California Seller Disclosure Form: TDS, Hazards, and Exemptions

A California seller disclosure form rarely comes alone. State law requires a Transfer Disclosure Statement together with a Natural Hazard Disclosure, a lead-based paint disclosure for older homes, notices about Mello-Roos and supplemental property taxes, written smoke detector and water heater certifications, defensible space documentation in fire zones, and a full HOA document packet if the property sits in a common interest development. Civil Code Section 1102 applies these requirements to any sale of a single-family home, including buildings with up to four units, and any attempt to waive them is void as against public policy.¹

The Transfer Disclosure Statement

The Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) is the central form. The seller fills it out in good faith and reports everything they know about the property’s condition. It is not a warranty. It is a snapshot of what the seller currently knows.

The form covers a wide range of issues:

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

The listing agent has an independent duty under Civil Code Section 2079 to conduct a reasonably competent visual inspection of 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, and a cooperating buyer’s agent owes the same duty. The inspection doesn’t require moving furniture or opening walls, but the agent cannot simply rubber-stamp the seller’s 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 special flood hazard area mapped by FEMA
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. The NHD is required even when the sale is otherwise exempt from the TDS, which catches many probate and foreclosure sellers off guard.

Lead-Based Paint Disclosure

For any home built before 1978, federal law requires the seller 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 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, the seller 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 such as roads, schools, and utilities, often in newer developments, and they can add thousands of dollars annually to the tax bill.

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 won’t cover them.⁶

HOA and Condo Disclosures

Sellers of property within a homeowners association or common interest development have a large additional packet to assemble under Civil Code Section 4525. Before closing, the seller 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 the seller
Information about rental restrictions or leasing prohibitions
A copy of the initial construction defect report, if one exists and remains unresolved
Board-approved assessment changes that haven’t yet taken effect

If the buyer asks, the seller must also hand over copies of board meeting minutes from the past 12 months. If the association is not incorporated, a written statement disclosing that fact is required too.

Smoke Detector and Water Heater Certifications

Two separate written safety certifications are required, and both must be delivered before closing.

Smoke Detectors

The seller must certify in writing that the home has operable smoke detectors installed per State Fire Marshal requirements. This applies to every single-family dwelling sold in California. Battery-operated detectors satisfy the state requirement unless a local ordinance demands hardwired units, and some cities do.⁸

Water Heater Bracing

Every water heater in a home being sold must be braced, anchored, or strapped to prevent it from toppling during an earthquake. The seller certifies 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 the seller can’t obtain compliance documentation before closing, the buyer must agree in writing to obtain it within one year after the sale closes.

Death on the Property

California draws a three-year line. Under Civil Code Section 1710.2, a seller is not required to tell buyers about a death on the property if it occurred more than three years before the buyer’s offer, and the statute explicitly says older deaths are not considered material facts requiring disclosure.¹⁰ Deaths within the past three years may be material and should be disclosed. And regardless of timing, a seller who is asked directly cannot lie in response.

“As-Is” Sales Still Require Disclosure

Selling a home “as-is” does not eliminate any disclosure obligation. California courts have consistently held that a seller who knows of defects materially affecting the property’s value, and that a buyer cannot easily discover, must disclose them regardless of any “as-is” language. An “as-is” clause may protect a seller from claims about conditions they genuinely didn’t know about, but it provides no cover for hiding known problems. Every mandatory form still applies.

Who Is Exempt From the TDS

Not every sale requires a TDS. Civil Code Section 1102.2 exempts specific transactions where the seller usually lacks personal knowledge of the property’s condition:¹¹

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

There’s an important carve-out to the fiduciary exemption. If the trustee is an individual who either owned or lived in the property within the past year, the TDS is still required.¹¹

These exemptions are narrow. They excuse only the TDS. The seller’s general duty to disclose known material defects, and separate statutory requirements like the NHD, lead paint disclosure, and supplemental tax notice, survive regardless.

When the Forms Must Be Delivered

Disclosures should reach the buyer as early as possible, ideally before an offer is submitted. In practice, they often arrive after the buyer has signed the purchase agreement, and the law accounts for that.

When a disclosure or any material change to a disclosure arrives after signing, the buyer can cancel by delivering written notice to the seller within three days if the disclosure was handed over in person, or within five days if it was sent by mail or delivered electronically.¹² Once that window closes, the buyer’s right to cancel based on late delivery expires. No contract clause can override this. Any waiver of California’s disclosure obligations is void as against public policy.¹

What Happens if a Seller Fails to Disclose

Civil Code Section 1102.13 holds a seller who willfully or negligently fails to comply with the disclosure requirements responsible for the buyer’s actual damages.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, and it specifically says a transfer cannot be invalidated solely for a disclosure failure.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 seller’s conduct rises to fraud, oppression, or malice and the buyer proves it by clear and convincing evidence, the court can also award punitive damages on top of the 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 1102.2 – Exemptions From Disclosure Requirements
12
California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1102.3a – Disclosure Delivery and Termination Rights
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