What disclosures do Texas home sellers have to make? Most sellers of a previously occupied single-family home must deliver a written Seller's Disclosure Notice under Texas Property Code §5.008 on or before the contract's effective date, plus any notices that apply to the specific property: lead-based paint for pre-1978 homes, MUD and PID notices, HOA information, and, since July 1, 2026, the new TREC Water Notice.
What changed in the Texas disclosure rules in 2026?
The Texas Real Estate Commission revised its standard forms, and use of the revised forms became mandatory on July 1, 2026. Three changes reach sellers directly (Republic Title, TREC Contract Changes 2026; TREC Seller's Disclosure Notice, Form 55-1):
- The Seller's Disclosure Notice is now TREC Form 55-1. It added new questions, including whether the property is currently insured, whether coverage has been non-renewed or hard to obtain, private road maintenance responsibilities, above-ground storage tanks over 500 gallons, and conservation easements.
- A brand-new standalone Water Notice, TREC No. 61-0. It asks what the seller knows about groundwater conservation district status, water wells, severed groundwater rights, and surface water rights (TREC Water Notice).
- Standby generators are now called out among the listed improvements.
A January 2025 revision had already added a question on mold remediation certificates from the preceding five years.
When does the Seller's Disclosure Notice have to be delivered?
On or before the effective date of the contract. This is the single most consequential detail in the statute.
Under §5.008(f), if the notice is delivered after the effective date, the buyer may terminate the contract for any reason within seven days of receiving it, and the earnest money comes back to them (Texas Property Code §5.008). The buyer does not need to find anything wrong with the house. A late form simply hands them a free exit.
That is why our agents treat the disclosure as a pre-listing document, not a contract document. It is completed, reviewed, and ready to deliver before the home goes live, so it accompanies every offer conversation rather than chasing one.
What does the Seller's Disclosure Notice actually ask?
The form asks what you know, as of the day you sign it, about the property's condition. It is not a warranty and not an inspection. "Unknown" is a legitimate answer when it is true. The main sections cover:
- Items and systems that convey — appliances, HVAC, water heater, pool equipment, generator, and whether each is working.
- Known defects in structural components, roof, foundation, plumbing, electrical, and similar systems.
- Known conditions such as prior termite treatment, previous fires, water penetration, asbestos, lead-based paint, aluminum wiring, and settling.
- Flooding and flood insurance — whether the property sits in a 100-year or 500-year floodplain, a reservoir flood pool, or a floodway; whether it has flooded; whether flood insurance claims or federal disaster assistance were ever paid.
- Repairs and remediation — including mold remediation certificates and any repairs made under an insurance claim.
- Legal and neighborhood matters — HOA, shared common areas, lawsuits affecting the property, unpermitted room additions, and pending special assessments.
- Insurance status — the 2026 addition asking whether the home is currently insured and whether coverage has been difficult to obtain.
- Inspection reports obtained in the last four years.
Texas REALTORS® publishes a fuller version, TXR-1406, that includes every statutory item plus additional questions. In an agent-represented sale it is the form most buyer's agents expect to see, and a more complete answer generally protects the seller better than a minimal one (Texas REALTORS® Seller's Disclosure Notice).
Which notices sit outside the main form?
These are the ones sellers miss, because they are triggered by where the property is or when it was built rather than by its condition.
Notice | When it applies | Source of the requirement |
|---|---|---|
Lead-based paint disclosure | Homes built before 1978 | Federal law; buyer gets a 10-day opportunity to test |
MUD notice | Property inside a municipal utility district | Texas Water Code §49.452 — before the contract is signed |
PID notice | Property inside a public improvement district | Texas Property Code §5.014 |
HOA addendum and resale certificate | Property subject to a mandatory owners' association | TREC Addendum and Texas Property Code Ch. 207 |
Water Notice (TREC 61-0) | All sales using TREC forms since July 1, 2026; most meaningful for wells and acreage | TREC rules effective July 1, 2026 |
Seller's Disclosure of Property Condition | Most single-family resales | Texas Property Code §5.008 |
Across Dallas-Fort Worth, MUD and PID notices most often apply to newer homes in master-planned communities, where those assessments appear on the tax bill rather than the HOA statement.
Who is exempt from the seller's disclosure?
Section 5.008(e) lists eleven narrow exemptions. The common ones:
- Sales under a court order or foreclosure, and sales by a lender after foreclosure or deed in lieu
- Sales by a fiduciary administering an estate, guardianship, conservatorship, or trust
- Transfers between co-owners, to a spouse or lineal relative, or between spouses in a divorce
- Transfers to or from a governmental entity
- A new home that has never been occupied
- Property where the dwelling is worth 5% or less of the total value
An exemption from the form is not permission to conceal a known defect. Common-law fraud and Deceptive Trade Practices Act claims remain available to a buyer whether or not the statutory notice was required. Sellers handling an estate often assume they are exempt; executors usually are, but heirs who have taken title and sell in their own names usually are not. Our guide on selling an inherited house in Dallas covers that distinction.
What should a seller do to get the disclosure right?
The Agency Dallas approaches what Texas home sellers have to disclose as a records exercise first and a form exercise second. Our agents ask for the documents before anyone fills in a box, because most disclosure disputes trace back to a seller answering from memory.
- Pull the paper. Insurance declarations page, any CLUE claims report, repair invoices, mold remediation certificates, the last survey, prior inspection reports, and any HOA or district statements.
- Use the current form. TREC 55-1 or the current TXR-1406, plus the Water Notice. An old PDF saved from a prior sale is the most common mistake we see.
- Answer what you know, and say "unknown" when you don't. Do not guess in either direction.
- Attach the reports you reference. If you disclose a foundation repair, attach the engineer's letter and the warranty.
- Identify the location-based notices — MUD, PID, HOA, lead-based paint — and prepare them with the disclosure.
- Deliver before the effective date, with proof of delivery. That closes the seven-day window before it opens.
A pre-listing inspection is optional, but for older homes it often makes the disclosure easier to complete accurately and removes leverage from the buyer's inspection later. It fits naturally into the sequence in our step-by-step guide to selling a home in Dallas, and it helps avoid several of the common mistakes DFW sellers make.
How do disclosures differ when the property is land or acreage?
For rural property the Water Notice does real work. A seller with a well, a stock tank, or land inside a groundwater conservation district now has to say what they know about registration, permits, and severed water rights. We covered those questions in detail in how water rights work when purchasing a Texas ranch.
Two items rural buyers ask about are not on any mandatory disclosure form at all: whether the seller owns the minerals, and whether the land carries an agricultural valuation that will trigger rollback taxes after closing. Both belong in the conversation anyway. See should I worry about mineral rights when buying land in North Texas and how rollback taxes work when buying land in Texas.
A never-occupied new home from a builder is exempt from §5.008, though MUD and PID notices still apply; buyers on that side should read what incentives DFW home builders are offering right now.
The Agency Dallas helps sellers work through what Texas home sellers have to disclose before the listing goes live, so the form is finished, documented, and delivered on time.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to disclose a problem I already fixed?
Generally yes, if it is a past condition the form asks about. Previous flooding, foundation repair, roof replacement after an insurance claim, and mold remediation all appear as questions. Disclosing a completed repair with the invoice and any warranty attached usually reassures buyers more than it worries them, and it removes the argument that something was hidden.
What happens if I deliver the Seller's Disclosure Notice late?
If the notice arrives after the contract's effective date, Texas Property Code §5.008(f) lets the buyer terminate for any reason within seven days of receiving it and recover the earnest money. The buyer does not need to identify a defect. Delivering the notice on or before the effective date, with proof, keeps that option closed.
Is "unknown" an acceptable answer on the Texas disclosure form?
Yes, when it is true. The notice reports the seller's actual knowledge on the date it is signed. A seller who has never been in the attic can say the condition of the decking is unknown. What creates exposure is answering "no" to something you knew about, or guessing to make the form look cleaner.
Do I have to complete the new Water Notice if my home is on city water?
Sales on TREC forms after July 1, 2026 include the Water Notice, but for a typical home on municipal water with no well, pond, or surface water rights it is brief. It matters most for acreage, ranch, and well-water properties, and for land inside a groundwater conservation district, where registration and permit details can affect value.
Are executors and trustees exempt from the seller's disclosure?
A fiduciary administering an estate, guardianship, conservatorship, or trust is exempt under §5.008(e). Heirs who have already taken title and sell in their own names usually are not. Even an exempt seller cannot misrepresent the property or conceal a known material defect, so most fiduciaries still share what they know in writing.
Does a seller have to disclose that the home was hard to insure?
Under the 2026 form, yes. The revised notice asks whether the home is currently insured, whether a policy has been non-renewed or cancelled, and whether the seller has had difficulty obtaining coverage. Insurance cost now drives many DFW buyers' payment math, so it is better to answer it fully and early.
Sources: Texas Property Code §5.008 and §5.014; Texas Water Code §49.452; TREC Seller's Disclosure Notice (Form 55-1) and Water Notice (TREC No. 61-0), mandatory July 1, 2026; Republic Title, TREC Contract Changes 2026; federal Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act. This post is general information, not legal advice; consult a Texas real estate attorney about your specific situation.
