Is a remote pilot airman’s certificate required for the commercial use of drones in Illinois?

Illinois REALTORS® who listened to this morning’s member-only Legal Webinar were told that the certificate is required, were given a definition for commercial use and were reminded that state and local laws would also have to be followed, too. Legal Hotline Attorney Betsy Urbance and Transaction Helpline Attorney Jeffrey Baker said that in the city of Chicago, for example, when all the aspects of local laws involving drones (also known as small Unmanned Aircraft Systems) are considered, it is difficult to find places to legally operate drones commercially.

Tweaking TRID laws?

Baker said the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is proposing changes to “smooth out the wrinkles” in TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) law rather than to make other substantive changes. For example, although TRID initially focused more attention on the protection of private information, the CFPB recently clarified that lenders involved with real estate transactions could share closing disclosures with REALTORS®.

Baker noted that it could be awhile before the proposed changes become effective and REALTORS® notice changes taking full effect. They also provided historical perspective on the Gramm-Leach-Biley Act and its impact on preserving the confidentiality of non-public information.

For more information on these subjects, plus a review of the basics of contract law, REALTORS® can log in and download the webinar or listen to the audio-only version.