What a Florida seller must disclose

Is a seller disclosure form required in Florida?

No Florida statute prescribes a general seller disclosure form for a house. The obligation was set by a court: in Johnson v. Davis, 480 So. 2d 625 (Fla. 1985), the Florida Supreme Court ruled that a home seller who knows of a fact that materially affects value has to reveal it when the buyer cannot readily observe it and does not already know it. Florida Realtors notes that the duty can be met orally, and its lawyers recommend putting it in writing.

The form a listing agent usually hands you is the Seller's Property Disclosure - Residential, published by Florida Realtors and currently numbered SPDR-4x. Its own notice says it is meant to help a seller comply with the law, that it may miss issues specific to your house, and that it is not a contract. Its sections cover structures and systems, termites, water intrusion and flooding, plumbing, the roof, pools, sinkholes, association restrictions, environmental items, government claims and litigation, FIRPTA, and an addendum for anything that needs more room.

Two limits on the duty are worth knowing. Florida's lower courts have declined to extend Johnson to commercial sales, and section 689.25 says that a homicide, suicide, or death on the property, or an occupant's HIV or AIDS diagnosis, is not a material fact that has to be disclosed. The duty also reaches the licensees: section 475.278 lists disclosure of known facts that materially affect the value of residential property among a real estate agent's duties.

Does selling as is change what you have to disclose?

No. An as-is clause changes who handles repairs, and it leaves the disclosure duty where it was. The Florida Bar Journal reports that the Third District found no as-is exception to Johnson, and the as-is rider used with the Florida Realtors and Florida Bar contract states that it does not relieve the seller of the contract's Standard W obligations for facts the seller knows.

The practical answer is the same under either contract. Write down what you know, attach the paperwork that shows it, and let the buyer decide what it is worth. A known problem left off the page because the form did not ask about it is still a known problem.

Which Florida notices have to be signed before the contract?

Start with flood. Section 689.302 requires a separate flood disclosure at or before the time the contract is executed. It opens with a notice that standard homeowners policies do not cover flood damage, then asks three yes-or-no questions about your time as owner: whether flooding damaged the property, whether you filed a flood claim with any insurer, the National Flood Insurance Program included, and whether you received help paying for flood damage, FEMA aid included. The 2025 amendment, effective October 1, 2025, added the flooding question and widened the assistance question beyond federal programs. Flooding on the form means overflow of inland or tidal water, unusually rapid runoff from a river or ditch, or sustained standing water from rain.

The radon notice in section 404.056(5) is fixed text. It says radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas, that it may present health risks to people exposed to it over time, that levels above federal and state guidelines have been found in Florida buildings, and that the county health department has more information. It must appear on at least one document executed at or before the contract, and the standard Florida Realtors contracts already print it, so no separate radon form is needed.

Section 689.261 adds the property tax disclosure summary. It warns, in capital letters, that the buyer should not rely on your current property taxes, because a change of ownership or improvements trigger a reassessment that could raise them, and it sends the buyer to the county property appraiser with questions. The summary goes into the contract or is attached to it, and a contract that only references it has to tell the buyer prominently not to sign before reading it.

If a code enforcement case is open against the house, section 162.06(5) requires you to tell the buyer in writing about the case before the transfer, hand over the pleadings and notices you received, and state in writing that the new owner becomes responsible for compliance. Skipping that creates a rebuttable presumption of fraud, and you have 5 days after the transfer to file a notice with the code enforcement official.

What extra disclosures apply in an HOA or condominium?

In a mandatory homeowners association, section 720.401 puts a disclosure summary in front of the buyer before the contract is signed. If the buyer never got it, the buyer can cancel by written notice within 3 days of finally receiving it or before closing, whichever comes first.

A condominium resale runs under section 718.503(2). At your expense, you give the buyer current copies of the declaration, the articles, the bylaws and rules, the annual budget and financial statement, and the Frequently Asked Questions and Answers sheet, and the buyer is entitled to the governance form prepared by the state division. Where they apply, add the inspector's summary of the milestone inspection report, the latest structural integrity reserve study or a statement that none has been completed, and any turnover inspection report done on or after July 1, 2023.

The contract has to say, in conspicuous type, either that the buyer received those documents more than 7 days before signing, not counting weekends and legal holidays, or that the buyer may void it within 7 such days after signing and receiving them. Resale contracts entered into after December 31, 2024 also have to state whether the association must have, and has completed, a milestone inspection, a turnover inspection report, or a structural integrity reserve study. A contract without the required language is voidable by the buyer before closing.

Do Florida sellers have to disclose a sinkhole claim?

Yes, if the insurer paid it. Under section 627.7073(2)(c), a seller who made a sinkhole claim that was paid has to tell the buyer before closing that the claim was paid and whether the full amount went to repairing the sinkhole damage. The insurer files the engineering report and certification behind a paid claim with the county clerk, who records them, so a title search can surface the claim whether you mention it or not.

The SPDR form asks the wider version: whether past or present settling, soil movement, or sinkholes affect the property, and whether any sinkhole claim was made at all, paid or not. Answer from the file rather than from memory. The claim number, the engineer's report, and the repair contractor's completion paperwork belong in the same folder as your insurance declarations page.

What does the lead paint rule add for an older house?

For a house built before 1978, the federal rule under 42 U.S.C. 4852d and 40 CFR part 745 applies no matter what the state forms say. The default inspection window is 10 days, but you and the buyer can agree in writing to a different period, and the buyer can waive it.

Your listing agent shares responsibility for compliance unless you withheld lead information from the agent, so expect to be asked what you have. Foreclosure sales are exempt, as is housing a certified inspector found free of lead-based paint. An ordinary resale by an owner, an heir, or a personal representative is not on the exemption list.

If a fact sits on the line between material and not, ask a Florida real estate attorney before you sign the disclosure, not after the buyer's inspector finds it.