What District of Columbia Sellers Must Disclose

District of Columbia requires sellers to put it in writing. The form is the Seller's Disclosure Statement (Seller's Property Condition Statement). Under the District of Columbia Residential Real Property Seller Disclosure Act (D.C. Code 42-1301 et seq.), sellers of 1-4 unit residential property must complete a Seller's Disclosure Statement in good faith on their actual knowledge, with stated exemptions.

What the disclosure covers — and what it is

DC sellers must give you the required Seller's Disclosure Statement, completed by the seller personally and answered on actual knowledge in good faith. If it is delivered after you sign the purchase agreement, you may terminate by written notice within 5 calendar days after receipt. It is not a warranty — still order inspections, especially in older rowhouses where the seller's 'unknown' answers are common.

Flooding: the answer that matters most

Whether District of Columbia law specifically requires flood disclosure, treat it as your job either way: run the exact parcel through FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer before you offer. A flood-zone home means a flood-insurance requirement if you finance — and that premium belongs in your monthly-cost math from day one.

The District of Columbia traps inside the paperwork

Registry shows block-level addresses only. MPD provides address information at the block level only and publishes Class A and Class B offenders online; the full registry, including Class C, can only be reviewed in person at a police district or the Sex Offender Registry Unit — an online search understates the full list.

Seller's cap credit does not fully transfer. OTR states a new owner may receive the seller's assessment cap credit only in the half the property was purchased, and the buyer's own cap generally becomes available within a year after the new owner applies for the Homestead Deduction — expect a possible step-up in the interim.

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 District of Columbia, property tax reassessment works like this: Your bill is based on OTR's annual market-value assessment, not the seller's bill and not reset to your purchase price. Apply for the Homestead Deduction immediately: filing October 1-March 31 gets the full year, while filing April 1-September 30 gets only half the benefit in the first year — 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 District of Columbia records guide — never budget from the seller's bill.
• Check the address against the official District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia?

Yes — the Seller's Disclosure Statement (Seller's Property Condition Statement). Under the District of Columbia Residential Real Property Seller Disclosure Act (D.C. Code 42-1301 et seq.), sellers of 1-4 unit residential property must complete a Seller's Disclosure Statement in good faith on their actual knowledge, with stated exemptions.

Does a District of Columbia seller have to disclose flooding?

Do not rely on the paperwork either way — check the parcel on FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer, which is the map lenders and insurers use.

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: mpdc.dc.gov · otr.cfo.dc.gov · eforms.com