What Connecticut Sellers Must Disclose

Connecticut requires sellers to put it in writing. The form is the Residential Property Condition Report. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. 20-327b the seller must give the buyer a written Residential Property Condition Report, based on actual knowledge, before the buyer signs a binder, contract or option; Public Act 25-33 added a Flood Risk Awareness section asking about FEMA floodplain status, flood claims, flood insurance and water penetration.

What the disclosure covers — and what it is

You must receive the state condition report before you sign, including six flood-risk questions added by Public Act 25-33 (sources differ on whether that section took effect July 1, 2025 or July 1, 2026, but the current 07/2025 form contains it). If the seller does not furnish the report, the seller must credit you $500 at closing, which does not excuse hiding a known defect.

Flooding: the answer that matters most

Connecticut 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 Connecticut traps inside the paperwork

Pyrrhotite crumbling concrete foundations. Connecticut's disclosure report specifically asks about pyrrhotite, the mineral linked to crumbling foundations in northeastern Connecticut, and a separate foundation condition report applies to certain foreclosure-related transfers in affected towns.

Skipping the disclosure only costs the seller a $500 credit. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. 20-327c a seller who fails to furnish the Residential Property Condition Report credits the buyer $500 at closing; that credit does not create a warranty and does not relieve a seller who concealed a known defect.

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 Connecticut, property tax reassessment works like this: Buying does not reset your assessment to the purchase price; values change town-wide at the five-year revaluation. Your bill can still jump sharply in a revaluation year, so check the town's revaluation schedule and any phase-in before relying on the seller's current bill — 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 Connecticut records guide — never budget from the seller's bill.
• Check the address against the official Connecticut 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 Connecticut?

Yes — the Residential Property Condition Report. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. 20-327b the seller must give the buyer a written Residential Property Condition Report, based on actual knowledge, before the buyer signs a binder, contract or option; Public Act 25-33 added a Flood Risk Awareness section asking about FEMA floodplain status, flood claims, flood insurance and water penetration.

Does a Connecticut seller have to disclose flooding?

Yes — Connecticut 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: portal.ct.gov · search.cga.state.ct.us · incaca.com