TexasTexas Seller's Disclosure Notice: who must give it and when
In Texas, the seller of a home with one dwelling unit must give the buyer a written Seller's Disclosure Notice (Texas Property Code §5.008) on or before the effective date of the contract. If the contract is signed without it, the buyer may terminate for any reason within 7 days after receiving the notice. Some transfers are exempt – for example foreclosure sales, transfers between co-owners or spouses, and new homes never lived in.
The rules
Who must give it
A seller of residential real property with not more than one dwelling unit in Texas (§5.008(a)).
When
On or before the effective date of the contract (§5.008(f)).
If it comes late
The buyer may terminate the contract for any reason within 7 days after receiving the notice (§5.008(f)); the TREC contract adds: or before closing, whichever is first, with the earnest money refunded (TREC 20-19 ¶7B).
What it covers
The items in the property and their condition, known defects and repairs, flooding and flood insurance, and other matters the statute lists.
Transfers that are exempt (§5.008(e))
- By court order or foreclosure sale.
- By a trustee in bankruptcy.
- To a mortgagee or deed-of-trust beneficiary by the borrower or successor.
- By a mortgagee or beneficiary who acquired the property at foreclosure or by a deed in lieu.
- By a fiduciary administering an estate, guardianship, conservatorship or trust.
- From one co-owner to one or more other co-owners.
- To a spouse or to relatives in the direct line of one or more of the sellers.
- Between spouses under a divorce or legal separation decree or property settlement.
- To or from a governmental entity.
- Of a new residence with one dwelling unit never occupied as a residence.
- Of real property where the value of any dwelling is not more than 5 % of the property's value.
The Seller's Water Disclosure (TREC 20-19)
The TREC resale contract effective July 1, 2026 also has a Seller's Water Disclosure about groundwater and surface water rights (¶7I). If the buyer has not received it, the seller delivers it within the days written in the contract; delivered late, the buyer may terminate within 7 days after receiving it or before closing, whichever is first – unless the contract's exemption box applies.
What the TC tracks
- Was the disclosure delivered before the effective date? Keep the signed copy in the file.
- If not: the delivery date and the 7-day termination window that follows.
- The same for the Seller's Water Disclosure.
- A Spanish explanation for Spanish-speaking buyers – the legal form itself stays as published.
Questions about the Texas seller's disclosure
Is a seller's disclosure required in Texas?
Yes, for a seller of residential property with one dwelling unit, unless the transfer is exempt under Texas Property Code §5.008(e).
When must the Texas seller's disclosure be delivered?
On or before the effective date of the contract. If not, the buyer may terminate within 7 days after receiving it.
Who is exempt from the Texas seller's disclosure?
Among others: foreclosure and court-ordered sales, bankruptcy trustees, estate fiduciaries, transfers between co-owners or spouses, to relatives in the direct line, governmental entities, and new homes never occupied.
Is the seller's disclosure form available in Spanish?
Explanations in Spanish help buyers understand it; the notice itself must contain at least the items the statute prescribes.
What is the Seller's Water Disclosure?
A disclosure about groundwater and surface water rights included in the TREC resale contract 20-19 (¶7I), with the same 7-day termination right if delivered after the contract.
Texas deadlines
ClosingCode reads the TREC contract and builds its deadlines on one calendar – add any extra date, like a late disclosure's 7-day window – and keeps buyers informed in Spanish or English.
Start free trialSources: Texas Property Code §5.008 (a), (e) and (f); TREC No. 20-19 One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), ¶7B and ¶7I (effective July 1, 2026).
General information, not legal advice. ClosingCode is software; it is not a law firm or brokerage, and it is not affiliated with TREC.