and when is it effective?

Answer: 

AB 948 became effective on January 1, 2022 and added several requirements to the California Business and Professions Code, including but not limited to:

• Requiring that the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers (the “Bureau”) to (a) add a check box to its complaint form for complainants to indicate whether they believe their appraisal was below market value, and (b)collect and compile demographic information regarding complainants; 
• Requiring that any prospective licensee complete at least one hour of instruction in “cultural competency”; and
• Prohibiting licenses from basing their analysis or opinion of the market value of a home on certain enumerated protected bases (including race or “any other basis prohibited by the federal Fair Housing Act”).

Further, AB 948 requires that every real property purchase contract for the sale of the residential real property signed after July 1, 2022, contain the below-prescribed notice (in no less than 8-point font) and that such notice also be provided to applicants by the lender with the Loan Estimate when refinancing a first lien purchase money loan on residential real property.   The notice, among other things, states that any appraisal of the property must be unbiased, objective, and not influenced by improper considerations.  

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.”