California Seller Disclosure Form: TDS, Hazards, and Exemptions

If you’re selling a home in California, the required seller disclosure forms include the Transfer Disclosure Statement, a Natural Hazard Disclosure, a lead-based paint disclosure for older homes, Mello-Roos and supplemental property tax notices, HOA documents for common interest properties, written certifications for smoke detectors and water heater bracing, and defensible space documentation in high fire hazard zones. Civil Code Section 1102 requires these for the sale of any single-family home, including properties with up to four dwelling units, and any contract clause that tries to waive them is void as against public policy.¹

The Transfer Disclosure Statement

The Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) is the central document. You fill it out in good faith, reporting what you actually know about the property. It is not a warranty. It is a snapshot of your current knowledge.

The form covers a wide range of issues, including:

Structural components: roof, foundation, walls, floors, ceilings, and driveway
Major systems: plumbing, electrical, heating, air conditioning, and sewer or septic
Built-in appliances: dishwashers, range and oven, garbage disposal, and similar fixtures
Any additions or modifications made without required building permits
Non-physical issues: neighborhood nuisances, boundary disputes, easements, and shared maintenance obligations
Known soil contamination, asbestos, mold, or proximity to hazardous waste

Your listing agent has an independent obligation on the TDS. Civil Code Section 2079 requires the agent to conduct a reasonably competent visual inspection of the accessible areas and disclose anything that could affect the property’s value or desirability.² The agent completes a separate section of the TDS with their own findings. A cooperating buyer’s agent has the same duty. The inspection does not require moving furniture or opening walls, but the agent cannot simply rubber-stamp your answers.

Natural Hazard Disclosure

A separate Natural Hazard Disclosure (NHD) statement tells the buyer whether the property sits within any of six designated hazard zones:³

A FEMA-mapped special flood hazard area
A dam failure inundation zone
A high or very high fire hazard severity zone
A wildland area with substantial forest fire risk
An earthquake fault zone
A seismic hazard zone

Most sellers hire a third-party NHD company to prepare the report, which typically costs between $50 and $150. This disclosure is required even when the transaction is otherwise exempt from the TDS, which trips up sellers in probate and foreclosure situations who assume they are off the hook for everything.

Lead-Based Paint Disclosure

If the home was built before 1978, federal law requires you to disclose known lead-based paint or lead hazards and hand the buyer an EPA-approved pamphlet on lead safety. The buyer must also receive a 10-day opportunity to arrange a lead inspection before becoming bound by the contract.⁴ The rule covers most residential housing, but it exempts foreclosure sales, housing certified lead-free by a qualified inspector, and units exclusively for elderly residents where no children under six live or are expected to live.⁵

Mello-Roos and Supplemental Tax Notices

If the property sits within a Mello-Roos Community Facilities District, you must make a good-faith effort to obtain a notice of the special tax from the local agency and pass it along to the buyer. Mello-Roos taxes fund infrastructure like roads, schools, and utilities, often in newer developments, and they add a separate line item to the property tax bill that can run into the thousands of dollars annually.

Every seller must also deliver a written notice about supplemental property tax bills. When ownership changes, the county assessor revalues the property, which usually triggers one or two supplemental tax bills. These go directly to the new owner rather than the lender, so an impound account will not cover them.⁶ First-time buyers are frequently caught off guard, which is exactly why the law requires a conspicuous written warning.

HOA and Condo Documents

If the property sits within a homeowners association or common interest development, you face a substantial additional packet under Civil Code Section 4525. Before closing, you must provide:⁷

Copies of all governing documents (CC&Rs, bylaws, and rules)
The most recent financial statement and annual budget report
A statement of current regular and special assessments, plus any unpaid balances or monetary fines against the unit
Any unresolved violation notices previously sent to you
Information about rental restrictions or leasing prohibitions, if any
A copy of the initial construction defect report, if one exists and remains unresolved
Board-approved assessment changes that have not yet taken effect

If the buyer requests them, you must also hand over copies of board meeting minutes from the past 12 months. If the association is unincorporated, a written statement disclosing that fact is required as well.

Smoke Detector and Water Heater Certifications

California requires two written safety certifications before closing.

You must certify in writing that the home has operable smoke detectors installed per State Fire Marshal requirements. Battery-operated detectors satisfy the state rule unless a local ordinance demands hardwired units, and some cities do, so checking with the local building department is worth the effort.⁸

Every water heater in the home must be braced, anchored, or strapped to prevent it from toppling during an earthquake. You certify compliance in writing, and that certification can be folded into the TDS, the sales contract, or a standalone document.⁹

Wildfire Defensible Space

Since July 2021, sellers of property in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone must provide documentation showing the property meets defensible space requirements under Civil Code Section 1102.19. Defensible space means maintaining vegetation clearance and fire-resistant landscaping around the home according to Public Resources Code standards. If you cannot obtain documentation of compliance before closing, the buyer must agree in writing to get that documentation within one year after the sale closes.

Death on the Property

California draws a three-year line on death disclosures. Under Civil Code Section 1710.2, you do not have to tell buyers about a death on the property if it occurred more than three years before the buyer’s offer. The statute explicitly says deaths older than three years are not material facts requiring disclosure.¹⁰ Deaths within the past three years may be material and should be disclosed. Regardless of timing, a seller asked directly about deaths on the property cannot lie; an intentional misrepresentation in response to a direct question is never protected.

When the Forms Must Be Delivered

Deliver the disclosures as early as possible, ideally before the buyer submits an offer. In practice, forms often arrive after the buyer has already signed the purchase agreement, and the law accounts for that.

When a disclosure, or any material change to one, arrives after the buyer has signed, the buyer gets a short window to walk away. The buyer can cancel by delivering written notice within three days if the disclosure was handed over in person, or within five days if it was sent by mail or delivered electronically.¹¹ Once that window closes, the buyer’s right to cancel based on late delivery expires. Dragging your feet on disclosures hands the buyer free options to back out of the deal at a late stage.

“As-Is” Sales Still Require Every Form

Selling a home “as-is” does not eliminate any disclosure obligation. California courts have consistently held that a seller who knows of defects that materially affect the property’s value, and that are not visible to or easily discoverable by the buyer, must disclose them regardless of any “as-is” language. The clause may protect you from claims about conditions you genuinely did not know about, but it provides no cover for hiding known problems. The TDS, NHD, lead paint disclosure, and every other mandatory form must still be completed and delivered.

Who Is Exempt From the TDS

Not every sale requires a Transfer Disclosure Statement. Civil Code Section 1102.2 exempts specific transaction types where the seller usually lacks personal knowledge of the property:¹²

Court-ordered sales, including probate, eminent domain, and sales under a writ of execution
Any foreclosure sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure, or transfer to a lender by a borrower in default
Transfers between co-owners
Transfers to a spouse or family member in the line of descent
Transfers between spouses as part of a divorce or legal separation
Sales by a fiduciary administering a trust, estate, guardianship, or conservatorship
Transfers to or from a government entity
Sales by the State Controller of unclaimed property
Tax-defaulted property sales

One important exception to the fiduciary rule: if the trustee is an individual who either owned or lived in the property within the past year, the TDS is still required.¹²

These exemptions are narrow. They excuse only the TDS itself. Your general duty to disclose known material defects, and separate statutory requirements like the natural hazard disclosure, lead paint disclosure, and supplemental tax notice, survive regardless of whether the TDS is required.

What Happens If You Skip a Disclosure

A seller who carelessly or deliberately skips a required disclosure faces liability for the buyer’s actual losses. Civil Code Section 1102.13 holds anyone who willfully or negligently fails to comply responsible for the actual damages the buyer suffers.¹³ Those damages typically include the cost of repairing the undisclosed problem or the difference between what the buyer paid and what the home was actually worth with the defect.

The disclosure statute itself does not allow a court to void the sale. It specifically says a transfer cannot be invalidated solely for failure to comply with disclosure requirements.¹³ But when a seller intentionally hides a known defect or lies on the forms, the buyer can bring a separate fraud claim. Under California’s general fraud and deceit laws, intentional concealment of material facts can support a lawsuit to rescind the sale entirely, unwinding the transaction and returning the parties to where they started. If the conduct rises to the level of fraud, oppression, or malice and the buyer proves it by clear and convincing evidence, a court can also award punitive damages on top of actual losses.¹⁴

1
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1102 – Disclosures Upon Transfer of Residential Property
2
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 2079 – Duty to Prospective Purchaser of Real Property
3
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1103.2 – Natural Hazard Disclosure Requirements
4
US Environmental Protection Agency. Real Estate Disclosures About Potential Lead Hazards
5
US Environmental Protection Agency. Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule Section 1018 of Title X
6
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1102.6c – Supplemental Property Tax Bill Notice
7
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 4525 – HOA Disclosure to Prospective Purchaser
8
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code HSC 13113.8 – Smoke Detector Compliance
9
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code HSC 19211 – Water Heater Bracing Requirements
10
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1710.2 – Disclosure of Death
11
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1102.3a – Disclosure Delivery and Termination Rights
12
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1102.2 – Exemptions From Disclosure Requirements
13
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1102.13 – Liability for Disclosure Violations
14
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 3294 – Punitive Damages for Fraud, Oppression, or Malice