If you’re selling a home in New Jersey, the seller’s disclosure in New Jersey is now a mandatory, signed property condition statement that you must give the buyer before they become contractually obligated to purchase. The requirement took effect on August 1, 2024, under the Real Estate Consumer Protection Enhancement Act, and it applies to every residential sale, including bank-owned properties and estate sales.1New Jersey Consumer Affairs. Seller’s Property Condition Disclosure Statement Q1-108 (August 2024) Hiding a known defect can expose you to treble damages under the Consumer Fraud Act, so the form is worth taking seriously.
What the Law Requires Now
Before 2024, New Jersey didn’t force sellers to fill out a standard form. Many used the New Jersey Realtors® disclosure statement voluntarily, but the state largely ran on caveat emptor, with fraud and concealment carved out by the courts.
The Real Estate Consumer Protection Enhancement Act (P.L. 2024, c.32) changed that. Every seller of residential real property must complete and sign the property condition disclosure statement promulgated by the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs and give it to the buyer before the buyer is bound by any purchase contract.1New Jersey Consumer Affairs. Seller’s Property Condition Disclosure Statement Q1-108 (August 2024) Individual owners, estate administrators, and banks selling foreclosures are all covered. There’s no carve-out for infrequent sellers.
The form contains 108 questions, and the seller alone is the source of every answer. You answer based on what you actually know, not what a professional inspector might turn up. Sellers also have to disclose known material defects even if the form doesn’t ask about them specifically. Answering “unknown” to something you plainly should know about invites problems later.
What the Form Asks About
The 108 questions cover nearly every physical system in the home. The major categories:1New Jersey Consumer Affairs. Seller’s Property Condition Disclosure Statement Q1-108 (August 2024)
- Roof age, repair or replacement history, and known leaks.
- Basement, attic, and crawl spaces: water leakage, dampness, mold, sump pump operation, and foundation cracks or bulges.
- Structural issues: movement or shifting, fire, smoke, wind, or flood damage, sinkholes, and retaining walls.
- Plumbing, water, and sewage: drinking water source, well location and testing, septic system details and inspection history, lead piping, backups and leaks.
- Heating and cooling: system types and ages, above-ground or underground fuel storage tanks, and tank closure certificates.
- Electrical: wiring type, amp service, circuit breakers, and needed repairs.
- Termites and pests: known infestations, damage history, and pest control contracts.
- Additions and remodeling done with required permits and approvals.
- Land and boundaries: fill or expansive soil, flood hazard zone status, drainage, wetlands, boundary disputes, easements, and riparian claims.
- Environmental hazards: known contamination, lead paint, asbestos, underground storage tanks, and similar concerns.
You also disclose the home’s age and how long you’ve owned it. The point of the form isn’t to make you an inspector. It’s to capture what you already know, which is exactly why a seller who has lived with a leaky basement for years can’t credibly claim ignorance later.
Material Defects Beyond the Form
New Jersey law also requires disclosure of any known material defect, meaning a significant problem with a structural component, system, or condition that a buyer wouldn’t easily catch on a walkthrough. Foundation cracks hidden behind drywall, recurring mold behind walls, and persistent basement flooding are the classic examples.
That obligation has long roots in the case law. In Weintraub v. Krobatsch, the New Jersey Supreme Court allowed buyers who discovered a severe cockroach infestation after moving in to pursue a concealment claim against the seller, holding that sellers cannot stay silent about conditions they know would likely kill the deal.2Justia Case Law. Weintraub v. Krobatsch, 64 NJ 445 (1974)
Off-site conditions can also be disclosable. In Strawn v. Canuso, the Supreme Court held that a developer and its broker had to disclose that a residential development sat near the Buzby Landfill, an abandoned hazardous-waste dump. The rule from that case: off-site physical conditions must be disclosed when they are known to the seller, not readily observable by the buyer, and material enough to affect the property’s value or desirability.3Justia Case Law. Strawn v. Canuso, 140 NJ 43 (1995) Nearby contamination, industrial activity, and similar environmental risks fall within that reach even though they don’t originate on the property.
Partial repairs deserve their own attention. If you patched a foundation crack but water still seeps through during heavy rain, that history belongs on the form. Repairs that mask an ongoing problem are where most post-sale disputes start.
Specific Hazard Disclosures
Lead-Based Paint
Federal law requires sellers of any home built before 1978 to disclose known lead-based paint hazards, provide any available lead inspection reports, and give the buyer a lead hazard information pamphlet. Buyers must also get at least 10 days to conduct their own lead inspection before being bound by the contract, unless both parties agree to a different timeline.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 4852d – Disclosure of Information Concerning Lead Upon Transfer of Residential Property
Radon
If a radon test has been conducted on the property, the seller must give the buyer a copy of the test results at the time the contract is entered into. The EPA and the U.S. Surgeon General recommend testing every home, and parts of New Jersey have elevated radon levels.5US EPA. Radon and Real Estate Resources Sharing existing results is not optional.
Flood Risk
The mandatory form asks directly whether the property is in a flood hazard zone, whether it has had drainage or flood problems, and whether flood insurance is required. For coastal properties and homes in river basins, these answers carry real weight, and buyers tend to scrutinize them closely.
Deaths, Crimes, and Stigma
New Jersey treats these differently from physical defects. Sellers are not required to volunteer information about past deaths, crimes, or alleged paranormal activity on the property. But if a buyer directly asks, the seller must answer honestly. Silence is permitted; a lie in response to a direct question is not.
What Happens If You Don’t Disclose
New Jersey recognizes three forms of misrepresentation, and a seller can be exposed under any of them:
- Fraudulent misrepresentation: the seller intentionally concealed or lied about a material fact. This is the most serious and supports both rescission and damages.
- Negligent misrepresentation: the seller made a false statement without verifying it. Carelessness is enough; intent to deceive is not required.
- Innocent misrepresentation: the seller passed on inaccurate information without knowing it was false. A buyer who relied on it to their detriment may still recover.
The Consumer Fraud Act is the biggest exposure. It reaches any unconscionable commercial practice, deception, or knowing concealment of a material fact connected to a sale. A seller found to have violated the Act owes treble damages, meaning three times the buyer’s actual loss, plus reasonable attorney’s fees, filing fees, and court costs.6Justia. New Jersey Revised Statutes Title 56 Section 56-8-19 – Action for Damages and Other Remedies A $15,000 foundation repair can become a $45,000 judgment before fees are added.
The buyer generally has six years to file a Consumer Fraud Act claim, and the clock runs from when the buyer discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, the undisclosed defect. Closing does not start it. For problems that surface years after the sale, that timing rule matters.
In the most severe cases, courts can rescind the sale outright, unwinding the deal and putting both sides back where they were before closing. That remedy is reserved for fraud so pervasive that the buyer would never have bought the home had they known.
Your Agent’s Role
Sellers bear primary responsibility, but real estate brokerages have their own duties under the Consumer Protection Enhancement Act. They must deal honestly and fairly with all parties, make a reasonable effort to obtain material information about every property they market, and disclose all material information known to the agent or that a reasonable effort would have revealed.7State of New Jersey: Department of Banking and Insurance. Bulletin No. 24-11
In Gennari v. Weichert Co. Realtors, the Supreme Court held a brokerage liable under the Consumer Fraud Act after its agents repeated a builder’s claims about construction quality and experience without verifying them. The court found the brokerage had no procedure to confirm what its agents told buyers, and that those unverified statements were material misrepresentations.8Justia Case Law. Roxanne Gennari v. Weichert Co. Realtors, 148 NJ 582 (1997) For sellers, the practical point is that your agent isn’t a shield. If the agent knows something material, or would have known with reasonable effort, that information is going to reach the buyer one way or another, and it’s better placed on your disclosure form than surfaced later in litigation.