What Do California Sellers Have to Disclose? TDS & SPQ

California requires sellers of one-to-four-unit residential property to deliver a written Transfer Disclosure Statement covering every material fact they know about the home, and the right to waive that obligation does not exist — Civil Code section 1102.1 declares any waiver void as against public policy. In practice the TDS is only the first page of a much thicker packet: the Seller Property Questionnaire, the Natural Hazard Disclosure, fire-hardening documentation for hill properties, bond and assessment disclosures, and whatever your particular city requires at point of sale. I am Karan Singh, a licensed REALTOR® and Broker with eXp Realty serving Castro Valley, Hayward, Fremont, Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore, and disclosure is the single area where East Bay sellers create the most avoidable legal exposure for themselves. Here is what you are actually required to tell a buyer, what happens when you don't, and how I have sellers handle it before the sign goes in the ground.

The Two Documents at the Center of Every California Sale

What is the difference between the TDS and the SPQ?
The Transfer Disclosure Statement is a form mandated by California Civil Code section 1102.6 that asks whether you are aware of specific defects and conditions. The Seller Property Questionnaire is a California Association of REALTORS® form that is not required by statute but goes much further, prompting you on history, disputes, repairs and events the TDS never asks about.

The Transfer Disclosure Statement is a statutory form. Its exact language is set out in Civil Code section 1102.6, and it applies to the sale of real property with one to four dwelling units. It is organized as a checklist — you indicate whether the property has certain features, whether you are aware of significant defects in named systems, and whether you know of conditions such as settling, drainage problems, room additions built without permits, or neighborhood nuisances.

The key phrase on the TDS is "of which the seller is aware." California does not require you to investigate your own house or to hire experts before listing. It requires you to disclose honestly what you actually know. That distinction protects sellers who are genuinely unaware of a hidden defect, and it offers no protection at all to a seller who knew about the leak and checked "no."

The Seller Property Questionnaire fills in what the TDS leaves out. It is a C.A.R. form, so it is contractual rather than statutory, but it is used in the overwhelming majority of California transactions and it asks the harder questions: past insurance claims, prior repairs, work done without permits, disputes with neighbors over fences and trees, noise, pets, water intrusion, pest treatment, deaths on the property, and whether anyone has told you the property has a problem. A great many disclosure lawsuits trace back to something the seller knew and would have written down had anyone asked — the SPQ asks.

What "material" means in practice

California courts treat a fact as material if a reasonable buyer would consider it important in deciding whether to buy or what to pay. That is a broad standard, and it is deliberately broad. My rule with sellers is simpler and safer: if you find yourself weighing whether something is worth mentioning, that hesitation is your answer. Disclose it. A disclosed condition is a negotiation. An undisclosed condition is a claim.

The Natural Hazard Disclosure — and What Changed for East Bay Hill Properties

Do I have to tell buyers my home is in a fire hazard zone?
Yes. Civil Code section 1103 requires sellers to deliver a Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement identifying whether the property sits in a designated flood, dam inundation, wildfire, fire hazard severity or earthquake fault or seismic hazard zone. Most sellers satisfy this by ordering a third-party NHD report, which is then delivered to the buyer with the disclosure packet.

The six state-designated hazard categories on the NHD are drawn from public maps, so this disclosure is not about what you personally know — it is about where your property is. That makes it one of the few disclosures a seller cannot reason their way out of. It also makes accuracy matter, because the underlying maps changed recently.

The CAL FIRE Office of the State Fire Marshal released updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps for Local Responsibility Areas in four phases between February and March of 2025, with the Alameda County LRA maps identified as of February 24, 2025. Those maps redrew the moderate, high and very high zones across the East Bay hills. Some parcels moved in; others moved out. In unincorporated Castro Valley, fewer areas fall inside the designated zones under the new maps than under the prior ones. Alameda County Fire Department publishes an address lookup so an owner can check a specific parcel rather than guess from a countywide map.

If your property is in a designated High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, a second obligation attaches. Under Assembly Bill 38, in effect since July 1, 2021, a seller of a home in those zones must provide the buyer with documentation of compliance with state defensible space requirements, or the parties must agree in writing that the buyer will obtain that documentation within one year of closing. As of July 1, 2025 the requirement expanded: sellers must also disclose information on the availability of fire-resistant retrofits using the State Fire Marshal's Low-Cost Retrofit List, and state whether any of those retrofits were completed during their ownership. The California Association of REALTORS® revised its Fire Hardening and Defensible Space Disclosure and Addendum in June 2025 to capture twelve specific home-hardening conditions.

For hillside homes in Hayward, Fremont, Castro Valley and the Livermore hills, this is now a scheduling issue rather than a paperwork issue. A defensible space inspection takes time to book, and clearing vegetation to pass takes longer. Sellers who start that conversation the week they go under contract are the ones who end up negotiating a credit instead of delivering a clean file.

The Rest of the Packet: Bonds, Permits, Deaths and Point-of-Sale Rules

What else do California sellers have to disclose besides the TDS?
Common additional disclosures include Mello-Roos and 1915 Act bond assessments, the Megan's Law database notice, federal lead-based paint disclosure for homes built before 1978, water-conserving plumbing fixture compliance, smoke and carbon monoxide alarm compliance, deaths on the property within the prior three years, and any local point-of-sale inspection or ordinance requirement.

A few of these deserve specific attention because of how often they surface in East Bay transactions.

Special assessments and bonds. Civil Code section 1102.6b requires a seller to make a good-faith effort to obtain and deliver a notice of assessment for Mello-Roos community facilities districts and 1915 Act improvement bonds. This matters enormously in newer construction — Dublin Ranch, and the Lathrop and Tracy corridors along 580 — where a Mello-Roos line can add a meaningful sum to the buyer's annual tax bill. Buyers who discover it after closing are the ones who call attorneys.

Unpermitted work. The TDS asks directly about room additions, structural modifications or other alterations made without necessary permits. Converted garages, enclosed patios, finished basements and ADUs built before the current permitting pathways existed are extremely common in older East Bay housing stock. Disclosing unpermitted work does not kill deals nearly as often as sellers fear. Concealing it reliably creates one.

Deaths on the property. Civil Code section 1710.2 requires disclosure of a death that occurred on the property within three years of the offer date. The same statute makes clear that a prior occupant's HIV or AIDS status is never a required disclosure, and asking about it is improper.

Local point-of-sale requirements. These are entirely local and they vary. Parts of the East Bay served by EBMUD fall under a regional private sewer lateral ordinance requiring a compliance certificate at transfer. Individual cities may impose their own resale inspection, water heater bracing, or utility verification requirements. Unincorporated Castro Valley has no city government at all, which changes which rules apply. Verify with your specific jurisdiction rather than assuming your neighbor's experience transfers.

How the disclosures compare

What Actually Happens If You Don't Disclose

Can a buyer sue me after closing for failing to disclose?
Yes. Failure to disclose a known material fact can support claims for fraud, concealment, negligent misrepresentation and statutory disclosure violations. Under California Code of Civil Procedure section 338(d), a fraud claim carries a three-year statute of limitations that runs from discovery of the problem — not from the closing date.

That discovery rule is the part sellers underestimate. A buyer who opens a wall during a remodel in year two and finds evidence of a repaired water intrusion the seller never mentioned may still be within the window. The clock started when they found it.

Remedies available to a buyer in a nondisclosure case can include repair costs, diminished property value, investigation costs, consequential damages and, in some circumstances, rescission of the sale. Where a buyer proves the seller intended to deceive, punitive damages become available. Attorney's fees may be recoverable where the contract or a statute provides for them, and the California Residential Purchase Agreement contains its own dispute resolution provisions that shape how these disputes proceed.

The statute does contain a meaningful protection for honest sellers. Civil Code section 1102.13 provides that a seller is not liable for an error or omission in a disclosure if it was not within their personal knowledge or was based on information provided by a licensed professional. The liability attaches to what you knew, or to what you were willfully or negligently careless about — not to what was genuinely invisible to you.

There is one more consequence sellers rarely hear about until it costs them leverage. If the TDS is delivered after the buyer has already signed the offer, Civil Code section 1102.3 gives the buyer a right to terminate the purchase — three days after personal delivery, five days after delivery by mail. Late disclosure hands a buyer a free exit at exactly the moment the market has moved on. Delivering the packet up front removes that option and removes the excuse.

Who Is Exempt — and Why Exempt Doesn't Mean Silent

Are any California sellers exempt from the Transfer Disclosure Statement?
Yes. Civil Code section 1102.2 exempts certain transfers, including court-ordered transfers such as probate sales, transfers by a bankruptcy trustee, foreclosure sales and subsequent sales by a lender that took title through foreclosure or deed in lieu, transfers to or from government entities, and transfers between co-owners. The exemption removes the form, not the duty of honesty.

This is the most misunderstood corner of California disclosure law, and it comes up constantly in inherited-property and trust sales across the East Bay. A trustee or executor who never lived in the home may be exempt from delivering the statutory TDS. That exemption says nothing about the common-law duty not to conceal a known material defect, and it does not exempt the transaction from the Natural Hazard Disclosure or from local point-of-sale requirements.

My practical guidance to exempt sellers is to disclose anyway, in writing, using an Exempt Seller Disclosure. If the estate has records of a roof replacement, a foundation repair or an insurance claim, those records are known facts. Putting them in front of the buyer costs nothing and closes the door on the argument that something was hidden. Fiduciaries in particular should be talking to the estate's attorney about this rather than relying on a general rule.

How I Have East Bay Sellers Handle Disclosure Before Listing

When should I complete my disclosures?
Before you go on the market, not after you accept an offer. Completing the packet during listing preparation lets buyers price the known conditions into their offers, eliminates the buyer's statutory three-to-five-day cancellation right for late delivery, and removes the mid-escrow renegotiation that late disclosure invites.

Here is the sequence I run with every seller.

• Write the packet first, price second. The disclosures tell me what the market will actually see, and pricing a home before you know what is in the file is guessing.
• Pull your own records. Permits, invoices, warranties, insurance claim history, HOA documents, prior inspection reports. Anything a buyer could find later, they should receive now.
• Consider a pre-listing inspection. It is optional, and it is not for every property. Where it earns its cost is in older housing stock where a buyer's inspector will find things anyway — you would rather know first and control the narrative.
• Check your fire hazard zone early. If you are on a hill parcel anywhere from Castro Valley through Fremont to the Livermore foothills, verify your designation on the 2025 maps and start the defensible space process immediately.
• Deliver everything with the marketing, not after the offer. With Alameda County median market time running near two months this summer per Bay East Association of REALTORS® data, buyers have room to be selective. A complete, transparent packet is a competitive advantage, not a liability.

The National Association of REALTORS® 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers found that the overwhelming majority of sellers work with an agent rather than sell on their own, and disclosure management is a substantial part of why. It is one of the few areas of the transaction where the downside arrives long after the money has been spent.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to disclose a problem I already fixed?

Generally yes, and this is where sellers get into trouble most often. The Seller Property Questionnaire specifically prompts on past repairs, past insurance claims and past conditions, and a repaired defect can still be material to a buyer — a foundation that was underpinned, a roof that leaked before replacement, a drainage issue that required correction. The California Association of REALTORS® designed the SPQ around exactly this gap. Disclosing a completed repair with the invoice attached typically strengthens a buyer's confidence rather than weakening it, because it demonstrates the problem was addressed by someone competent. Concealing it means the buyer learns about it from a neighbor or a permit record later, when the framing is entirely different.

What if I genuinely don't know the condition of something?

Say so. California Civil Code section 1102.13 provides that a seller is not liable for an error or omission that was not within their personal knowledge, and the TDS is explicitly framed around what the seller is aware of. You are not required to inspect your own home or retain experts before selling. Writing "unknown" and explaining why — you inherited the property, you never occupied it, the system predates your ownership — is an honest answer and a defensible one. What is not defensible is answering "no" to a question you have not actually considered.

Does the buyer's inspection replace my disclosure obligation?

No. A buyer's inspection and a seller's disclosure are independent obligations, and one does not substitute for the other. The California Department of Real Estate has long emphasized that a buyer's right to investigate does not relieve a seller of the duty to disclose known material facts. Under the California Residential Purchase Agreement, the buyer's investigation period runs on its own timeline — 17 days by default — while the seller's disclosure duty attaches to knowledge regardless of what any inspector finds. In practice, a defect the seller knew about and did not disclose is worse for the seller when the inspector misses it, because that is precisely the scenario that becomes a claim two years later.

Do these rules differ between Alameda County and Contra Costa County?

The state-level requirements are identical, because the TDS, the SPQ and the Natural Hazard Disclosure are creatures of California law rather than county ordinance. What differs is everything local: point-of-sale inspection requirements, sewer lateral compliance programs, city transfer tax obligations recorded through the Alameda County Clerk-Recorder versus the Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder, and which fire hazard severity designations apply under the 2025 CAL FIRE maps. Two homes twenty minutes apart can face materially different local checklists. Verify at the city level, and remember that unincorporated areas such as Castro Valley answer to the county rather than a city government.

Do I still have to disclose if I'm selling to an investor or "as-is"?

Yes. Selling as-is means the buyer accepts the property in its present condition — it does not waive your disclosure obligations, and Civil Code section 1102.1 makes waiver of the TDS void as against public policy regardless of what the parties agree to. Investor buyers and iBuyers are, if anything, more likely to pursue a nondisclosure claim, because they document condition carefully and treat the purchase as a business transaction. An as-is sale with full disclosure is clean. An as-is sale with a thin disclosure packet is an invitation.

How long am I exposed after the sale closes?

Under California Code of Civil Procedure section 338(d), a fraud or concealment claim carries a three-year statute of limitations, but the delayed discovery rule means the clock starts when the buyer discovers the problem — which can be well after closing. Other theories carry their own limitation periods. There is no bright-line date on which a seller becomes permanently safe, which is the practical argument for over-disclosing at the time of sale rather than hoping a condition stays hidden. This is a question for a California real estate attorney as applied to your specific facts, not one to resolve from a general article.

Get Your Disclosure Packet Right Before You List

Disclosure is not the paperwork at the end of the process. It is the first strategic decision of the sale, and it shapes your price, your buyer pool and your risk for years afterward. If you are thinking about selling in Castro Valley, Hayward, Fremont, Dublin, Pleasanton or Livermore, send me your address and I will walk your specific property through the required packet — including your current fire hazard severity designation and any local point-of-sale requirement — and run a net sheet alongside it so you see the whole picture before you commit. Start on the seller page or reach me directly through the contact page.

About Karan Singh, REALTOR®

Karan Singh is a highly respected REALTOR® with eXp Realty, serving Fremont, Hayward, Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore, Castro Valley, and the broader East Bay. Over the past 10 years, Karan has built a reputation as one of the top agents in the Bay Area, helping hundreds of families achieve their real estate goals with over $95 million in closed sales.

Karan Singh · eXp Realty · (510) 605-3937 · DRE #01950508

Equal Housing Opportunity. Karan Singh is a licensed California REALTOR® (CA DRE #01950508) with eXp Realty of CA Inc., regulated by the California Department of Real Estate (DRE). This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Costs, tax rates, commission structures, and contract terms vary by property, city, and transaction — confirm your specific numbers with your attorney, tax advisor, lender, or escrow/closing officer. Broker fees and commissions are fully negotiable and not set by law.