A new law went into effect on Monday which requires anyone buying property on the Rhode Island shoreline to be made aware of the public’s right to access the shoreline.
The law was sponsored by state Rep. Terri Cortvriend and state Sen. Victoria Gu.
“As we have seen in the news recently, sometimes when houses are sold permits aren’t passed on to buyers and rights of way are forgotten, leading to a potential rude awakening for buyers and putting public access to our shores under threat,” Cortvriend said in a statement.
The law updates the sale disclosure form for properties to include information on public access to the shore up to 10 feet above the high tide line.
According to the law, sellers of property are required to disclose any known rights of way to the buyer, and provide a copy of any Coastal Resources Management Council permits that are in the seller’s possession.
The law also requires sellers to advise buyers to contact the CRMC to find out if any public rights or permits are tied to the property.
“This legislation builds on the historic shoreline access law that we passed last year,” Gu said in a statement. “A lot of people in Rhode Island are now aware of the new law but a lot of people coming in from other states to buy property aren’t necessarily aware of it. This is an important consumer protection and education measure to ensure that people buying ocean front real estate understand the public’s right to access the shoreline.”
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.
