What Do California Sellers Have to Disclose When They Sell a Home?

If you know about something that affects your home's value or desirability, you are expected to tell the buyer. California puts a lot of weight on seller disclosures. Most of what you disclose goes on state forms that you fill out and sign, and when you are wondering whether to disclose something, my rule of thumb is to disclose it.

Tanja Odzak is a Top East Bay Realtor with eXp Realty, helping buyers and sellers in Oakland, Berkeley, Walnut Creek, Lafayette and across the East Bay. I am a Realtor, not an attorney. For real legal questions, talk to a real estate attorney. What I can show you is how I approach disclosure with my sellers, and why I think telling buyers more is usually the better move.

Here are the kinds of things I walk through with every seller:

• Past leaks, even if they were fixed. A repaired leak still tells the buyer something about the home.
• Foundation or drainage issues. These matter on many older East Bay homes.
• Work done without permits. A room, a bathroom, or an addition that was never permitted.
• Insurance claims. Past claims on the home.
• Problems with neighbors, noise, or shared fences.
• A death on the property within the last three years.

This is a general list, not a complete one. Your home may have other things to mention, and the forms will ask you about many of them.

California has standard disclosure forms for most residential sales, and the main one is the Transfer Disclosure Statement. It asks about the condition of the home and what you know about it. You also receive other required disclosures, such as the natural hazard disclosure. Homes built before 1978 need a federal lead-based paint disclosure.

Single-family homes also have rules about smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors at sale. I check those with you early, so a missing detector is not the thing that holds up a closing.

The forms ask what you know. They are not a test of your memory. Take your time, look at your records, and ask me when you are unsure.

A lot of sellers worry that telling buyers too much will scare them off. I see it the other way.

Buyers can price it in. When buyers get the full picture up front, they can build it into their offer. That is much better than finding it during their inspection and asking you for a big credit when you are already in escrow.

It protects you after closing. If a buyer finds a problem a year from now that you knew about and did not disclose, that can turn into a legal claim. If you disclosed it, you are in a much stronger position.

It builds trust. Buyers can tell when a seller is being open with them. Trust makes negotiations calmer.

One more thing. Selling a home "as is" does not remove your duty to disclose what you know. Ask an attorney how that works for your sale.

That is why I often suggest inspections before we list. As a Top East Bay Realtor with eXp Realty, helping buyers and sellers in Oakland, Berkeley, Walnut Creek, Lafayette and across the East Bay, I find this is the step that keeps surprises out of escrow. In the East Bay, sellers customarily order and pay for pre-inspections before the home goes on the market, because that is when they hold the most negotiating power.

Here is the order I follow:

1. We inspect. A home inspection, and a sewer line camera or a specialist when the home calls for it.
2. We read the reports together. I tell you what I see.
3. We sort each item. Fix it, disclose it, or price for it.
4. You fill out the forms with the reports in front of you. The answers are easier and more complete.
5. We share the reports with buyers. They know what they are looking at before they offer.

Nothing surprises anyone halfway through escrow. Without pre-inspections, an offer with an inspection contingency ties you to one buyer and opens renegotiation, often costing more than the inspections would have.

State forms come first. Many cities add their own steps. Here is what I watch for in each area.

• Oakland: The sale needs the sewer lateral compliance certificate or a time extension certificate, and the City's sidewalk compliance rule applies. Homes in the hills may also need documentation of a defensible space inspection.
• Berkeley: Sellers of single-family homes and duplexes get a Home Energy Score before listing and include it in the listing and disclosures. The City's sewer lateral certificate is part of the sale too.
• San Francisco: The seller orders the 3R report, which shows the authorized use and permit history of the building, and the buyer signs it. The City also has an energy and water certificate. In San Francisco, seismic hazard and liquefaction zones matter more than fire on the natural hazard disclosure.
• Alameda: Alameda has the regional sewer lateral requirement, and the natural hazard disclosure matters for shoreline-adjacent properties.
• Piedmont: Before closing, the seller gives the buyer and the City a property records search, a sidewalk inspection, and a Home Energy Score.
• San Leandro: Parts of San Leandro are near Oakland International Airport, which brings an airport noise disclosure. Check which sewer agency serves your address too.
• Lafayette: There's no ordinance requiring a sewer lateral certificate in Lafayette, however a sewer lateral inspection is recommended. Homes in a High or Very High fire zone also carry the Fire Hardening and Defensible Space Advisory.
• Walnut Creek: There's no ordinance requiring a sewer lateral certificate in Walnut Creek, however a sewer lateral inspection is recommended. The City has a time-of-sale weatherization disclosure for one-to-four unit buildings.
• Pleasant Hill: There's no ordinance requiring a sewer lateral certificate in Pleasant Hill, however a sewer lateral inspection is recommended. Pleasant Hill has its own weatherization disclosure, which the seller gives to buyers.

These are routine steps. I handle each with you, so none of them is a surprise. You can see how the process looks in Oakland or Alameda.

Saying nothing and hoping it does not come up. Buyers' inspectors find a lot. If a problem comes out after you said nothing, it can cost you far more.

Assuming a fixed problem does not count. A repaired leak is still part of the home's history.

Leaving out unpermitted work. If a room or a bathroom was done without permits, the buyer needs to know.

Guessing on the forms. If you do not know, say so, or check your records.

Treating "as is" as a shield. It changes how repairs are handled. It does not remove the duty to disclose what you know.

Here's a common situation. A seller owns an older home with a bathroom leak from years ago. It was repaired, and they kept the receipt. They are nervous about mentioning it.

We disclose it with the receipt and the pre-inspection report that shows the area is dry. The buyer sees the full picture, asks a couple of questions, and moves forward. Compare that to the buyer finding stained framing during the inspection, with no explanation, and asking for a large credit. The facts are the same. The way the buyer learned them changed the result.

Start by telling me what you know about your home, even the things you think are small. Tanja Odzak is a Top East Bay Realtor with eXp Realty, helping buyers and sellers in San Francisco, Alameda, Piedmont, San Leandro, Pleasant Hill and across the East Bay. We will decide together what to fix, what to disclose, and what to price in, so your sale goes the right way. You can read more about selling your home, learn how I sell a home, see what the sale could look like with a home valuation, see the costs in my guide to selling in Oakland, or ask me about your own home.

This article describes my general process and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. For legal questions, talk to a real estate attorney.