Seller Disclosure in Florida: What You Must Tell a Buyer

If you’re selling a home in Lake County, one of the first questions we cover at the listing appointment is what you’re required to tell a buyer about the property. Florida doesn’t hand sellers one master checklist. The rules come from a mix of court decisions, a few specific statutes, and the contract forms most local agents use. This guide walks through each of them so you know where you stand before anything gets signed.

The core rule: Johnson v. Davis

The main source of a Florida seller’s disclosure duty is a Florida Supreme Court case, Johnson v. Davis, 480 So. 2d 625 (Fla. 1985). In that case the court held that a seller of a home has to disclose facts that materially affect the value of the property, are not readily observable, and are not known to the buyer.

In practice, that breaks down into three questions:

Is it material? Would it matter to a reasonable buyer’s decision or to the price? A roof leak, a past sinkhole claim, or a recurring plumbing backup usually would. A scuffed baseboard usually would not.
Is it hidden? A cracked window the buyer can see on a walkthrough is treated differently from water damage behind fresh drywall.
Do you actually know about it? The duty covers what you know, not every problem that might exist. You are not expected to hire inspectors to find out about your own house.

Covering up a known defect, or describing something as better than it is, is the quickest way to turn a closed sale into a lawsuit.

Disclosures Florida statutes require

Separate from the case law, several Florida statutes require specific written disclosures in residential sales:

Flood disclosure. Under Fla. Stat. 689.302, a seller of residential property must give the buyer a flood disclosure at or before the time the contract is signed. The form asks whether you know of flooding that damaged the property during your ownership, whether you filed a flood insurance claim (including with the National Flood Insurance Program), and whether you received flood-related assistance, such as from FEMA. It also tells the buyer that standard homeowners’ policies don’t cover flood.
Property tax disclosure. Fla. Stat. 689.261 requires a summary telling the buyer not to rely on your current tax bill, because a sale can trigger reassessment.
Radon. Fla. Stat. 404.056 requires a standard radon gas notice on contracts for sale and lease of buildings.
Homeowners’ association. If the home is in a community with a mandatory HOA, Fla. Stat. 720.401 requires a disclosure summary before the buyer signs.
Lead-based paint. For homes built before 1978, federal law requires a lead-based paint disclosure and pamphlet. The EPA’s real estate disclosure page explains the rule.

Most of these are built into the standard Florida Realtors contract forms or their addenda, so they get handled as part of the paperwork. The point is to know they exist and why they’re there.

What Florida says you don’t have to disclose

Fla. Stat. 689.25 states that two things are not material facts that must be disclosed in a real estate transaction:

That the property was, or was suspected to have been, the site of a homicide, suicide, or death.
That an occupant was infected with HIV or diagnosed with AIDS.

The statute also says no cause of action arises against the owner or a licensee for not disclosing those facts. That doesn’t permit you to lie if a buyer asks you directly. Answering a direct question falsely is a different problem.

The seller’s property disclosure form

Florida law doesn’t require one statewide seller disclosure form, but most listing brokers ask sellers to complete one, and buyers expect it. It’s your written record of what you knew and when you told the buyer.

When you fill it out:

Answer from what you know. “Unknown” is a legitimate answer when it’s true. Guessing that something is fine is not.
Include past problems that were repaired. A roof replaced after a leak, a plumbing line repaired after a slab leak, termite treatment: say what happened, who fixed it, and roughly when. Keep receipts and permits ready.
Think about the whole property. Septic, well, drainage, docks, seawalls, outbuildings, boundary disputes, open permits, unpermitted additions.
Update it. If something changes before closing, such as a new leak after a storm, tell the buyer in writing.

What happens when disclosure goes wrong

A buyer who finds a hidden defect after closing that the seller knew about may sue for fraudulent nondisclosure or misrepresentation and ask for damages, or in some cases to undo the sale. Even a claim that ends in the seller’s favor costs time, money and attorney fees.

The “as is” contract doesn’t make this go away. An as-is contract generally means the seller won’t pay for repairs; it isn’t a license to hide known defects. Talk to a Florida real estate attorney if you have a specific concern about how an as-is clause applies to your situation.

Your agent’s duty

Under Fla. Stat. 475.278, Florida licensees acting as transaction brokers or single agents have a duty to disclose all known facts that materially affect the value of residential property and aren’t readily observable to the buyer. So if you tell your agent about a known defect, your agent can’t keep it from buyers. That’s a good reason to put it on the form from the start.

Seller checklist

Gather repair invoices, permits, insurance claim records and warranties.
Walk the property and list anything you know about, past or present.
Check whether the home was built before 1978.
Confirm whether you’re in a mandatory HOA.
Look back through your insurance history for any flood claims or FEMA assistance.
Ask your agent which disclosures and addenda will go with the contract.

Talk it through with us

Disclosure is easier when it happens early, before photos and showings, instead of after a buyer’s inspector finds something. If you’re thinking about selling in North Lake County, call RLW Realty at our office at 55 N. Central Avenue in Umatilla and we’ll go through your disclosure with you, item by item.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice.