Seller guide · 8 min read
California seller disclosures, explained: what you have to tell a buyer.
California's rule is simple to state and broad in practice: a seller must disclose known material facts affecting the property's value or desirability. The forms turn that rule into questions. Here's what's on them, who's exempt, and why honest disclosure protects you.
The core form
The Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS)
General information for California homeowners, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Laws change and every situation differs — confirm with a California attorney, escrow or title company, or tax professional.
Civil Code §1102 requires most sellers of one-to-four-unit residential property to deliver a Transfer Disclosure Statement. It's a checklist of what the property has (appliances, systems, features) and whether they're working, followed by yes/no questions about defects, additions or alterations made without permits or not in compliance with code, easements and encroachments, flooding or drainage problems, settling or soil issues, HOA and CC&Rs, lawsuits, and neighborhood nuisances. Agents complete their own visual-inspection sections.
You answer from your actual knowledge. You're not required to investigate or hire inspectors, but you can't answer “no” to something you know is “yes,” and you can't stay silent about a material fact just because no question asks it directly.
Hazards
The Natural Hazard Disclosure (NHD)
Sellers must disclose whether the property is in a special flood hazard area, a dam-inundation area, a very high fire hazard severity zone, a wildland fire area, an earthquake fault zone, or a seismic hazard zone. In practice a third-party NHD report is ordered through escrow and answers all six from official maps, usually with local add-ons like airport influence areas (relevant near Brown Field and North Island) and Mello-Roos or other special assessments — common in newer Chula Vista and Otay Ranch neighborhoods.
The report costs a modest fixed fee, and buyers rely on it. A house in a hazard zone can still be sold; the disclosure just has to be made.
Everything else
Other disclosures California sellers make
Seller Property Questionnaire
The C.A.R. supplement to the TDS with more detailed questions about repairs, insurance claims, pets, and past problems. Widely used in San Diego.
Lead-based paint
Federal law for homes built before 1978 — most of the older housing stock in National City, Logan Heights, and central Chula Vista. A disclosure form and pamphlet, plus a 10-day inspection opportunity the buyer can waive.
Deaths on the property
A death on the property within the last three years generally must be disclosed if asked or if material; the manner of death has limits under state law. HIV/AIDS status is never disclosed.
Megan's Law notice
A statutory notice about the sex-offender database is included in the contract; sellers don't research it themselves.
Water heater, smoke and CO detectors
Sellers certify that the water heater is braced and that smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors are installed as required.
Local requirements
Some cities require point-of-sale inspections or certificates; City of San Diego does not, but sewer-lateral, backflow, and other local items can apply. Escrow and your buyer will flag them.
Exemptions
Who doesn't have to give a TDS
- Court-supervised transfers — probate sales, conservatorships, and foreclosure or trustee's sales
- Transfers by a trustee of a trust who has never lived in the property and has no knowledge of its condition (a common exemption for inherited homes in a trust)
- Transfers between co-owners, spouses, or to direct descendants in certain circumstances
- New homes sold under a public report
- Even when exempt from the TDS form, sellers generally must still disclose known material facts and provide the NHD
Why it matters
What happens if you leave something out
A buyer who discovers a known, undisclosed defect after closing can sue for the cost to repair, and in serious cases for rescission. Disclosure claims are among the most common post-sale disputes in California. The defense is straightforward: disclose what you know, in writing, before the contingency period ends. Buyers rarely walk away over a disclosed problem — they price it, or they were expecting it.
When you sell to us, we ask the same questions and expect the answers to include unpermitted work, leaks, and code cases. Nothing you disclose changes whether we'll buy; it just goes into the price we already assume.
FAQ
Questions San Diego homeowners ask
Do I have to disclose if I sell as-is?
Yes. As-is affects who pays for repairs, not what you disclose. The two work together.
What if I don't know whether the addition was permitted?
Say so. The TDS lets you answer from your knowledge; you can also check permit history with the City of San Diego or Chula Vista's building department. Guessing “yes” is the mistake to avoid.
I inherited the house and never lived there. Do I fill out a TDS?
If you're selling as trustee of a trust and have no knowledge of the property's condition, you may be exempt from the TDS form itself; a probate sale is exempt. You still disclose anything you actually know, and the NHD still applies. Confirm with escrow or an attorney.
Can I revise a disclosure after the buyer has it?
Yes — and you should if you learn something new. The buyer gets a fresh period to cancel after a material amended disclosure.