Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS)

The seller signs Sections I and II. The listing agent signs Section III. The agent working with the buyer signs Section IV. The buyer signs to acknowledge receipt and, at the bottom of the form, is reminded that they may wish to obtain professional advice and inspections.

Agents cannot fill in Section II for a seller, and sellers cannot answer for the agent's inspection. When there is no agent on one side, the corresponding section is simply marked as not applicable — the seller's obligation is unaffected.

If more than one person holds title, every seller on title should sign. Trustee and estate sales have their own wrinkles; several are exempt from the TDS entirely (see below), and where an exemption applies you should document why rather than leaving the file silent.

As soon as practicable before transfer of title. The best practice — and increasingly the norm — is to prepare the seller's portion before the property goes live, so the whole disclosure package is available to prospective buyers at the outset.

Civil Code section 1102.3 gives the buyer the same rescission structure as the NHD statement: where the disclosure is delivered after the buyer has made an offer, the buyer may terminate in writing within three days after delivery in person, five days after delivery by deposit in the mail, or five days after delivery of an electronic record where the parties have agreed to conduct the transaction electronically under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (the electronic-record count was added by AB 892, effective January 1, 2020).

The clock starts when the disclosure is complete: Sections I and II — and Section III where the seller has an agent — must be filled in and delivered before the window begins to run. If the seller later amends the disclosure to add material information, a new delivery — and a new window — is created.

Section 1102.2 lists exemptions, including certain court-ordered transfers, foreclosure and trustee sale transfers, and transfers between co-owners or spouses. Exempt from the TDS is not exempt from fraud liability; known material defects still require disclosure.

An undelivered TDS leaves the buyer's termination right open indefinitely. That is the least of it. The far bigger exposure is the post-closing claim: a buyer discovers the unpermitted addition, the recurring drainage failure, the roof that was patched twice, and sues for nondisclosure. These are the cases that actually go to trial in California residential real estate, and the paper trail decides them.

For agents, Section III is where the personal exposure lives. "I never went into the garage" is not a defense; the statute expects a diligent visual inspection of accessible areas. Similarly, an agent who knows a seller's answer is false and stays quiet has a problem independent of the seller's.

Like the NHD statement, non-compliance does not undo the transfer of title. The sale stands; the damages claim proceeds.

Blank boxes. A blank is the single most common defect in a TDS. Every line needs an answer. If the seller genuinely does not know, that is what the Seller Property Questionnaire and an explanatory note are for.

"As-is" as a shield. Selling as-is affects who pays for repairs. It does not reduce the duty to disclose known conditions by one word.

Copying the inspection report into Section III. The agent's section is the agent's own visual observation. Attaching a home inspection is helpful; substituting it is not.

Disclosing the repair but not the underlying problem. "Roof repaired 2023" tells a buyer nothing about why. Describe the condition and the response.

Forgetting to re-deliver after an amendment. New material information means a new disclosure and a fresh response window.