What Kentucky Sellers Must Disclose

Kentucky requires sellers to put it in writing. The form is the Seller's Disclosure of Property Condition (Kentucky Real Estate Commission Form 402). When the statute applies, the seller must complete and sign the commission's disclosure form at listing and provide it to a prospective buyer on request or within 72 hours of a signed offer, disclosing the property's known condition.

What the disclosure covers — and what it is

If a licensed agent is being paid in the sale, Kentucky law requires the seller to complete the Seller's Disclosure of Property Condition (Form 402), including whether the home is in a Special Flood Hazard Area that mandates flood insurance and any drainage or flooding problems. Auction sales, court-supervised foreclosures, and new homes sold with a warranty are exempt. In a purely private sale with no licensee compensated, the statutory form may not apply at all, so ask for it anyway.

Flooding: the answer that matters most

Kentucky law specifically requires flood disclosure: the seller has to tell you about flood risk or history. Read that answer carefully, then verify it against the official map — FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer is the map your lender will use, and a seller's 'never flooded' is not the same as 'not in a flood zone.'

The Kentucky traps inside the paperwork

No agent paid, maybe no disclosure form. KRS 324.360's disclosure duty only attaches when a person licensed under KRS chapter 324 receives compensation, so a true for-sale-by-owner deal can close with no statutory disclosure form at all.

Homestead exemption is age and disability only. Unlike many states, Kentucky gives no homestead exemption to a typical working-age buyer, and even qualifying buyers must own and occupy the home by January 1 and apply to the property valuation administrator, so a mid-year purchase waits until the next year.

What no disclosure will ever tell you

A disclosure is the seller's knowledge, on the seller's timeline. It says nothing about the street's crime trend, the registry, the tax bill you will pay after the sale, permits pulled (or never pulled) for the renovation in the photos, or the rezoning working its way through the planning office. In Kentucky, property tax reassessment works like this: Buying does not reset the home's value to your purchase price; the property valuation administrator assesses at fair cash value every January 1. If the seller had the senior or disabled homestead exemption and you do not qualify, your bill will be higher than theirs from your first full tax year — which is why the seller's current bill is a poor guide to yours. Pull those records yourself; they are all public.

Your checks, in order

• Read the disclosure line by line, and get 'unknown' answers in writing anyway — an unknown is a flag, not a pass.
• Run the exact parcel on FEMA's flood map.
• Estimate your post-sale tax bill with the Kentucky records guide — never budget from the seller's bill.
• Check the address against the official Kentucky registry.
• Ask the county for open and expired permits on the address before you waive anything.

Frequently asked questions

Is a seller disclosure form required in Kentucky?

Yes — the Seller's Disclosure of Property Condition (Kentucky Real Estate Commission Form 402). When the statute applies, the seller must complete and sign the commission's disclosure form at listing and provide it to a prospective buyer on request or within 72 hours of a signed offer, disclosing the property's known condition.

Does a Kentucky seller have to disclose flooding?

Yes — Kentucky requires flood disclosure. Verify it on the FEMA map anyway; the disclosure is the seller's statement, the map is the lender's rulebook.

The seller answered 'unknown' to half the form. Now what?

'Unknown' is legal in most regimes and useful to nobody. Treat every unknown as a job: inspection, permit search, and the county record file. If the seller genuinely doesn't know, the records usually do.

Sources: boonepva.ky.gov · dev.wp.kentuckystatepolice.ky.gov · revenue.ky.gov · codes.findlaw.com · law.justia.com