Louisiana Act 807: What Wholesalers Must Do on Every Contract Since August 1, 2026

Since August 1, 2026, a Louisiana residential wholesaling contract that omits the required cancellation notice is void and terminable by the seller, who gets the deposit back. That is the short version of Act 807, and it is the reason a process that worked in July may not work now.

This is a plain summary for investors, not legal advice. Louisiana is a civil-law state and its property statutes do not always read the way their common-law equivalents do, so confirm your own position with a Louisiana real estate attorney before relying on anything here.

What the law is

House Bill 468, filed by Rep. Troy Hebert, was adopted without opposition and became Act 807 of the 2026 Regular Session, enacting La. R.S. 37:1448.5. It has been in force since August 1, 2026.

The Act does not prohibit wholesaling. It imposes requirements on the practice.

Who it applies to

Two defined terms decide whether you are inside it.

Residential real property means property of one to not more than four residential dwelling units — buildings or structures each occupied or intended for occupancy as single-family residences.

Wholesaling means securing, negotiating, or facilitating the purchase or sale of residential real property with the purpose of transferring, assigning, or selling a contractual right to purchase — or any other equitable interest in it — whether directly or indirectly, for financial gain.

That definition is written around the purpose of the transaction rather than the mechanism, which is worth noting if your plan was to route around it structurally.

What you must do on every contract

1. Disclose the assignment intent, prominently

You must clearly disclose whether you intend to assign, transfer, or market any rights you hold under the purchase agreement for financial gain. "Prominently" is the operative word — burying it in a signature block is not the intent of the statute.

2. Advise the seller to seek legal counsel

Every contract must advise the seller to seek legal advice before signing.

3. Give a five-day right to cancel, on the mandatory notice

The seller may cancel for any reason, without penalty, for at least five calendar days after the contract is executed. The contract must carry a notice stating:

"You may cancel this contract at any time before 11:59 PM of [date]"

together with the wholesaler's name and the advisories above.

The Louisiana Real Estate Commission published the mandatory Wholesaling Residential Real Property Cancellation Notice on July 28, 2026. Pull the current version from the Commission's Mandatory Forms section rather than reusing a template — the Commission's guidance is to use the most current version whenever the Act applies.

4. Put at least 1% down, in escrow

A deposit of at least 1% of the purchase price is required and must be held in escrow. This is the requirement most likely to change how you underwrite volume: it turns a nominal earnest-money habit into real capital tied up per contract.

5. Do not take a deed until the window closes

You cannot ask the seller to sign any cash sale, conveyance, or deed until the cancellation right has ended.

What you must not do

Act 807 also prohibits a wholesaler from:

• Acting, or purporting to act, on the seller's behalf — whether by mandate, power of attorney, or otherwise
• Representing yourself as holding any licence or certification, or as a member of a licensed profession, without actually holding it
• Placing any lien or other encumbrance on the property
• Engaging in any deceptive or unfair trade practice

The lien prohibition deserves attention. Recording a memorandum or affidavit of contract to protect an equitable interest is a common tactic; in Louisiana it now runs directly at a statutory prohibition.

The penalty

Failure to include the required notice renders the contract void and terminable by the seller, and the seller receives the deposit back.

The penalty attaches to the contract, not to a fine. That is a meaningful design choice: it means the consequence surfaces at the worst possible moment — when the seller wants out and you have a buyer lined up — rather than as a regulatory letter months later.

What to change in your process

If you take contracts on 1–4 unit residential property in Louisiana:

1. Replace the contract packet, not just add to it. The notice, the assignment disclosure, and the advise-counsel language all have to be present.
2. Use the LREC form, current version. It exists specifically so the notice is documented in a standard way.
3. Fund escrow at 1% minimum and confirm your escrow arrangement actually holds it as escrow.
4. Build the five days into the timeline. No deed, no conveyance, no cash sale before the window closes — so a same-day close on a fresh contract is not available.
5. Look at anything signed on or after August 1, 2026. If contracts went out on the old packet, those are the ones a seller can currently void.
6. Drop lien-style protections on Louisiana deals and get counsel's view on what remains available.

Is wholesaling still legal in Louisiana?

Yes. Act 807 regulates wholesaling of residential real property; it does not ban it. What it removes is the ability to run the transaction quietly and quickly — the seller must understand what you are, must be told to get a lawyer, must have five days to walk, and must see real money in escrow.

Sources

• Louisiana REALTORS®, "New Wholesaling Law - Effective August 1" — https://www.larealtors.org/new-wholesaling-law-effective-august-1
• Louisiana Real Estate Commission, "New Wholesaling Residential Real Property Mandatory Cancellation Notice Now Available" (July 28, 2026) — https://lrec.gov/blog/new-wholesaling-residential-real-property-mandatory-cancellation-notice-now-available
• Louisiana Legislature, HB 468 — House Summary of Senate Amendments — https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1472267

This article is a summary for monitoring purposes and is not legal advice. Confirm any requirement with a Louisiana real estate attorney before relying on it.