New York Property Condition Disclosure: Seller Rules

If you sell a one- to four-family house in New York, you must give the buyer a completed, signed Property Condition Disclosure Statement before the buyer signs a binding contract. Since March 20, 2024 there is no $500 credit you can give instead, and the form now asks about flood zones, flood insurance and past flood claims.

The rules are in Article 14 of the New York Real Property Law, often called the Property Condition Disclosure Act. Co-op apartments and condo units are not covered. Here is who must fill it out, what it asks, and what happens if you get it wrong.

Which sales need the form

The law applies to “residential real property,” defined in RPL § 461 as real property improved by a one- to four-family dwelling used, or intended to be used, as a home. The definition expressly leaves out:

• unimproved land where a home is going to be built,
• condominium units and cooperative apartments, and
• property in a homeowners' association that the seller does not own in fee simple.

A “real estate purchase contract” includes ordinary sale contracts but also leases with an option to buy, lease-purchase agreements and installment land contracts, so rent-to-own deals on houses are covered too. Selling a co-op? See selling a co-op instead.

Exempt transfers

Section 463 lists transfers that don't need a statement. The main ones are:

• court-ordered transfers, including probate administration, bankruptcy trustee sales and eminent domain;
• foreclosure sales, deeds in lieu of foreclosure, and resales by the lender that took the property back;
• sales by a fiduciary administering an estate, guardianship, conservatorship or trust;
• transfers from one co-owner to another, to the seller's spouse or to relatives in the seller's direct line (the statute says “lineal consanguinity”), and between spouses or former spouses under a divorce or separation;
• transfers to or from a government entity, sheriff's transfers and partition sales, and
• newly built homes that have never been occupied.

An executor selling a parent's house, for example, is usually exempt as a fiduciary. See selling an inherited home.

The $500 credit is gone

For years, New York sellers routinely skipped the form and gave the buyer a $500 credit at closing instead. Chapter 484 of the Laws of 2023, signed September 22, 2023, deleted that option. The change took effect March 20, 2024. Today the statement is simply required for covered sales, and the signed copy must be attached to the contract.

1. Before March 20, 2024

   Form or $500 credit

   Sellers who didn’t deliver the form gave a $500 credit at closing.

2. Sept 22, 2023

   Chapter 484 signed

   Removes the credit and adds flood questions.

3. March 20, 2024

   Amendment takes effect

   Form becomes mandatory for covered sales; no credit alternative.

4. February 2025

   Form revised

   The Department of State’s current form is labeled DOS-1614-f (Rev. 02/25). Always download the latest version before you fill it out.

What the form asks

The current Department of State form has 56 numbered questions. For most, you answer Yes, No, Unknown (“Unkn”) or Not applicable (“NA”), and you explain any yes answers in the space provided.

The flood questions

Questions 10 through 17 cover flood risk. The 2023 amendment added seven of them, taking the form from 49 to 56 questions. The form now asks whether:

• the property is in a FEMA-designated floodplain;
• it is wholly or partly in the Special Flood Hazard Area (the “100-year floodplain”) on FEMA's current maps;
• it is wholly or partly in a moderate-risk area (the “500-year floodplain”);
• federal law requires flood insurance on the property;
• you or a previous owner received FEMA, SBA or other federal disaster aid for flood damage;
• there is flood insurance now (attach the policy if yes);
• a FEMA elevation certificate exists (attach it if yes); and
• you have filed a flood damage claim with any insurer, including the National Flood Insurance Program.

The form also notes that once a property has received federal disaster assistance, the requirement to carry flood insurance passes to future owners. An elevation certificate can help a buyer price their own policy. NYC buyers and sellers can learn more in flood insurance in NYC.

How to fill it out well

• Answer from actual knowledge. The law defines knowledge as your actual knowledge. You don't have to hire inspectors to complete the form, but don't mark “Unknown” for something you know about.
• Complete it yourself. The form's instructions say the seller should complete it, and the answers are your representations, not your agent's.
• Attach what the form asks for. Radon, mold and petroleum test reports, flood policies and elevation certificates, if you have them.
• Explain, don't minimize. A yes answer with a short, factual note (what happened, when, what was fixed, by whom) is better for you than a vague one.
• Update it if something changes. Under § 464, if you learn something that makes your statement materially inaccurate, you must deliver a revised one as soon as practicable, up to closing or the buyer moving in, whichever comes first.

What if a seller doesn't comply?

Under § 465, a seller who willfully fails to meet the Article's requirements is liable to the buyer for actual damages, on top of any other remedy the law already allows. The Article also says it doesn't limit other existing claims, so a false statement can support other claims too. The form itself warns that a knowingly false or incomplete statement may expose the seller to claims before or after closing.

Agents have duties as well. Under § 466, the seller's agent must tell the seller about these obligations, and the buyer's agent must tell the buyer about their rights before the buyer signs a binding contract. An agent who does this is not liable under the Article.

Other disclosures that may apply

• Lead paint (federal): for homes built before 1978, sellers must give the EPA pamphlet, disclose known lead hazards and reports, and offer a 10-day inspection period unless waived. See lead paint disclosure.
• Contract representations: the purchase contract itself may contain representations about the property that survive closing. Read them with your attorney.

Ready to sell? Read how to sell a home in NYC, or selling without a broker if you are handling the paperwork yourself. This guide is general information, not legal advice; download the current form from the Department of State and confirm details with a New York attorney.