What Texas Sellers Must Disclose

Texas requires sellers to put it in writing. The form is the Seller's Disclosure Notice (TREC Form OP-H). Texas Property Code 5.008 requires sellers of single-family residential property to deliver a written Seller's Disclosure Notice disclosing known conditions, including flooding history and floodplain status.

What the disclosure covers — and what it is

Texas sellers must deliver the Seller's Disclosure Notice (TREC OP-H) under Property Code 5.008. After Hurricane Harvey the notice was strengthened on flooding: floodplain status, prior flooding, flood-pool location, flood repairs and flood-insurance proceeds must be answered. It states the seller's knowledge only — still order an inspection and a flood determination.

Flooding: the answer that matters most

Texas 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 Texas traps inside the paperwork

MUD and PID districts add a second tax layer. Many new subdivisions sit in a Municipal Utility District or Public Improvement District that levies its own tax or assessment on top of county, city and school taxes to repay infrastructure bonds; sellers must give a statutory Notice to Purchaser of Special Taxing or Assessment District (Texas Water Code 49.452 / Property Code 5.014), and the added rate can be substantial in newer communities.

Your first protest window comes fast. The Comptroller sets the protest deadline at May 15 or 30 days after the appraisal district mails your notice of appraised value, whichever is later — a buyer who closes in spring can miss the first year's window if the notice goes to the seller.

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 Texas, property tax reassessment works like this: Do not budget on the seller's bill: Texas values follow the market each year regardless of a sale, and a seller's 10% homestead cap and exemptions do not transfer to you. File your own homestead exemption after closing and protest the first appraisal notice you receive — 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 Texas records guide — never budget from the seller's bill.
• Check the address against the official Texas 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 Texas?

Yes — the Seller's Disclosure Notice (TREC Form OP-H). Texas Property Code 5.008 requires sellers of single-family residential property to deliver a written Seller's Disclosure Notice disclosing known conditions, including flooding history and floodplain status.

Does a Texas seller have to disclose flooding?

Yes — Texas 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: comptroller.texas.gov · sor.dps.texas.gov · legalclarity.org