What changed in NJ real estate rules, 2024 to 2026: a dated change log for exam candidates

The change log at a glance

Here is every change since 2024 that we think a New Jersey salesperson candidate should check their study material against, in date order. Each row names the type of authority, because the exam and your future broker will treat a statute, a Commission rule and an industry policy differently. We checked every date against the law, rule, agency notice or official page itself.

March 20, 2024: flood disclosures for sellers and landlords

P.L. 2023, c.93 was approved July 3, 2023, but its two duties switched on later. The seller part applied 90 days after the Division of Consumer Affairs published the amended property condition disclosure statement, and the landlord part 90 days after the Department of Community Affairs published its model notice. Both were published on December 21, 2023, and the state's joint announcement that day said sellers and landlords must use the new forms beginning March 20, 2024.

• Sellers: before the buyer is bound by a purchase contract, the seller answers a Flood Risk section on the disclosure statement. It asks whether the property is in a FEMA 100-year or 500-year floodplain, about past flood damage, seepage or pooling, flood insurance and claims, federal flood assistance, and whether an elevation certificate exists. If one exists, it goes to the buyer.
• Landlords: before a lease is signed or renewed, the tenant gets a written flood risk notice. In a residential lease it must be a separate rider in at least 12-point type, and it must say flood insurance may be available through the National Flood Insurance Program and that standard renter's policies usually do not cover flood damage.
• The landlord duty covers residential and commercial space rented for at least a month. The law's landlord definition leaves out premises with no more than two units, owner-occupied premises with no more than three, and hotels, motels and guest houses serving guests who stay less than 120 days.

The Department of Environmental Protection built a Flood Risk Notification Tool that lets anyone search a mailing address to see whether the property is in a FEMA Special or Moderate Flood Hazard Area. The law ties the seller's duty to disclose a mapped zone beyond actual knowledge to that tool being available. For the exam, remember the timing (before the buyer or tenant is bound) and that a mapped zone and known past flooding are separate questions. The NJ disclosures study guide puts these next to the other state disclosure duties.

August 1, 2024: the agency, CIS and agreement law

P.L. 2024, c.32 was approved July 10, 2024 and took effect August 1, 2024. It is the single most important change for the state portion of your exam, because agency questions now follow it. The Department of Banking and Insurance explained it the same day in Bulletin 24-11.

• Five relationships. A firm can be a seller's agent, buyer's agent, disclosed dual agent, designated agent or transaction broker. Designated agency is the new one. A transaction broker works with a party without representing anyone and owes no fiduciary duties.
• A default. If a firm serving a buyer or seller has not affirmatively designated the relationship, Bulletin 24-11 says it is treated as that party's agent.
• A new Consumer Information Statement. It must be given as soon as reasonably practical and no later than when the party signs a brokerage services agreement, and it is included in the agreement. An unrepresented buyer at an open house does not have to sign the acknowledgment.
• Written brokerage services agreements. Required with buyers and sellers in residential deals and with sellers in commercial deals, before or as soon as reasonably practical after services begin. Buyer agreements must state that broker compensation is fully negotiable and not set by law.
• Seller disclosure. When the firm represents a residential seller, it must obtain the seller's completed and signed property condition disclosure statement. An unrepresented seller gives it to the buyer before the buyer is bound. The firm is not liable for what the seller should have disclosed if its licensee made reasonable efforts to find out material facts about the property's condition.
• CE. Section 16 makes a continuing education course on agency a condition of renewal in every two-year license term.

Our designated vs dual agency guide walks through who represents whom, and the brokerage services agreement guide covers what the agreement must contain. One quirk: the Commission's CIS rule, N.J.A.C. 11:5-6.9, still lists four relationships. The Commission said in its January 2026 adoption that most c.32 rule changes are left for future rulemaking, so the statute and the Appendix A CIS from Bulletin 24-11 control.

August 17, 2024: NAR's practice changes are not New Jersey law

On August 17, 2024, two changes from the NAR settlement took effect for MLS participants. First, an MLS participant working with a buyer must have a written agreement with that buyer before touring a home. Second, offers of compensation to buyer brokers can no longer be made on the MLS, and the MLS may not support any outside mechanism for making them.

These rules come from the National Association of REALTORS and the MLSs, as NAR's own practice changes notice explains. They are not a statute or a Real Estate Commission rule. A New Jersey agent in an MLS has to satisfy both: state law on when a brokerage services agreement is needed, and the MLS rule on when a buyer agreement is needed before a tour. If an exam question asks what New Jersey law requires, answer from c.32, not from NAR policy.

July 1, 2025: the CE term with an agency hour

The current license term runs July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2027. The Commission's continuing education page requires 12 hours, at least 6 of them core, including 2 hours of ethics, 1 hour of fair housing and the LAD, and at least 1 hour of agency. Finish by April 30, 2027 to avoid the $200 late CE processing fee, and renew by June 30, 2027.

Most of you can relax about this one. Salespersons first licensed in the second year of the term, on or after July 1, 2026, do not need CE to renew at the end of this term. If you pass and get licensed in the coming months, your first CE term will be the next one, which starts July 1, 2027 and requires 18 hours under P.L. 2026, c.52. Our renewal and CE guide has the new topic list.

July 10, 2025: the graduated percent fee on deeds over $1 million

For years, New Jersey charged a 1% fee, often called the mansion tax, on certain sales over $1 million, and the buyer paid it. P.L. 2025, c.69, approved June 30, 2025, changed both the rate and who pays. For deeds submitted for recording on or after July 10, 2025, the fee falls on the grantor, which is the seller, and the rate depends on the price.

The rate applies to the entire consideration, not just the part above $1 million. It covers Class 2 residential property, cooperative units, Class 3A farm property that includes a building suited for residential use, and Class 4A commercial property. It is paid on top of the seller's standard realty transfer fee.

Worked example (illustrative): Priya signs a sale contract for her house in August 2025 at $2,200,000. The deed is first submitted for recording in September 2025, so neither the earlier-submission rule nor the pre-July 10 contract refund applies. That price is in the 2% band, so the graduated fee is 2% of $2,200,000, or $44,000, and Priya pays it. Under the old rule the buyer would have paid 1%, or $22,000. Practice more of these on our transfer fee math page.

A transition rule helped deals already in progress. If the contract was fully executed before July 10, 2025, the price was over $2 million and the deed was recorded on or before November 15, 2025, the seller could claim a refund of anything above 1% on Form RTF-3. One more trap: when we checked on October 28, 2026, the Division of Taxation's realty transfer fee FAQ page still said grantees must remit the 1% fee. The Division's graduated percent fee notice and the statute are the current rule.

January 12, 2026: source of lawful income in the LAD

The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination already barred housing discrimination based on source of lawful income, such as a Section 8 voucher. In March 2025 the Division on Civil Rights issued a probable cause finding against a Highland Park landlord whose "two times the monthly rent" test did not credit a voucher, and it named applying the test only to the rent not covered by assistance as the less discriminatory alternative. P.L. 2025, c.251, approved January 12, 2026 and effective immediately, now writes that into the statute.

• It defines source of lawful income broadly: housing assistance including Section 8 housing choice vouchers, state and temporary rental assistance, nonprofit rental assistance, government benefits including disability and veterans' benefits, court-ordered payments such as child support and alimony, and any lawful form of currency.
• It says the protection covers income used for rental or mortgage payments.
• A landlord or agent may not use a minimum income requirement or financial standard to judge eligibility unless it is based only on the tenant's portion of the rent.
• Refusing to accept such payments, and ads or inquiries that express a limitation such as "No Section 8," are unlawful, and the rule applies to real estate brokers and salespersons too.
• Lenders and other financial institutions are also covered: the law bars them from discriminating based on the source of lawful income.

Worked example (illustrative): a unit rents for $2,000 and Marcus's voucher pays $1,400, so his share is $600. A "3 times the rent" test has to be measured against $600, not $2,000. Remember too that the LAD's protected classes in housing differ from federal fair housing law: age, for example, is protected under the LAD in employment, not housing.

January 20, 2026: the Real Estate Commission's rule update

The Commission adopted amendments to N.J.A.C. 11:5 on December 16, 2025, published as R.2026 d.020 and effective January 20, 2026. These are the changes a candidate should know:

• Advertising compensation statement. Any ad that mentions a commission rate or compensation amount must clearly and conspicuously say: "In New Jersey, broker compensation is fully negotiable and not set by law." The old line was "In New Jersey commissions are negotiable."
• Broker name and office phone. When an ad includes a salesperson's name, the broker's regular business name must be displayed more prominently. An ad with an agent's or team's phone, email or website must also give the brokerage office's phone number.
• The 75-hour course. A new split adds a 1-hour fair housing unit and cuts other laws to 4 hours. Live remote delivery is allowed, and on-demand online courses count if they are ARELLO approved. You still need 80% attendance and a passing grade.
• Proof of licensure. A new rule, N.J.A.C. 11:5-3.1A, says licensees must have their license with them while doing brokerage business, either the physical card or a digital image.
• Broker course. The broker prelicensing education is 150 hours: a 90-hour general course plus two 30-hour courses, one on ethics and agency and one on office management.

Our advertising rules guide has the full rule with example ads, and the 75-hour course guide has the new hour split. If you look up N.J.A.C. 11:5 on a free law site, check the amendment date: some still show the text from before January 20, 2026.

The February 2026 PSI bulletin and checking your materials

PSI's New Jersey candidate bulletin is marked updated February 1, 2026. It does not list what changed. The exam is still 110 scored questions for salespersons, the fee is still $38, and the state outline still lists agency and disclosure requirements, advertising and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. The bulletin does not say which version of a law the questions are written to, so study the current rules.

1. Check the date. Anything written before August 1, 2024 needs its agency and CIS sections checked; anything before January 20, 2026 needs its advertising and course sections checked.
2. Tell an adopted rule from a proposal. The June 2, 2025 proposal is not the rule; the January 20, 2026 adoption is.
3. When two official pages disagree, go to the newer and more specific one. The Taxation FAQ versus the graduated percent fee notice is a live example.
4. Ask your school which edition its final exam and practice questions follow.

We will update this log in place when something changes and keep the old entries so you can see the history.