California Seller Disclosure Requirements: What Woodland Hills Homeowners Must Tell Buyers in 2026

By Jason Franklin | July 31, 2026

California eliminated buyer beware a long time ago. In this state, the burden of disclosure is almost entirely on the seller — and it's more comprehensive than most homeowners realize until they're sitting in front of the paperwork.

If you're thinking about selling your Woodland Hills or West Hills home, understanding what you're legally required to disclose is one of the first things you need to get right. Not because the forms are complicated (they're not), but because the consequences of getting it wrong don't show up until after you've already closed — sometimes two or three years later, when a buyer files a claim over something you forgot to mention.

Here's exactly what California requires, what changed in 2026, and where sellers most commonly create problems for themselves.

The Three Core Forms Every California Seller Must Provide

Every standard residential sale in California requires three disclosure documents. These aren't optional and they can't be delegated — they reflect your personal knowledge of the property.

The Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS)

The TDS is the foundation of California's seller disclosure framework. It's governed by Civil Code §1102 and covers a wide range of property condition questions — appliances (which ones work, which ones are included), structural components (roof, foundation, walls), any known damage history, alterations or additions made to the property, flooding or drainage problems, easements, neighborhood nuisances like noise or traffic, and — importantly — any deaths that occurred on the property within the past three years.

You fill this out yourself. California law is explicit: your agent cannot complete the TDS on your behalf. They'll sit with you, explain what each question is asking, and help you understand the scope of what needs to be disclosed — but the answers have to reflect your actual knowledge. Every response on the form must be made in good faith, which the statute defines as "honesty in fact in the conduct of the transaction."

Think of it as a snapshot of the property's current condition as you understand it — not a professional inspection report, but a candid accounting of what you know.

The Seller Property Questionnaire (SPQ)

The SPQ is the TDS's companion form and it goes deeper into history. Where the TDS asks about the present ("does the dishwasher work?"), the SPQ asks about the past ("have you ever filed an insurance claim related to this property?", "have you ever had water intrusion?", "are you aware of any HOA litigation?").

Think of the TDS as the current picture and the SPQ as the historical record. Together they give buyers a much more complete picture of what they're buying. Both are standard C.A.R. forms and both are required in virtually every California residential transaction.

The Natural Hazard Disclosure (NHD)

Unlike the TDS and SPQ, the NHD is a third-party report — a company examines public records and maps to determine whether your property sits in a state-designated hazard zone. For Woodland Hills and West Hills sellers, the most important of these is typically the High Fire Hazard Severity Zone designation.

If your property is in a high fire zone — and many homes in the hillsides and foothill areas of the West Valley are — buyers need to know that before they commit. In the current California insurance environment, it can also directly affect a buyer's ability to close: if they can't bind homeowner's insurance before the close of escrow, their lender won't fund the loan. This matters to you as a seller because an uninsurable buyer is a buyer who can't close.

For homes built before 2010 in high fire hazard zones, California's AB 38 also requires a separate home-hardening checklist as part of the disclosure package. If you're not sure whether your home is in a designated zone, your agent can pull that information quickly — it's in the NHD report and also visible on Cal Fire's public mapping tools.

If you've been weighing upgrades to your property before listing, the fire zone designation plays into that calculation. Our post on fix-up vs. sell as-is in Woodland Hills covers how fire hardening specifically factors into that decision.

What Changed in 2026

The core disclosure package — TDS, SPQ, NHD — has been in place for years. But 2026 added new requirements layered on top of those forms.

Thirdhand smoke and nicotine residue (AB 455). As of January 1, 2026, California sellers must disclose any known thirdhand smoke or nicotine residue on the property. This applies even if no one currently smokes in the home — it covers embedded residue from past smoking that affects air quality and surfaces. If there has been regular or long-term smoking in the home, that's a material fact buyers are now entitled to know.

AI-altered listing photos. If any photos used in marketing your property have been digitally altered or AI-enhanced beyond standard color correction and exposure adjustment — removing power lines, replacing skies, making rooms appear larger, or digitally staging empty spaces — that must be disclosed. Buyers are entitled to accurate representations of what they're purchasing.

Gas appliance updates. 2026 also brought new disclosure requirements related to gas appliances and related systems. The details vary based on the appliance type, so your agent or escrow officer can walk you through what applies to your specific property.

These additions don't replace the existing forms — they supplement them. Your TDS, SPQ, and NHD are still required in full, and the 2026 updates are addressed either within those forms or in separate advisories.

Where Sellers Create Problems for Themselves

Post-sale lawsuits in California's residential real estate market are almost always about one thing: what the seller knew and didn't disclose. Here are the most common ways sellers inadvertently expose themselves.

Failing to disclose repaired issues. This is the most common mistake. A seller patches a roof leak five years ago, it hasn't leaked since, so they check "no" on the damage history question. That's a problem. California's disclosure obligation covers what you know — and if you knew the roof leaked and had it repaired, you know about it. The repair doesn't erase the history. Disclosure says: "There was a roof leak in 2021. It was repaired by [contractor]. No further leakage since." That's it. That's what honesty in fact looks like.

Guessing at system conditions. The TDS asks about the condition of plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and other systems. The standard is your actual knowledge — not a professional inspection. But sellers sometimes answer "yes, it's in working order" for a system they actually haven't tested in years. If the buyer moves in and the HVAC doesn't work, and the seller had reason to believe it was in questionable shape, that can be actionable. When in doubt, say you're not aware of any defects rather than affirmatively stating something works if you don't know for certain.

Assuming as-is protects you. It doesn't. Selling your property as-is means you're not agreeing to make repairs. It says nothing about what you must disclose upfront. Every California seller in an as-is transaction is still required to complete the TDS, SPQ, and NHD in full. The buyer who agrees to purchase as-is is agreeing to take the property in its disclosed condition — not in an undisclosed one.

For sellers considering as-is transactions, the net proceeds breakdown for Woodland Hills sales is worth reviewing alongside your disclosure obligations — the two conversations often happen together when we're mapping out a listing strategy.

Not disclosing neighborhood issues. The TDS asks about nuisances you're aware of — noise, traffic, nearby industrial activity, flight paths, neighbor disputes. Some sellers skip these because the issue doesn't bother them. But if a buyer discovers six months later that the adjacent lot runs generators at 6am on weekends, and the seller knew, that can be a disclosure failure.

A Note on Seller Exemptions

There are limited situations where sellers are exempt from completing the TDS. The most common in this market are probate sales — where the estate's executor or personal representative didn't own or occupy the property — and certain trust sales where the trustee selling is a professional fiduciary, not a family member who lived there. In those cases, an Exempt Seller Disclosure replaces the TDS.

If you're selling a property held in a living trust or going through probate, the disclosure rules are slightly different and worth understanding in detail. Those are covered in the posts on selling a home from a living trust and selling a house through probate in California.

Frequently Asked Questions

What disclosures are required when selling a home in California?

California sellers are required to provide a Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS), a Seller Property Questionnaire (SPQ), and a Natural Hazard Disclosure (NHD) report in every standard residential sale. The TDS covers the property's current condition, appliances, structural components, known defects, and any deaths on the property in the past three years. The SPQ digs into repair history, past insurance claims, and neighborhood issues. The NHD is a third-party report identifying fire, flood, and earthquake hazard zones. Additional forms and advisories are required depending on the property's age, location, and history.

Does selling a house "as-is" in California mean you don't have to disclose defects?

No. Selling a home as-is in California does not eliminate your disclosure obligations. You are still required to complete the TDS, SPQ, and NHD and disclose all known material defects. "As-is" simply means you're not agreeing to make repairs or issue credits — it says nothing about what you must tell buyers upfront. Failing to disclose known defects in an as-is sale exposes you to the same post-sale legal liability as any other sale.

Do I have to disclose repairs I already made to the house?

Yes. If you repaired a known defect — a leaky roof, water intrusion, a foundation crack — you must still disclose that the issue existed and what was done about it. California's disclosure standard is based on what you know, not what's currently visible. A repair that's "holding fine" doesn't erase your obligation to tell buyers the property had the issue. Most sellers who get sued after closing failed to disclose something they thought was no longer a problem.

What are the new seller disclosure requirements that took effect in 2026 in California?

As of January 1, 2026, California sellers must now disclose any known thirdhand smoke or nicotine residue on the property under Assembly Bill 455 — this applies even if no one currently smokes in the home. Sellers must also disclose whether any listing photos have been digitally altered or AI-enhanced beyond standard color correction. Additional 2026 updates added new gas appliance disclosure requirements. These are layered on top of the existing TDS, SPQ, and NHD requirements and do not replace them.

Who fills out the Transfer Disclosure Statement — the seller or the agent?

The seller fills out the TDS personally. California law is clear on this — your agent cannot complete the form on your behalf. Your agent will walk you through each question and explain what it's asking, but every answer must reflect your actual knowledge of the property. Errors, omissions, or agent-completed TDS forms that don't match what you actually knew can expose you to post-sale liability even if the agent handled the rest of the transaction.

The Bottom Line

California's disclosure requirements exist to protect buyers — but they also protect sellers who complete them carefully and in good faith. A thorough, accurate disclosure package is one of the best tools you have for getting to a clean close and staying out of trouble afterward.

The forms aren't complicated, but knowing what to say, how to frame repair history, and where your specific property (especially a fire-zone home) carries additional disclosure obligations takes some experience to navigate well. Walking sellers through the disclosure process is one of the first things I do in every listing consultation — before we talk about pricing, staging, or anything else.

If you're thinking about listing your Woodland Hills or West Hills home and want to make sure you have the full picture before you start, reach out anytime. Happy to walk through it with you.