LOCAL RULES: PROPERTY CODE 5.008

Texas seller's disclosure requirements

Your Texas seller's disclosure has 6 rules to meet. ReportDraft puts every one on your checklist and checks your draft before you sign.

  • The notice given on or before the contract's effective date
  • Every item answered, Unknown where the seller does not know
  • Whether any item is not working or needs repair
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Texas law gives the buyer of most single-family homes a written Seller's Disclosure Notice: the seller's own account of the home's items, defects, conditions, flood history and other matters, item by item, signed before the contract binds the buyer. Here is what it must contain and when, with each rule linked to the statute.

Last reviewed October 24, 2026 against the official sources listed below.

Seller's disclosureTEXAS / FREE CALCULATOR

Delivery and deadlines

WhatWhenRule
Seller's Disclosure Notice given to the purchaserOn or before the effective date of the contract (November 2, 2026)Property Code s. 5.008 (f)
Given after the contract was signed: the purchaser may terminate the contract for any reasonUntil November 12, 2026 (7 days after receiving it on November 5, 2026)Property Code s. 5.008 (f)
A buyer with a hearing-impaired household member may ask in writing, with a physician's written evidence, for smoke detectors for the hearing impairedBy November 12, 2026 (10 days after the effective date)Property Code s. 5.008 (b); Health and Safety Code ch. 766

Dates count from the dates entered. The contract itself may set other deadlines; check it.

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What Texas requires

  • A seller of a Texas home of not more than one dwelling unit gives the purchaser a written Seller's Disclosure Notice: the form in the statute, or one substantially similar that contains at least all of its itemsTexas Property Code s. 5.008 (a) and (b)
  • The seller delivers the notice on or before the effective date of the contract; if the contract is signed without it, the purchaser may terminate the contract for any reason within 7 days after receiving the noticeTexas Property Code s. 5.008 (f)
  • The seller completes the notice to the best of the seller's belief and knowledge as of the date signed, and marks as unknown anything the seller does not knowTexas Property Code s. 5.008 (d)
  • The notice asks whether the seller knows of any listed item not in working condition, with known defects, or in need of repair, and of any item, equipment or system in need of repairTexas Property Code s. 5.008 (b), items 1 and 5
  • A one-family or two-family dwelling must have working smoke detectors installed under the building code in effect where it is located, and the notice asks whether it doesTexas Health and Safety Code s. 766.002 ยท Texas Property Code s. 5.008 (b), item 2
  • The notice covers flood risk: present flood insurance, reservoir flooding, natural flood water penetration, location in a 100-year or 500-year floodplain, a floodway, a flood pool or a reservoir, flood insurance claims and FEMA or SBA assistanceTexas Property Code s. 5.008 (b), items 6 to 8
  • The notice is executed: the seller signs and dates it, and the purchaser signs to acknowledge receiving itTexas Property Code s. 5.008 (b)
  • The seller and the seller's agent have no duty to disclose a death on the property by natural causes, suicide or an accident unrelated to its condition, or that an occupant had or may have had HIV or AIDSTexas Property Code s. 5.008 (c)
  • No notice is needed for transfers by court order or foreclosure, by a bankruptcy trustee, to a mortgagee, by a fiduciary administering an estate, guardianship or trust, between co-owners, to a spouse or a lineal relative, under a divorce decree, to or from a government, of a never-occupied new home, or where the dwelling is worth 5% or less of the propertyTexas Property Code s. 5.008 (e)

Who gives it, and on what form

A seller of residential property with not more than one dwelling unit gives the purchaser the notice set out in Property Code section 5.008, or one substantially similar that contains at least all of its items. It covers the home's items and systems, known defects, conditions such as termites, drainage, asbestos or lead-based paint, items in need of repair, flood insurance, floodplains and claims, permits, homeowners' association fees, lawsuits, and the coastal and military installation notices.

Sales by court order or foreclosure, by a bankruptcy trustee or an estate's fiduciary, between co-owners or family members, under a divorce decree, to or from a government, of a never-occupied new home, and of land where the house is worth 5% or less of the property do not need it.

Answering every item

The seller answers Yes, No or Unknown for each item, to the best of the seller's belief and knowledge on the day it is signed, and explains every Yes where the form asks. Unknown is a lawful answer: a seller who does not know says so on the notice.

The notice asks whether the home has working smoke detectors installed as Chapter 766 of the Health and Safety Code requires. A buyer with a hearing-impaired household member can ask in writing, within 10 days after the effective date and with a physician's written evidence, for smoke detectors for the hearing impaired.

Deliver it before the contract binds

The seller delivers the notice on or before the effective date of the contract. If the buyer signs a contract without it, the buyer may terminate the contract for any reason within 7 days after receiving the notice. The seller signs and dates the notice, and the buyer signs to acknowledge receiving it.

Neither the seller nor the seller's agent has to disclose a death on the property from natural causes, suicide or an accident unrelated to its condition, or an occupant's HIV or AIDS status.

Common mistakes

  • Leaving items blank instead of answering Unknown.
  • Giving the notice after the buyer has signed the contract, which hands the buyer a 7-day right to walk away.
  • Answering Yes to a condition without the explanation the form asks for.
  • Skipping the flood questions because the home has never flooded: floodplain location and insurance are asked separately.
  • Having the listing agent fill in the answers for the seller: the notice is the seller's own knowledge.

Sources

Last reviewed October 24, 2026. Next review due January 24, 2027. This page explains published rules to help you write your report. It is not legal advice; the official text linked above governs.