California Real Estate Disclosures: What Every Seller Needs to Know

The first time most sellers see a California disclosure packet, they go quiet for a second. I’ve sent hundreds of them as a licensed real estate agent (California DRE #01505854), and that reaction never really changes.

Nine times out of ten, it’s not the paperwork that stops them. They’re seeing the forms mid-escrow with a closing date already on the calendar and nobody has walked them through what any of it actually means.

What California Requires You to Disclose

California’s disclosure requirements go further than most states, and the forms that go out with a standard residential sale reflect that. The package I prepare starts with the Transfer Disclosure Statement and the Natural Hazard Disclosure.

Pre-1978 homes get a federal lead paint form added on top. Most of the forms in the stack come from California Civil Code, and a few come from federal law.

The Transfer Disclosure Statement

Every sale I handle starts with the TDS. Under California Civil Code § 1102, sellers go through the property condition from their own knowledge and document what they’re aware of.

You go through the major systems of the house on the form, noting the condition of each one and anything that’s been repaired or had known issues while you owned the property.

There’s a neighborhood and site section on the same form too. If there’s an HOA or known easements on the property, those go in that section, along with any additions or improvements made to the house.

Water intrusion history and mold both have their own place on the TDS. Insurance claims on the property go on there as well.

The key word on the TDS is “known.” Sellers get surprised sometimes to realize the form is only asking for their existing awareness of the property’s condition.

If the buyer’s agent or the listing agent spotted something during their visual walkthrough that wasn’t on the seller’s TDS, they fill out a form called the Agent Visual Inspection Disclosure. That goes to the buyer alongside the seller’s disclosure packet.

The Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement

Right alongside the TDS, I order a Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement on every sale I handle. Under California Civil Code § 1103, sellers are required to tell buyers whether the property sits in any state-designated hazard zones.

The parcel data drives the NHD rather than the seller’s personal knowledge, so flood zones, fire hazard severity zones, and earthquake fault designations show up based on what the map says about that specific parcel. I order it through a third-party disclosure company, usually bundled with tax and environmental disclosures, and it comes back within a day or two for well under $100 on the NHD alone.

If the property sits in a very high fire hazard severity zone or an Alquist-Priolo fault zone, that designation goes to the buyer in the report before closing. I’ve had sellers in foothill communities find out mid-escrow that their fire hazard zone designation also triggers a separate inspection requirement under California Civil Code § 1102.19, which went into effect in 2021 and requires documentation of defensible space compliance from a local fire inspector before the sale can close.

Lead-Based Paint Disclosure

Homes built before 1978 come with a federal disclosure requirement added to the California stack. The HUD and EPA rules require sellers to disclose any known lead-based paint hazards and provide buyers with the EPA pamphlet on lead in the home before they sign anything.

The buyer gets a 10-day window to have the property tested for lead before committing, and most waive it in competitive situations, though that option stays on the table regardless. If you’ve never had the property tested and have no records, that’s what goes on the form, and the buyer decides how they want to handle it from there.

On homes from the 1940s and 1950s, lead-based paint was standard on interior trim and windows, and repainting over the decades doesn’t strip it from the surfaces underneath. I’ve been through properties where a buyer’s test came back with lead on surfaces that hadn’t been touched in decades. When testing turns up lead, most buyers ask for a remediation credit, and a cash buyer planning a full renovation is often willing to take it on themselves.

For sellers working through the disclosure and repair decision before listing, we walked through what the as-is path typically looks like at selling a house as-is in California, including where the lead paint disclosure fits in that conversation.

Other Disclosures California Sellers Commonly Need

Most standard transactions have several more forms beyond the TDS and NHD, and what gets added depends on the property itself and where it sits.

Most transactions also include a Supplemental Seller Property Questionnaire, which is a separate form from the TDS that goes into more detail on specific issues including water intrusion history, roof condition, and defects the seller is aware of. I’ve seen sellers treat it as redundant to the TDS and rush through it, which is where the liability exposure comes from, since the SPQ is often what the buyer’s attorney looks at first when a post-closing dispute involves something the seller should have known.

A Mello-Roos or special assessment disclosure is required when the property sits in a Community Facilities District. Those are common in newer developments, and the added tax assessment can run anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand a year.

Under California Civil Code § 1710.2, if someone died on the property in the last three years, sellers have to disclose that in writing. The three-year window is specific, and a seller can’t give a false answer if a buyer asks directly about an older death either.

If the property is part of an HOA, I add a full disclosure package to what goes out. I’ve had transactions where the CC&Rs and financials alone ran well past fifty pages, and buyers get a review period before closing with the HOA required to provide the package within a set timeframe. Pending litigation against the association goes in the package too.

Water heater bracing and smoke and carbon monoxide detectors go on the disclosure as well, and if they’re not in place that typically becomes a condition of funding. A tobacco and nicotine disclosure went into effect January 1, 2026, and sellers with known history of smoking in the home have to disclose that residue may be present.

As-Is Sales Do Not Exempt You From Disclosures

I get this question from sellers fairly regularly, and the short answer is that listing as-is means no repair commitment before closing, not that the disclosure requirement drops away. A seller going as-is still fills out the TDS with everything they know about the property’s condition, and the as-is designation is what they’re communicating about what they plan to do with that information, not whether they disclose it.

What Happens If Something Is Missed

I always tell sellers to fill the TDS out carefully, and I’ve had the post-closing calls that come out of leaving something off. Buyers get three days after the full disclosure package arrives to cancel without penalty under standard California purchase agreements, and delivering every form together at once rather than piecemeal is one of the decisions that’s kept deals I’ve worked on from unraveling at that stage.

I’ve walked sellers through situations where a defect surfaced two years after close and the buyer still had a live claim. Under California Code of Civil Procedure § 338(d), the fraud statute of limitations runs from when the buyer discovers the problem, not from the close date, and most sellers assume the opposite going in.

The sellers I’ve seen try to hedge on the TDS with vague language and expect that to hold up have generally found it doesn’t. If there’s any question about whether something rises to the level of a material defect, talking to an attorney before listing is considerably easier than working out the answer after escrow closes.

A Property We Bought in Arcadia

Ardendale Avenue, Arcadia

In September 2025, we bought 9509 Ardendale Ave in Arcadia for $925,000. The seller’s family had owned the property since her father bought it in 1967, and she’d been holding it free and clear while living up in Big Bear.

The 1957 build date put the federal lead paint disclosure on top of the standard California forms, and by the time we had everything together the package ran to six separate forms.

She asked to see blank copies of everything before signing, having never been through a formal sale and wanting to understand what she was putting her name on before she signed anything. We walked through the full package together rather than sending it cold, and the lead paint section took the longest.

She returned everything completed, with the Mello-Roos form marked not applicable, and we closed in September 2025.

If the Property’s Condition Is the Issue

Most sellers work through the TDS in a single sitting once I’m walking through it with them. What takes longer is sitting with the implications, because what goes on those forms shapes the buyer pool.

I’ve had sellers with mold history or water damage sit with that for a while before deciding how to characterize it, and once it’s disclosed they tend to see a narrower set of buyers willing to move forward. We put together a walkthrough on each of those situations at what mold history means for your sale and at navigating a water damage disclosure.

The questions about termite treatment records and title complications came up often enough in follow-up conversations that we put together dedicated pieces at how termite treatment history affects a sale and at title issues that can complicate a California closing.

On deals where the disclosed condition makes a traditional listing feel like the harder path, I’ve watched a lot of sellers end up in the cash buyer conversation. We buy properties in those situations regularly, and we’re one option among several.

Get a Cash Offer on Your California Home

We buy homes directly from sellers across Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, and Orange counties. If the disclosures on your property are making a traditional listing feel complicated, or you’d rather skip the listing process entirely, give us a call at (951) 331-3844 or fill out the form on the site.

I’m Andrea Van Soest, co-founder of SoCal Home Buyers and a licensed real estate agent (California DRE #01505854). We’ve completed over 400 transactions since 2008, and I’m happy to walk through what the disclosure situation looks like for your property before you decide anything.