The seller disclosure San Antonio home sellers sign is a statutory form, not a courtesy. The statute behind it is more specific than most buyers and sellers realize. Texas Property Code Section 5.008 requires the seller of a home with one dwelling unit to hand the buyer a written notice on or before the day the contract takes effect. The notice runs several pages. It asks about the roof, the foundation, the plumbing, prior flooding, insurance claims, and the type of gas piping in the walls. The seller answers from personal knowledge, and the buyer signs to acknowledge receipt.
What the form does not do is guarantee anything. It is a disclosure of what the seller knows, and the remedies for a false answer come from other statutes. This guide covers who must give the notice, what it has to say, who is excused, and what a Bexar County buyer can do when the answers turn out to be wrong.
Who Must Give a Seller Disclosure in San Antonio, and When
Section 5.008(a) applies to any seller of residential real property with not more than one dwelling unit. A house, a condominium, or a townhome all qualify. A duplex does not. The notice must reach the buyer on or before the effective date of the contract, and Section 5.008(f) supplies the penalty for lateness. If the notice arrives after the contract is signed, the buyer may terminate for any reason within seven days of receiving it. The standard TREC contract repeats that rule in Paragraph 7.B. If the buyer never receives a notice at all, the contract allows termination at any time before closing.
Section 5.008(d) sets the standard for the answers. The seller completes the form to the best of their belief and knowledge as of the date they sign it. A seller who does not know the answer may say so. Saying so satisfies the statute.
What the Seller Disclosure Form in San Antonio Asks
The Texas Real Estate Commission publishes the current version as Form 55-1, effective May 28, 2026, and Section 5.008(b) sets the minimum content. The form opens with a warning in capital letters. It is a disclosure of the seller’s knowledge, not a substitute for inspections, and not a warranty of any kind. It then asks the seller to mark each system and appliance as present, absent, or unknown, and whether any needs repair.
Since 2019, a set of flood questions has been mandatory. They cover current flood insurance, prior flooding from a reservoir release, prior water penetration from a natural flood event, and whether the property sits in a 100-year floodplain, 500-year floodplain, floodway, flood pool, or reservoir. Two follow-up questions ask whether the seller has ever filed a flood claim with any insurer, including the National Flood Insurance Program. They also ask about FEMA or SBA assistance. Since September 2023, the form also asks whether the gas piping is black iron, corrugated stainless steel tubing, or copper.
What a Seller Disclosure in San Antonio Does Not Have to Include
Section 5.008(c) carves out two subjects. A seller has no duty to disclose that a death by natural causes, suicide, or an accident unrelated to the property’s condition occurred there. Nor must the seller disclose that a prior occupant had AIDS or an HIV-related illness. Section 5.008(e) then lists eleven transfers that skip the notice entirely.
The main ones are sales ordered by a court or a foreclosure, transfers by a bankruptcy trustee, and deeds to or from a mortgage lender. Transfers by an executor, guardian, or trustee administering an estate are exempt. So are deeds between co-owners, spouses, or relatives in the direct line, and transfers to or from a government entity. The last one is a brand-new home never occupied. That exemption matters in the fast-growing subdivisions on the far West Side and along the 1604 corridor. A builder selling a never-occupied house owes no Section 5.008 notice. The buyer’s protection there is the builder’s warranty and the inspection.
The Agent’s Separate Duty
The disclosure duty in Section 5.008 belongs to the seller, but the licensed agents in the transaction carry their own. Texas Occupations Code Section 1101.652(b) allows the Real Estate Commission to discipline a license holder who makes a material misrepresentation to a potential buyer about a significant defect the agent knows about. Failing to disclose a known defect that would matter to a reasonable buyer is grounds too. Latent structural defects are named specifically. That is a licensing standard rather than a private lawsuit, but a complaint to the commission is free and the record is public. A buyer who suspects the listing agent knew about a foundation repair the seller left off the form has two targets, not one.
When the Answers Are False: Statutory Fraud and the DTPA
A wrong answer given in good faith is not actionable, because Section 5.008(d) only requires the seller’s belief and knowledge. A wrong answer the seller knew was wrong is a different matter. Business and Commerce Code Section 27.01 makes a false representation of a material fact in a real estate transaction actionable for actual damages. If the seller had actual awareness of the falsity, the statute adds exemplary damages. It also awards attorney’s fees, expert fees, deposition costs, and court costs to the prevailing buyer.
The Deceptive Trade Practices Act adds a second path. Section 17.46(b)(24) lists failing to disclose known information in order to induce a transaction as a deceptive practice. Under Section 17.50, a knowing violation supports up to three times the economic damages. The clocks differ. A DTPA claim must be filed within two years of the act or its discovery under Section 17.565. A fraud claim gets four years under Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.004(a)(4).
The “As Is” Clause and Its Limit
Most Texas resale contracts include an “as is” provision, and Paragraph 7.D of the TREC form defines the term. In Prudential Insurance Co. of America v. Jefferson Associates, decided in 1995, the Texas Supreme Court held that a freely negotiated “as is” agreement defeats fraud and DTPA claims. The buyer agreed to take the property without relying on the seller’s statements.
The court drew two exceptions in the same opinion. A buyer is not bound by an “as is” clause that the seller induced through a fraudulent representation or concealment. And a buyer whose right to inspect was obstructed by the seller is not bound either. A seller who marks “no” next to prior flooding while holding a paid flood claim falls inside the first exception. The clause protects an honest seller. It does not protect a dishonest one. Arizona’s disclosure statute works on similar lines, as our guide to the Arizona seller disclosure statement explains.
The Bottom Line
Section 5.008 requires a seller disclosure San Antonio buyers can rely on for what the seller knows, on a specific form, by a specific day. The form has grown more detailed with each legislative session. The flood questions in particular carry weight in a county where creek flooding is part of the record. What the statute does not do is verify anything. The buyer’s remedies for a false answer exist, but they turn on proving what the seller actually knew. That proof is usually a repair invoice, an insurance claim, or a neighbor’s memory. The honest gap is between the form’s promise of disclosure and the buyer’s burden of proof when disclosure fails. A thorough inspection during the option period closes most of that gap before it becomes a lawsuit.
Frequently asked questions
On or before the effective date of the contract, under Property Code Section 5.008(f). If it arrives late, the buyer may terminate for any reason within seven days of receiving it.
No. Section 5.008(c) removes any duty to disclose a death by natural causes, suicide, or an accident unrelated to the property’s condition, or that a prior occupant had AIDS or an HIV-related illness.
No. Section 5.008(e) exempts a new residence of not more than one dwelling unit that has never been occupied, along with court-ordered sales, foreclosures, estate transfers, and deeds between relatives or co-owners.
Actual damages under Business and Commerce Code Section 27.01, plus exemplary damages and attorney’s fees if the seller had actual awareness of the falsity, or up to three times economic damages for a knowing violation under the DTPA.
Section 5.008(a) applies to residential property with not more than one dwelling unit. A house, condominium, or townhome qualifies, but a duplex does not.
Under Section 5.008(f), the buyer may terminate for any reason within seven days of receiving it. If no notice arrives at all, the TREC contract allows termination any time before closing.
The seller may say so. Section 5.008(d) requires answers only to the best of the seller’s belief and knowledge as of the date they sign.
Since 2019 the form asks about current flood insurance, prior flooding, prior water penetration, floodplain or reservoir location, past flood claims including the NFIP, and FEMA or SBA assistance.
Yes. Occupations Code Section 1101.652(b) lets the Real Estate Commission discipline a license holder who misrepresents or fails to disclose a known significant defect. That is a licensing complaint, not a private lawsuit.
No. Under Prudential v. Jefferson Associates, an as-is clause does not bind a buyer when the seller induced it through fraudulent representation or concealment, or obstructed the buyer’s right to inspect.
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This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Disclosure duties and remedies depend on the specific contract, the property, and what a seller actually knew, and the TREC forms cited here are revised periodically. Anyone with a disclosure dispute should consult a licensed Texas real estate attorney.
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