Federal Judge Tosses Oregon Ban on Real Estate ‘Love Letters’

An Oregon choose has thrown out a state legislation that banned actual property “love letters” written by potential homebuyers to sellers in an try to shut a deal on a house.

U.S. District Decide Marco Hernández issued a consent decree that invalidated the legislation on free speech grounds.

Within the decree, he mentioned the legislation that known as on actual property brokers to reject efforts to speak a love letter to the sellers “violates the First Modification to the US Structure” and mentioned the legislation wouldn’t be enforced.

Final yr, Oregon turned the primary state to go a legislation towards the letters, postulating that data contained in them could be used to unlawfully discriminate towards sure consumers and subsequently violate the Truthful Housing Act. No different state adopted swimsuit, however a number of discourage the apply. And actual property commerce teams in states akin to California and Washington even have acknowledged the problem.

“The entry of the consent decree sends a transparent message that states can’t infringe upon dwelling consumers’ and sellers’ proper to speak freely,” mentioned Pacific Authorized Basis lawyer Daniel Ortner, who represented Complete Actual Property Group, a Bend, Oregon, agency within the case.

“Different states contemplating related illegal insurance policies ought to cease makes an attempt to ban love letters and as an alternative shield freedom of speech and financial alternative,” Ortner wrote in an announcement.

The writer of the legislation, Oregon state Rep. Mark Meek, a Democrat and an actual property dealer, advised Stateline final yr that brokers in Oregon approached him about considerations that the letters—which frequently reveal household standing, youngsters, pets, faith and presumably trace at race—could be an issue.