What Does a Home Seller Have to Disclose to a Buyer?

The answer depends on where the house is. In Virginia, the required residential disclosure statement mostly tells the buyer to investigate for themselves. In New York, the seller must complete a multi-page Property Condition Disclosure Statement answering specific questions about the property. The District of Columbia sits between them with its own seller’s disclosure form for residential sales. One rule applies in every jurisdiction regardless of the form: seller disclosure requirements set a floor, and no form protects a seller who lies, hides a defect, or answers a buyer’s direct question falsely.

The federal rule: lead-based paint

For housing built before 1978, federal law requires the seller to give the buyer a lead-based paint disclosure form, any reports or records the seller has about lead in the property, and the EPA pamphlet on lead hazards. The buyer must also be offered a ten-day period to conduct a lead inspection or risk assessment, which the buyer can shorten or waive in writing. The same disclosure applies to leases of pre-1978 housing. This requirement sits on top of every state rule and is the one most often missed in private sales without an agent.

Virginia: a buyer-beware regime with specific exceptions

Virginia’s Residential Property Disclosure Act requires the seller of most residential property to deliver a disclosure statement, but the statement is largely a list of matters the seller makes no representations about, with a direction to the buyer to exercise due diligence. The buyer is told to check zoning, adjacent parcels, historic district status, flood and resource protection areas, and the condition of the property through an inspection. If the seller fails to deliver the statement before the contract is signed, the buyer has a short statutory window to cancel after receiving it.

A few affirmative disclosures survive the buyer-beware approach, including known pending building or zoning code enforcement actions and whether the property lies in a military air installation noise or accident zone. Sales of condominium and association property come with a separate resale certificate or disclosure packet, and Virginia gives the buyer a three-day right to cancel after receiving it. Beyond those items, a Virginia seller’s main legal exposure is for fraud or active concealment, not for silence. Our residential and commercial transaction counsel reviews the disclosure package and the inspection rights together, because in Virginia the inspection does the work the disclosure form does elsewhere.

New York: the Property Condition Disclosure Statement

New York requires sellers of one-to-four family residential property to deliver a completed Property Condition Disclosure Statement before the buyer signs the contract. The form asks dozens of specific questions covering the age of systems, water and drainage, structural problems, environmental issues, and, since a recent amendment, flood history and flood insurance. For years sellers could skip the form by giving the buyer a credit at closing; as of this writing, that alternative has been removed and the completed statement is required. Cooperative apartments and condominium units fall outside the statute, as do certain transfers by fiduciaries and new construction. A seller who knowingly gives a false answer, or willfully fails to deliver the form, is liable to the buyer for actual damages, and the form expressly does not replace the buyer’s own inspection.

The District of Columbia: the seller’s disclosure statement

The District requires sellers of residential real property to deliver a disclosure statement, on the form prescribed by the real estate licensing authority, before the buyer signs a contract. The form covers the structure, roof, basement and water intrusion, plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems, environmental hazards, and known zoning or code violations. Exemptions apply to transfers such as new construction never occupied, court-ordered sales, and conveyances between co-owners or family members. A buyer who does not receive the statement before contracting may have a right to cancel. If the property is tenant-occupied, the District’s tenant opportunity to purchase rules add a separate set of notices before a sale can proceed, and the exemption for single-family homes has conditions that should be checked case by case.

What no disclosure form waives

Across all three jurisdictions, the same claims survive even a fully completed form: fraud, intentional misrepresentation, and active concealment of a defect the seller knew about. A seller who paints over water stains the week before listing, or who answers “no” to a question about basement flooding after filing an insurance claim for it, has created a claim that an as-is clause does not cure. Honest answers protect the seller. “I don’t know” is an acceptable answer when it is true, and sellers should keep the inspection reports, repair invoices, and insurance records that support their answers.

For buyers, the practical lesson is to treat the disclosure as a starting point for the inspection rather than a substitute for it. Use the inspection contingency to verify what the form says, and use the findings to negotiate repairs or credits before the deadline passes. For sellers, deliver the right form before the contract is signed, answer each question from actual knowledge, and let our contract negotiation team address anything disclosed in the contract itself, so that a known condition becomes an accepted term rather than a later dispute.

If you are selling a home and want the disclosure package prepared correctly, or buying one and want to know what the seller’s answers actually commit them to, a consultation with Capitol Law Partners can walk through the form for your jurisdiction. Schedule a consultation.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed by this communication.

Attorney Cagatay Ersoy. Practical strategy for founders, investors, and growing companies.

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