California guide

Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) Under Civil Code §1102

In California, the seller of a one-to-four-unit home must hand you a TDS disclosing what they know about the property's defects, neighborhood issues, and other material facts.

Reading as buyer.

TL;DR

In California, the seller of a one-to-four-unit home must hand you a disclosing what they know about the property's defects, neighborhood issues, and other material facts. You get three days to back out of the deal in writing after you receive the in person, or five days if it came by mail. The form cannot be waived in the contract, so any seller who refuses to deliver one is breaking California law.

Before you start — 8 things to know

  • As the buyer of a one-to-four-unit California home, you are legally entitled to a written from the seller, and a separate written section from each real estate agent on the deal, before title transfers.

  • The covers known defects, environmental conditions, room additions or modifications, neighborhood nuisances, and any other facts that affect what the home is worth or how easy it is to live in.

  • You cannot waive your right to receive a in the purchase contract — California Civil Code §1102.1 makes any waiver of the by the buyer unenforceable.

  • If the arrives after you have already signed the offer, you have three days to cancel in writing after a person hands it to you, or five days if it shows up in the mail.

  • If the seller sends an updated with a new material fact after the first delivery, your three-day or five-day cancellation clock starts over from the moment the updated form reaches you.

  • Bank-owned ( REO) resales after a foreclosure are not exempt from the — once the bank relists the home, you should still expect a based on what the bank actually knows about the property.

  • Civil Code §1102.2 carves out narrow exemptions — probate sales, foreclosure-decree sales, bankruptcy-trustee sales, certain spouse-to-spouse transfers, and certain government transfers — so on those specific deals you may not receive a at all.

  • The agents' sections of the are each agent's own statement based on a visual inspection of the home, so read the listing agent's section and your buyer's-agent section as separate opinions, not as a copy of what the seller said.

The timeline — step by step

  1. You submit a written offer on a California one-to-four-unit home and the seller accepts it.

  2. The seller fills out Sections I–III of the from personal knowledge of the property's condition, additions, environmental issues, and neighborhood facts.

  3. The listing agent and your buyer's agent each inspect the visible parts of the home and complete their own separate sections.

  4. The completed is delivered to you as the buyer 'as soon as practicable' before title transfers.

  5. Your three-day (in-person delivery) or five-day (mail delivery) cancellation window begins the moment you receive the .

  6. If you decide to back out, you give the seller a signed written cancellation inside that three-or-five-day window.

  7. If the seller later discovers a new material fact, they redeliver an updated and a fresh three-day or five-day cancellation window starts for you.

Common questions

What is a California [[TDS]] and why do I get one as the buyer?
The is a state-required form in which the seller and the agents disclose what they know about a one-to-four-unit home's condition, defects, and surroundings so you can decide whether to keep moving forward with the purchase.
Can the seller skip the [[TDS]] if I agree to buy the home 'as-is'?
No — California Civil Code §1102.1 says the cannot be waived by the buyer, so an 'as-is' clause does not relieve the seller of delivering a for a one-to-four-unit home.
How long do I have to cancel the offer after I receive the [[TDS]]?
You have three days from in-person delivery or five days from mail delivery to cancel the offer in writing, and that right cannot be removed by the contract.
What happens if the seller updates the [[TDS]] after the first delivery?
A new material fact triggers an updated and a brand-new three-day or five-day cancellation window from the moment that updated form reaches you.
Am I going to get a [[TDS]] on a bank-owned [[MLS]] listing?
Yes — the foreclosure sale itself is exempt, but once the bank lists the home for resale the requirement applies again based on what the bank actually knows about the property.
Which California sales are exempt from delivering a [[TDS]] to me?
Civil Code §1102.2 lists narrow exemptions including probate, foreclosure-decree, bankruptcy-trustee, certain spouse-to-spouse, and certain government transfers, so on those specific deals you may not receive a at all.

Glossary

2 terms
TDS — Transfer Disclosure Statement
A California form where the seller writes down what they know about the home's condition, defects, and history. You read this before closing.
MLS — Multiple Listing Service
The shared database agents use to list and find homes for sale. Most homes you'll see online started here.

Sources

  1. [1]
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