Seller Disclosure in Florida: What Sellers Must Tell You and What They Do Not

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Seller disclosure Florida law requires covers known facts that materially affect value and are not readily observable, plus specific statutory items: flood history, radon, lead paint, the coastal construction line and association documents.

There is no mandatory disclosure form. The inspection fills the gap. Our guide to AS IS contracts in Florida covers the contract that does not waive it.

The Johnson v. Davis rule

Florida's Supreme Court held that a seller who knows of a defect materially affecting value that the buyer cannot readily observe must disclose it.

The Florida Realtors disclosure guidance summarises it.

Applies to residential sales, including as-is.

Silence about a known hidden defect is actionable.

The seller's knowledge is the test.

What must be disclosed

Known roof leaks, water intrusion, mould, structural problems, termite damage, failed systems, sinkhole activity, unpermitted work.

See our guide to unpermitted work and your mortgage in Florida.

Prior insurance claims for damage.

Code violations and liens.

Anything the seller knows and you cannot see.

What need not be

Defects the seller does not know about.

Conditions readily observable on inspection.

Deaths, crimes and stigma, which Florida law exempts.

HIV status of prior occupants, by statute.

Matters of opinion.

The statutory items

Flood: since 2024, a flood disclosure form covering claims, assistance and insurance.

See our guide to flood disclosure in Florida.

Radon: a statutory notice in every contract.

Lead paint: federal disclosure for pre-1978 homes.

See our guide to lead paint and your mortgage in Florida.

Coastal and property tax notices

Coastal construction control line disclosure for property seaward of it.

See our guide to the coastal construction control line in Florida.

A property tax notice warning that taxes reset at sale.

See our guide to property tax estimates for new buyers in Florida.

Both are contract boilerplate; read them anyway.

Association disclosures

Condo documents with a three-day review right; HOA disclosure summary with its own right.

See our guide to condo document review periods in Florida.

CDD disclosure where a district exists.

See our guide to CDD fees in Florida.

Each carries a cancellation right if omitted.

The seller's disclosure form

Not required by statute, but standard practice through the Florida Realtors form.

A questionnaire on systems, structure, water, pests, permits, insurance claims and litigation.

A seller who completes it is bound by its accuracy.

A seller who refuses raises a question.

Ask for it.

As-is does not waive it

An as-is contract limits repair obligations, not disclosure duties.

See our guide to AS IS contracts in Florida.

A known hidden defect must still be disclosed.

As-is means the seller will not fix it, not that they can hide it.

Buyers sometimes confuse the two.

Investors and banks as sellers

A bank or investor who never occupied the home has less knowledge to disclose.

See our guide to buying a foreclosure in Florida.

They still must disclose what they know.

Their forms often say they know nothing.

The inspection is everything in those sales.

Estates

A personal representative discloses what they know, which may be little.

See our guide to buying a probate home in Florida.

Heirs who lived there know more.

Ask.

Inspect regardless.

Remedies

A buyer who discovers a known, undisclosed defect can sue for damages or, in some cases, rescission.

Proof that the seller knew is the hurdle.

Repair records, prior inspection reports and neighbour testimony are evidence.

Litigation is slow; disclosure claims are common in Florida courts.

Prevention through inspection is cheaper.

Insurance claims history

Ask for the seller's claims history or a CLUE report.

See our guide to Florida homeowners insurance cost.

Prior water or roof claims affect your premium and reveal repairs.

A seller who had a claim knows about the damage.

Compare the claim to the disclosure.

Permit history

Pull it yourself; it shows work the seller did and did not permit.

See our guide to open permits at closing in Florida.

Compare to the disclosure's answers on improvements.

A renovation without a permit is a disclosure item.

The record does not lie.

Lenders and disclosure

Lenders do not read seller disclosures; the appraisal and the insurance binder are their checks.

See our guide to low appraisals in Florida.

A defect that surfaces after closing is your problem, not the lender's.

The disclosure protects you.

Read it before the inspection so the inspector can target it.

Sellers' side

Disclose generously; it is cheaper than a lawsuit.

See our guide to what not to do before closing in Florida.

Fix or disclose, never conceal.

Keep repair receipts and provide them.

A full disclosure reads as honesty and speeds the sale.

A worked case

A seller repainted a ceiling over a stain from a roof leak repaired two years earlier.

The disclosure form said no known roof leaks.

The buyer's inspector found moisture; the claims history showed the leak.

The seller credited a roof inspection and repair to avoid a claim.

The disclosure form, once signed, was the seller's exposure.

Verbal statements

What the seller or their agent says at a showing counts as a representation.

Get material statements in writing or in the disclosure form.

An agent's knowledge of a defect is imputed to the seller in many cases.

Text messages and emails are evidence.

Keep them.

Where to start

Request the seller's disclosure form, the claims history and the permit record before the inspection.

Give all three to the inspector.

Then start a conversation and we will time the appraisal to what the inspection finds.