California Seller Disclosures: TDS, SPQ, AVID and Who Is Exempt
In California, a seller of single-family residential property generally must give the buyer a Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) under Civil Code sections 1102 through 1102.17, and the statute says any waiver of that duty is void. Most sellers also fill out the California Association of REALTORS® Seller Property Questionnaire (SPQ), and each agent documents a visual inspection, usually on C.A.R.’s Agent Visual Inspection Disclosure (AVID). Some transfers, such as court-ordered probate sales and most fiduciary sales, are exempt from the TDS form itself, but not from every disclosure duty.
This guide walks through each document in a typical California disclosure package, who prepares it, when the buyer must receive it, the buyer’s right to cancel when it arrives late, and the exemptions. It is written for sellers preparing to list and for buyers reading a disclosure packet for the first time. For the broader sequence of a sale, start with our guide to the California selling process.
The disclosure package at a glance
A complete package is a stack of separate documents, each driven by its own statute or form. The table lists the ones most sellers of a house or condo deal with.
| Document | Where the rule comes from | Who completes it |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) | Civil Code 1102–1102.17 | Seller, plus an inspection section for each agent |
| Seller Property Questionnaire (SPQ) | C.A.R. standard form, used alongside the TDS | Seller |
| Agent Visual Inspection Disclosure (AVID) | C.A.R. form documenting the agent duty in Civil Code 2079 | Listing agent and buyer’s agent, separately |
| Natural Hazard Disclosure (NHD) | Civil Code 1103 and following | Seller, usually through a third-party report provider |
| Lead-based paint disclosure and pamphlet | Federal law, 42 U.S.C. 4852d (housing built before 1978) | Seller, with the agent responsible for making sure it happens |
| Megan’s Law database notice | Civil Code 2079.10a | Printed in the purchase contract |
| Smoke alarm and water heater bracing statements | Health and Safety Code 13113.8 and 19211 | Seller |
| Defensible space documentation | Civil Code 1102.19 (High and Very High fire hazard zones) | Seller, using a local or state inspection |
The smoke alarm statement under section 13113.8 applies to sales of single-family dwellings and is delivered as soon as practicable before title transfers. Section 19211 has the seller certify in writing that the water heater is braced, and it allows that certification to appear in the TDS itself. Local add-ons sit on top of this list: sewer lateral certificates, city resale reports and similar items. Our California point-of-sale requirements checklist covers the alarm, bracing and fixture rules in more detail.
The standard: disclose what you know
The TDS is the seller’s own account of the property. It reports the condition as the seller knows it; it is not a warranty and it does not replace inspections the buyer may want. Don’t leave a box blank because a problem was fixed years ago: a repaired defect is still part of the property’s history, and the repair records help explain it.
Civil Code 1102.4 sets the limits on liability. A seller or agent isn’t liable for an error or omission that wasn’t within their personal knowledge when the information came from a public agency or a qualified outside source and they used ordinary care in passing it on. Handing over a requested report from a licensed expert, such as a pest control operator, engineer, roofer or geologist, can satisfy the disclosure for the items that report covers.
The practical lesson for sellers is to attach what you have. Prior inspection reports, repair invoices, permits and insurance claim paperwork all help the buyer understand what you wrote, and they show the care the statute rewards. If you are deciding whether to order inspections before listing, see our page on pre-listing inspections.
What the TDS and SPQ ask about
The TDS works through the property’s equipment and features, then asks whether the seller is aware of significant defects or malfunctions in structural parts of the house. It then asks a series of yes-or-no questions about the land and the neighborhood. One of those questions asks about additions, structural changes, alterations or repairs made without the necessary permits.
The SPQ goes further in plain language. It prompts sellers to think about past repairs, insurance claims, neighborhood conditions and other matters that a buyer would want to know but that don’t fit neatly on the TDS. C.A.R. revises its forms from time to time, so use the current version supplied through your agent’s forms software rather than an old copy saved on a computer.
In wine country and on rural parcels, the items that most often need a careful answer are wells and septic systems, shared private roads, nearby farming activity and work done without permits. Our guide to wells, septic and rural utilities in Sonoma County explains what buyers ask for on those systems.
The agent’s visual inspection
Civil Code 2079 puts a separate duty on licensees. In a sale of residential property with one to four dwelling units, or a manufactured home, the broker must conduct a reasonably competent and diligent visual inspection. The broker must then disclose facts that inspection would reveal which materially affect the property’s value or desirability.
The duty applies to the listing broker and to a broker who cooperates in finding the buyer. Each agent completes their own inspection disclosure, and the AVID is the form most agents use to record it. It covers what the agent could see in reasonably accessible areas; it is not a home inspection, a pest inspection or a code review.
Timing and the buyer’s right to cancel
Under Civil Code 1102.3, the seller must deliver the TDS as soon as practicable before title transfers. If the TDS, or a material amendment to it, reaches the buyer after the buyer has signed an offer, the buyer may terminate by written notice. The window is 3 days after delivery in person, or 5 days after delivery by mail or electronic delivery where the parties agreed to transact electronically.
The clock starts only when the seller’s sections are complete and delivered; if the seller has an agent, the agent’s section must be delivered too. A late or amended disclosure therefore reopens a short exit for the buyer, even after other contingencies are removed. The NHD statute has a similar termination rule, explained in our natural hazard disclosure report guide.
A sequence that avoids surprises:
- Before listing, gather permits, past reports, warranties and repair records.
- Complete the TDS and SPQ yourself, in your own words, and have your agent review them for blanks and vague answers.
- Order the NHD report and any local point-of-sale inspections early.
- Make the package available to buyers before offers are due, so it isn’t delivered after a contract is signed.
- If something changes during escrow, such as a new leak or a repair, amend the disclosure in writing and expect the buyer’s cancellation window to apply to the amendment.
Who is exempt from the TDS
Civil Code 1102.2 lists transfers the TDS article doesn’t cover. The main ones:
- Court-ordered transfers, including probate estate sales, foreclosure sales, bankruptcy trustee sales and eminent domain.
- Sales involving a borrower in default, including sales by a lender that took the property through foreclosure or a deed in lieu.
- Sales by a fiduciary administering a trust, guardianship, conservatorship or decedent’s estate. There is a carve-out: an individual acting as trustee of a revocable trust must still complete the TDS if they once owned the property or lived in it during the prior year.
- Transfers between co-owners, to a spouse or to a person in a seller’s line of consanguinity (a blood relative), and transfers between spouses under a judgment of dissolution or legal separation.
- Transfers to or from a government entity, and tax-defaulted property sales.
- Leases, other than a lease with an option to buy or a ground lease coupled with improvements.
An exemption from the form is narrower than it sounds. Federal lead rules, the NHD zones and the duty not to conceal known material facts can still apply. Our pages on selling a house held in a trust and selling a house in probate show how exempt sellers usually handle disclosures in practice. A quiet, off-market sale is not on the exemption list at all, as our private sales guide notes.
Items that trip sellers up
A death on the property
Civil Code 1710.2 says an owner or agent need not disclose an occupant’s death on the property, or its manner, if the death happened more than three years before the buyer’s offer. No disclosure is ever required that a prior occupant had HIV or died of AIDS-related complications. The section does not protect an intentional misrepresentation when a buyer asks directly, so answer a direct question truthfully.
Unpermitted work and ADUs
Garage conversions, enclosed porches and backyard units built without permits are common in older North Bay housing. The TDS asks about unpermitted work, and a buyer’s lender and appraiser may treat an unpermitted unit differently from a legal one. Our page on selling a home with an unpermitted ADU covers the options, from legalizing the unit before listing to pricing it as storage space.
Defensible space in fire zones
Since July 1, 2021, Civil Code 1102.19 has required sellers of residential property in a High or Very High fire hazard severity zone to give the buyer documentation of compliance with state or local defensible space rules. Where no local ordinance applies, that means an inspection report obtained within the six months before the contract. If the seller has none, buyer and seller sign an agreement that the buyer will obtain it, generally within one year after closing where an inspection program exists. Our AB 38 inspection guide lists who performs the inspection in Sonoma, Napa and Marin, plus the separate wildfire notice for older homes.
The Megan’s Law notice
Civil Code 2079.10a requires contracts to sell one-to-four-unit residential property to include a notice that information about registered sex offenders is available through the Department of Justice website, www.meganslaw.ca.gov. Once that notice is given, the seller and brokers don’t have to provide additional information about registered offenders nearby. The standard purchase agreement already contains the notice; the duty to disclose other known facts is unchanged.
Lead-based paint in pre-1978 homes
Federal law requires a seller of pre-1978 housing to give the buyer the EPA pamphlet, disclose any known lead-based paint or hazards, hand over any reports, and allow 10 days, or another agreed period, to test before the buyer is bound. Our lead-based paint disclosure guide explains how that fits with the California forms.
Selling as is doesn’t change disclosure
An as-is sale tells the buyer you won’t make repairs. It does not reduce what you must disclose, because the TDS waiver ban in Civil Code 1102 still applies. If anything, an as-is seller benefits from a thorough package, because buyers who see the problems in writing before they offer can price them in from the start.
Our page on selling a house as is in California covers how that plays out in negotiations. Sellers who go without an agent take on the drafting themselves; our list of common mistakes made by FSBO sellers includes several disclosure errors.
Diamond may refer you to partners we work with; you’re free to choose any provider.
Questions people ask
Is the Seller Property Questionnaire required by law?
The TDS is required by statute; the SPQ is a C.A.R. form, not a statute. It becomes part of the deal when the purchase agreement calls for it, which the standard California forms typically do. Either way, it is a useful prompt for disclosing things the TDS doesn’t ask about directly.
Can a buyer agree to waive the TDS?
No. Civil Code 1102 states that any waiver of the article’s requirements is void as against public policy. A buyer can accept the property as is, but cannot sign away the seller’s disclosure.
Do trustees and executors fill out a TDS?
Usually not, because Civil Code 1102.2 exempts sales by a fiduciary administering a trust or estate and court-ordered probate sales. The exception is a natural person serving as trustee of a revocable trust who is a former owner or recent occupant; that trustee must complete it.
How long does a buyer have to cancel after receiving a late disclosure?
Under Civil Code 1102.3, 3 days after delivery in person, or 5 days after delivery by mail or agreed electronic delivery. The notice must be in writing to the seller or the seller’s agent.
Do I have to disclose a death in the house?
Not if it happened more than three years before the offer, under Civil Code 1710.2. A death within three years may need to be disclosed if it is material, and you must never misrepresent the facts when a buyer asks directly.
Does the agent’s inspection replace a home inspection?
No. Civil Code 2079 requires a visual inspection of reasonably accessible areas. A licensed home inspector, and specialists where needed, look much more closely at the systems and structure.
What if I discover a problem after the disclosures go out?
Amend the disclosure in writing as soon as you know. A material amendment delivered after the buyer’s offer gives the buyer the same 3- or 5-day window to terminate, so it is better to raise it early than at closing.
A clear, complete disclosure package is one of the best protections a seller has. To start planning yours, see how Diamond helps sellers or contact us to talk through your property.
This page explains California’s disclosure rules in general terms and is not legal advice. Exemptions, amendments and disputes over what a seller knew turn on the facts, so ask a California real estate attorney about your own sale.
Sources & notes
- Justia: California Civil Code section 1102 (application of the TDS article; waiver void)
- California Public Law: Civil Code section 1102.2 (exemptions)
- California Public Law: Civil Code section 1102.3 (delivery and termination)
- California Public Law: Civil Code section 1102.4 (liability limits; expert reports)
- Justia: California Civil Code section 1102.19 (defensible space documentation)
- California Public Law: Civil Code section 1710.2 (deaths on the property)
- California Public Law: Civil Code section 2079 (agent visual inspection)
- California Public Law: Civil Code section 2079.10a (Megan’s Law notice)
- Cornell Legal Information Institute: 42 U.S.C. 4852d (lead-based paint disclosure)
- California Public Law: Health and Safety Code section 13113.8 (smoke alarm statement)
- California Public Law: Health and Safety Code section 19211 (water heater bracing certification)
- California Department of Real Estate: Disclosures in Real Property Transactions (6th ed., 2005; used for the general structure of the TDS form)
- Note: C.A.R. form contents (SPQ, AVID) are described generally; the member-only form text and current version numbers were not reviewed.
Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.
