Much has been written and spoken lately about notification statutes for convicted sex offenders. Most notably in the federal arena is the statute commonly referred to as "Megan’s Law." There is a similar statute in Illinois called the Sex Offender Notification Act. The two will be discussed together since the objective is the same. Both require convicted sex offenders to register with their local government in order to put the public on notice as to where they live.

The relevant question for the real estate licensee is what, if any, duty is the licensee under to provide notice under these statutes to buyers of real estate. Neither notification statute has any specific provision placing a duty upon real estate licensees to provide these registration lists to anyone. However, if a licensee represents a buyer (especially a buyer with children) that licensee may want to at least direct the buyer to the source of the list. For purposes of illustration, the list for Sangamon County is administered by the Sheriff’s office. Licensees may not want to put themselves in the position of actually providing the list, as they may be taking on more than is really necessary. Keeping in mind the licensee’s duty to serve her client’s best interest, however, it may be prudent to direct buyers to the source of the list, and let the buyers pursue this if they so choose.

If the licensee represents the seller, there is a very good argument to be made that there is no legal obligation to do anything. The notification statutes do not place a specific duty on the licensee, and the license law requires the seller representative to look out for the best interests of the seller. In addition, if there is a sex offender in the neighborhood, it is an off-site situation and has nothing to do with the physical condition of the property the licensee is marketing. However, for practical reasons, after discussion with the seller client, a licensee may consider directing buyers to the source of the list. This would hold especially true in a situation where there is actually a registered sex offender known to be living in the neighborhood.

If the licensee is a dual agent, the analysis becomes even more difficult. In serving the buyer’s best interest, it may be prudent to direct the buyer to the source of the list. But what about the seller’s interests here? The response here may be that this information is public. As a result, if the licensee directs the buyer to the source of the list, she is not giving any information the buyer could not get anyway.

The discussion becomes one of legal duties versus practical considerations, and a licensee should look for guidance from her broker as well as the real estate company’s counsel.

By Betsy Urbance, Illinois REALTORS® Legal Hotline Attorney