As part of Illinois REALTORS® Fall Business Meetings, General Counsel and Vice President of Legal Services Betsy Urbance and Legal Hotline Attorney Anneliese Fierstos discussed some of the hot legal topics and relevant court decisions affecting the industry during the online Legal Services Forum Wednesday.

Here are four quick takeaways:

• No final rules yet for Real Estate License Act (RELA) rewrite. The proposed license rules are currently at the governor’s office awaiting approval. Once that happens, the rules will be published for public review and comment. Learn more about the expected changes—including new rules for designated managing broker oversight and virtual offices—under the RELA rewrite in the Illinois REALTORS® RELA Legal Update Web Series (member login required).
• Watch out for your listing data getting scraped. The legal hotline continues to get calls about scammers “scraping” data from sales listings and posting the information on other websites as a fake rental. If you think your listing has been scraped, contact the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Illinois Attorney General or your local state’s attorney.
• Be aware of website accessibility requirements. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), websites are considered “places of public accommodation” and as such must be accessible to everyone, including those with a disability. The Social Security Administration offers website accessibility resources.
• Lower inventory = more multiple offer questions. Fewer homes on the market has meant more multiple offers on properties and, in some instances, prompted legal questions to the legal hotline about disclosure rules, contemporaneous offers, escalation clauses and procuring cause. Get more in-depth information on these topics in the latest D.R. Legal News.