2021 Tennessee Code
Title 66 - Property
Chapter 37 - Prohibition of Covenants Providing for Transfer Fees Act of 2011
§ 66-37-102. Chapter Definitions

As used in this chapter:

1. “Association” means a nonprofit, mandatory membership organization comprised of owners of homes, condominiums, cooperatives, manufactured homes, or any interest in real property, created pursuant to a declaration, covenant, or other applicable law;


2. “Transfer” means the sale, gift, grant, conveyance, assignment, inheritance, or other transfer of an interest in real property located in this state;


3. “Transfer fee” means a fee or charge imposed by a transfer fee covenant, but does not include any tax, assessment, fee or charge imposed by a governmental authority pursuant to applicable laws, ordinances, or regulations; and


4. “Transfer fee covenant” means a provision in a document, whether recorded or not and however denominated, that purports to run with the land or bind current owners or successors in title to specified real property located in this state, and that obligates a transferee or transferor of all or part of the property to pay a fee or charge to a third person upon transfer of an interest in all or part of the property, or in consideration for permitting any such transfer. “Transfer fee covenant” does not include:
   
   
   1. Any provision of a purchase contract, option, mortgage, security agreement, real property listing agreement, or other agreement that obligates one party to the agreement to pay the other, as full or partial consideration for the agreement or for a waiver of rights under the agreement, an amount determined by the agreement, if that amount:
      1. Is payable on a one-time basis only upon the next transfer of an interest in the specified real property and, once paid, shall not bind successors in title to the property;
      
      
      2. Constitutes a loan assumption or similar fee charged by a lender holding a lien on the property; or
      
      
      3. Constitutes a fee or commission paid to a licensed real estate broker for brokerage services rendered in connection with the transfer of the property for which the fee or commission is paid;
      
      
      4. Any fee charged by an association or an agent of an association to a transferor or transferee for a service rendered contemporaneously with the imposition of the fee, provided the fee is not to be passed through to a third party other than an agent of the association.
   
   
   2. Any provision in a deed, memorandum, or other document recorded for the purpose of providing record notice of an agreement described in subdivision (4)(A);
   
   
   3. Any provision of a document requiring payment of a fee or charge to an association or its managing agent to be used exclusively for purposes authorized in the document, as long as no portion of the fee is required to be passed through to a third party designated or identifiable by description in the document or another document referenced therein; or
   
   
   4. Any provision of a document requiring payment of a fee or charge to an organization described in § 501(c)(3) or § 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3), § 501(c)(4)), to be used exclusively to support cultural, educational, charitable, recreational, environmental, conservation, or other similar activities benefiting the real property affected by the provision or the community of which the property is a part.