Texas seller's disclosure notice: who gives it, when and what it asks

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Kooky

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Texas law attaches a questionnaire to the sale of a lived-in house. Before the buyer is bound by a contract, the seller is expected to hand over a written notice that says what the seller knows about the building: which appliances and systems are there, which of them work, whether the roof has been repaired, whether water has ever come in. The duty sits in section 5.008 of the Texas Property Code, under the title "Seller's Disclosure of Property Condition", and the form most sellers fill in is the Seller's Disclosure Notice published by the Texas Real Estate Commission, known as TREC.

The notice is a state rule, and nothing in it carries over to another state. It is also separate from the federal lead-based paint disclosure for older homes, which has its own form and its own timetable. This guide follows the Texas rule only: who must give the notice, the eleven kinds of transfer the statute leaves out, the deadline and the buyer's seven-day exit when the deadline is missed, the questions on the form item by item, what the seller is not required to say, the version of the TREC form in force in October 2026, and the other notices that Chapter 5 of the Property Code asks a Texas seller to give.

Texas Property Code, section 5.008, subsections (a), (e) and (f), as published by the Texas Legislature.

Where the rule sits and who it binds

Section 5.008 opens with one sentence that fixes the whole scope. Under subsection (a), a seller of "residential real property comprising not more than one dwelling unit" located in Texas must give the purchaser a written notice. The duty falls on the seller, not on a broker, and it is owed to the purchaser. The property test has two parts: the land must be residential, and it must hold no more than one dwelling unit.

The statute then prints the notice itself. Subsection (a) lets the seller use either the notice the section prescribes or a written notice that is substantially similar and contains, at a minimum, all of the items in the statutory one. That wording is why more than one version of the form can circulate in Texas: a publisher may add questions, but it may not take any away. TREC's form is the version the state regulator publishes, and TREC describes it on its forms page as containing the information that section 5.008 requires on material facts and the physical condition of the property.

According to the legislative history printed under the section, 5.008 was added by an Act of 1993 and took effect on 1 January 1994. The same history lists amendments in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019, the last of them effective on 1 September 2019.

TREC's own summary of the scope is shorter than the statute's. Its forms page says the notice is required of "sellers of previously occupied single family residences", and a TREC question-and-answer page dated 14 August 2026 says section 5.008 requires the notice in most residential transactions. The statute's own limits are the one-dwelling-unit test in subsection (a) and the list of exempt transfers in subsection (e).

Eleven transfers the statute leaves out

Subsection (e) says that section 5.008 "does not apply" to eleven kinds of transfer. They fall into four families. The first is the forced or supervised sale. The second is the transfer inside a family or between people who already own the property together. The third is the transfer to or from government. The fourth concerns the property itself: a home nobody has lived in yet, or land on which the house is a small part of the value.

Two of these deserve a closer look. Item 10 is the reason TREC speaks of "previously occupied" homes: a newly built house sold for the first time, never lived in, is outside the section. Item 11 is a value test, and it can be shown with arithmetic. In a worked example with invented figures, a rural tract is valued at US$800,000 as a whole and the old farmhouse on it at US$30,000. Five per cent of US$800,000 is US$40,000. The dwelling's value, US$30,000, does not exceed that figure, so the transfer falls under item 11. Change one assumption and put the farmhouse at US$50,000, and the dwelling's value exceeds the US$40,000 line: item 11 no longer applies. The statute does not say on the pages read for this guide how the two values are to be established, so that part depends on the case.

An exemption from section 5.008 is an exemption from this notice only. TREC makes the point in its August 2026 question-and-answer page about a different form: a seller who is exempt from the Seller's Disclosure Notice is not necessarily exempt from the commission's separate disclosure on groundwater and surface water rights, and each requirement is worked out on its own.

The deadline and the seven-day exit

Subsection (f) sets the timing in two sentences. The notice must be delivered by the seller to the purchaser "on or before the effective date of an executory contract" that binds the purchaser to buy the property. If a contract is entered into without the seller providing the notice, the purchaser may terminate it for any reason within seven days after receiving the notice.

Three points follow from that wording. First, the reference date is the effective date of the contract, not the closing. Second, the consequence the subsection attaches to a late notice is a right for the buyer, not a fine on the seller: the contract stays valid unless the purchaser chooses to end it. Third, the right is unusually wide while it lasts. Termination for any reason means the purchaser does not have to point to a defect revealed by the notice, or to anything in the notice at all.

The seven days run from receipt of the notice, not from the contract date. A worked example, with invented dates: a contract becomes effective on Monday 5 October 2026 and no notice has been delivered. The seller hands the completed notice to the buyer on Thursday 8 October 2026. Counting seven days after 8 October gives Thursday 15 October 2026 as the last day of the window. Had the notice been delivered on Monday 5 October or before, on or before the effective date, the window would never have opened. How the days are counted in a given contract, and what counts as receipt, is not spelled out in subsection (f) and depends on the contract and the case.

The subsection is silent on one situation: the notice that never arrives. Since the seven days run from receipt of the notice, the text ties the clock to a delivery. What follows when there is none, and what other remedies a purchaser may have when a notice is missing or wrong, are not set out on the pages read for this guide and are left as an open point.

Equipment, systems and smoke detectors

The form printed in subsection (b) starts with a statement of what it is. It discloses the seller's knowledge of the condition of the property as of the date the seller signs. It is not a substitute for any inspections or warranties the purchaser may wish to obtain, and it is not a warranty of any kind by the seller or the seller's agents. The first question is about occupancy: is the seller living in the property, and if not, how long has it been since the seller occupied it?

Item 1 is the inventory. For each entry the seller marks yes, no or unknown, so the purchaser learns what the property has. The list runs from the kitchen (range, oven, microwave, dishwasher, trash compactor, disposal) to washer and dryer hookups, window screens and rain gutters; security, fire detection and intercom equipment; smoke detectors, a smoke detector for the hearing impaired, carbon monoxide alarms and emergency escape ladders; television antenna and cable wiring and a satellite dish; ceiling, attic and exhaust fans; central air conditioning, central heating and wall or window units; the plumbing system, a septic system or a public sewer connection; patio or decking, an outdoor grill and fences; a pool, sauna, spa or hot tub with pool equipment and heater; an automatic lawn sprinkler system; fireplaces and chimneys, woodburning or mock; natural gas lines and gas fixtures; and liquid propane gas, either from a community system or held on the property.

Several entries ask for a detail and not just a tick: whether the garage is attached, not attached or a carport; whether the garage door opener is electronic and how many controls come with it; whether the water heater is gas or electric; whether the water supply is city, well, municipal utility district or co-op; and the type and approximate age of the roof. The item closes by asking whether the seller is aware that any of the listed items is not in working condition, has known defects or needs repair. A yes must be described.

Item 2 concerns smoke detectors. The seller states whether the property has working smoke detectors installed in line with Chapter 766 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, or does not know. A footnote in the statutory form gives the buyer a specific right. A buyer may require the seller to install smoke detectors for the hearing impaired when three conditions are all met: the buyer or a member of the buyer's family who will live in the dwelling is hearing impaired; the buyer gives the seller written evidence of the impairment from a licensed physician; and within 10 days after the effective date the buyer makes a written request that says where the detectors are to go. The form adds that the parties may agree on who pays and on the brand. In the earlier example, with an effective date of 5 October 2026, the tenth day after it is 15 October 2026.

Defects, known conditions and repairs

Items 3, 4 and 5 move from what exists to what is wrong. Each asks what the seller is "aware of", a phrase that recurs through the form and limits every answer to the seller's own knowledge.

Item 3 lists the parts of the structure: interior walls, ceilings, floors, exterior walls, doors, windows, the roof, the foundation or slab, a basement, walls and fences, driveways, sidewalks, plumbing with sewers and septics, electrical systems and lighting fixtures, plus a line for other structural components. The seller answers yes or no to known defects or malfunctions in each, and explains every yes.

Item 4 is a list of conditions, some past and some present. It covers active termites and termite damage, previous structural or roof repair, hazardous or toxic waste, asbestos components, urea formaldehyde insulation, radon gas, lead-based paint, aluminium wiring, previous fires, unplatted easements, soil movement and fault lines, subsurface structures or pits, previous use of the premises to manufacture methamphetamine, and water damage not due to a flood event. One entry is about pools: a single blockable main drain in a pool, hot tub or spa, which the form notes may create a suction entrapment hazard. Subsection (g) defines the terms. A main drain is a submerged suction outlet, typically at the bottom of a pool or spa, that carries water to a recirculating pump; a blockable main drain is one of any size or shape that a human body can block enough to create that hazard.

Item 5 is a catch-all: is the seller aware of any item, equipment or system in or on the property that needs repair? It picks up whatever the lists in items 1, 3 and 4 did not name.

The flood questions

Items 6, 7 and 8 are the flood section, and they are the most technical part of the form. Item 6 asks whether the seller is aware of three things: present flood insurance coverage; previous flooding due to a failure or breach of a reservoir, or a controlled or emergency release of water from one; and previous water penetration into a structure on the property due to a natural flood event. It then asks whether the property lies wholly or partly in a 100-year floodplain, a 500-year floodplain, a floodway, a flood pool or a reservoir.

Because those five words decide the answer, the statutory form defines them, along with the map they refer to. The flood insurance rate map is the most recent flood hazard map published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968.

Item 7 asks whether the seller has ever filed a claim for flood damage to the property with any insurance provider, including the National Flood Insurance Program. Item 8 asks whether the seller has ever received assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the United States Small Business Administration for flood damage to the property. The two questions look backwards over the seller's whole period of ownership, where the first part of item 6 asks about present cover.

A note attached to item 7 tells the purchaser two things about insurance. Homes in high-risk flood zones with mortgages from federally regulated or insured lenders are required to have flood insurance. And the Federal Emergency Management Agency encourages homeowners in high-risk, moderate-risk and low-risk zones alike to buy flood insurance covering the structure and the personal property inside it.

Legal status, fees and two built-in notices

Item 9 leaves the building and turns to its legal surroundings. The seller says whether the seller is aware of: room additions, structural modifications or other alterations or repairs made without the necessary permits or not in compliance with the building codes in effect at the time; homeowners' association or maintenance fees or assessments; any common area, such as facilities shared with others in undivided interest; notices of violations of deed restrictions or governmental ordinances affecting the condition or use of the property; lawsuits directly or indirectly affecting the property; and any condition on the property that materially affects a person's physical health or safety.

Two further entries concern water. One asks about a rainwater harvesting system on the property that is larger than 500 gallons and uses a public water supply as an auxiliary source. The other asks whether any portion of the property lies in a groundwater conservation district or a subsidence district.

Items 10 and 11 are not questions. They are notices to the purchaser, printed in the statutory form itself. Item 10 says that a property in a coastal area, seaward of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway or within 1,000 feet of the mean high tide bordering the Gulf of Mexico, may be subject to the Open Beaches Act or the Dune Protection Act, Chapters 61 and 63 of the Texas Natural Resources Code, and that a beachfront construction certificate or dune protection permit may be required for repairs or improvements. Item 11 says the property may be located near a military installation and may be affected by high noise or by air installation compatible use zones. It points the reader to the most recent Air Installation Compatible Use Zone Study or Joint Land Use Study prepared for the installation, which the form says can be found on the websites of the installation and of the county and any municipality where it is located.

The form ends with dated signature lines for the seller and an acknowledgment of receipt signed by the purchaser. The acknowledgment matters for subsection (f): it is a record that the notice was received.

What the seller does not have to say

Two subsections limit the duty. Subsection (c) says that a seller or a seller's agent has no duty to disclose that a death by natural causes, by suicide, or by an accident unrelated to the condition of the property occurred there. The same subsection removes any duty to disclose that a previous occupant had, may have had, or has AIDS, an HIV-related illness or HIV infection. The wording on deaths is narrow: it covers natural causes, suicide and accidents unrelated to the property's condition, and says nothing either way about other deaths.

Subsection (d) sets the standard of knowledge. The notice is completed to the best of the seller's belief and knowledge as of the date it is completed and signed. If the information required by the notice is unknown to the seller, the seller indicates that fact on the notice, and by doing so complies with the section.

The TREC form in force in 2026

TREC lists the Seller's Disclosure Notice as form 55-1. Its forms page gives the effective date of the current version as 28 May 2026, and a second page on the commission's site for the same form number shows 22 May 2026; both list a comparison file labelled as a May 2026 redline. The two dates are reported here as the commission displays them.

The form has changed twice in recent years according to TREC's own notes. In the first change, the commission said it had to update the notice because of legislation passed by the 88th Texas Legislature: sellers now disclose the type of piping used for fuel gas supply lines, choosing between black iron pipe, copper and corrugated stainless steel tubing, with "unknown" available to a seller who cannot tell. TREC added that inspectors have noted the piping type on their reports since 2022, and that the revised form was for contracts executed on or after 1 September 2023. The note does not name the bill. The forms page still carries the sentence that the notice is used with a contract entered into on or after that date.

The second change came out of the commission's meeting of 4 May 2026 in Houston. TREC's recap of the meeting says the Seller's Disclosure Notice was expanded to cover insurance status, private road maintenance responsibilities, above-ground storage tanks and conservation easements, as part of a set of form amendments that followed recommendations of the Broker-Lawyer Committee. The recap says amended forms could be used voluntarily once posted and that the remaining forms became mandatory on 1 July 2026; it does not state clearly whether the notice is among those. The text of form 55-1 itself was not read for this guide, so the exact wording of the four additions is not given here.

The same meeting produced a second, separate disclosure form. The Seller's Disclosure About Groundwater and Surface Water Rights was created, TREC says, after the Sunset Advisory Commission directed it to give buyers information on water rights tied to a property. It works through a new section in paragraph 7 of most TREC contract forms, the resale condominium contract excepted, and is required unless every statement in a listed paragraph of the contract is true. TREC's question-and-answer page stresses the difference: the Seller's Disclosure Notice is required by the Property Code, while the water disclosure is not required by another law. On the same page the commission says it gives general information, not legal advice.

Other notices a Texas seller gives

Section 5.008 is one of several notice duties in Chapter 5 of the Property Code. Each has its own trigger, and several repeat the pattern of subsection (f): a notice due by the time the contract binds the purchaser, and a short termination window if it is late.

The public improvement district notice is the most developed of the group. It must be given before a binding contract is executed, the purchaser signs it, and at closing a current version is signed, acknowledged and recorded in the county deed records. If the notice comes late but at or before closing and the purchaser closes anyway, section 5.0141 conclusively presumes that the purchaser has waived the right to terminate. Otherwise section 5.0145 lets a purchaser sue for one of two things: all costs of the purchase with interest and reasonable attorney's fees, or an amount of not more than US$5,000 with reasonable attorney's fees. The section calls these remedies exclusive and sets a time limit, the earlier of the 90th day after the purchaser receives the first district assessment or tax notice and the fourth anniversary of the sale.

Section 5.016 has a form requirement of its own: the lien disclosure goes to the purchaser and to each lienholder, in at least 12-point type, before the earlier of the conveyance or the contract, and the statute adds that a violation does not invalidate the conveyance. Section 5.019 goes one step past termination: where a seller had actual knowledge of the water level fluctuations and failed to give the notice, the purchaser may bring an action for misrepresentation after the conveyance.

A Texas disclosure notice records what one seller knew on one day. The statute builds the buyer's protection around when it arrives, and leaves the inspection to the buyer.

Kooky, from Shaka

Kooky edits Agents Estate and builds Shaka, the payment router he made for real estate professionals. One payment comes in, and every agent, agency and party in the deal receives their signed share on closing date.

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