2 Things Florida Home Sellers Don’t Have to Tell You, and 2 They Now Do

A home can look great in the listing photos and still come with things nobody mentioned.

Floridians buying a house may assume the seller has to share everything. But that isn’t how the law works.

Here’s what a seller can keep quiet and what the law now makes them share.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Disclosure rules are subject to change.

1. Deaths on the Property

Sellers don’t have to tell you if someone died at the home.

Section 689.25 of the Florida Statutes says a homicide, suicide or death at a property isn’t a material fact that must be disclosed.

Suspected deaths count too.

If you learn about a death after closing, the statute keeps you from suing the owner for not telling you.

The same goes for the owner’s agent, the buyer’s agent and any licensed real estate agent.

2. Flaws You Can See

A seller doesn’t have to point out a flaw you can see for yourself.

In Johnson v. Davis in 1985, the Florida Supreme Court held that a seller has to disclose known facts that materially affect a home’s value.

But the duty stops at facts you can’t readily observe and don’t already know.

So look closely.

Newer Disclosure Rules

Two newer laws add to what a Florida seller has to tell you.

The flood rule reaches residential property sales in general.

The condo rule applies only if you’re buying a condo unit.

1. Flood Disclosure Form

A seller must complete a flood disclosure and give it to you at or before the time you sign the sales contract.

A 2024 House staff analysis of the flood disclosure bill, House Bill 1049, said no Florida statute required a flood disclosure in a property transaction.

Courts were also split on whether a seller had to tell a buyer about a tendency to flood.

The Legislature filled that gap with chapter 2024-215, which created the seller’s flood disclosure duty in section 689.302.

On the form, a seller checks whether they know of flooding that damaged the home during their ownership.

Another box covers whether the seller has filed a claim with an insurance provider for flood damage.

The last box covers any assistance the seller has received for flood damage.

Lawmakers weren’t done.

A 2025 amendment that took effect October 1 widened the assistance question from federal sources to any source.

A yes on any of those boxes gives you something to ask about before you sign.

2. Condo Inspection Statements

Section 718.503 of the Florida Statutes requires a condo owner who sells you a unit to put inspection statements in your contract.

The rule covers any contract you sign after December 31, 2024.

A milestone inspection is a structural inspection of a building by a licensed architect or engineer.

For a condo building three habitable stories or more in height, section 553.899 requires the first milestone inspection by December 31 of the year the building reaches 30 years.

That age runs from the date of the building’s certificate of occupancy.

A local enforcement agency can set the first inspection at 25 years where conditions such as nearby salt water justify it.

Section 718.103 defines a structural integrity reserve study as a study of the reserve funds required for future major repairs and replacement of the condominium property.

When the condo association hasn’t completed a required inspection or reserve study, your contract has to say so.

For a finished inspection or study, the contract instead has to say you can cancel by written notice within seven days, not counting weekends and legal holidays.

Those seven days start after you sign the contract and receive a current copy of the inspection or study.

The statement also says any waiver of that right has no effect.

If a contract leaves these statements out, you can cancel it before closing.

Closing ends both rights.

As-Is Sales

A home seller can’t lean on an as-is clause to defeat a claim for fraudulent nondisclosure, Florida’s First District Court of Appeal held in Rayner v. Wise Realty Co. of Tallahassee in 1987.

Florida Realtors reads that to mean a seller who lists a home as is still has to tell you about known latent defects, the kind you can’t readily see.

Whether you’re buying a new home or a used home, Johnson v. Davis says the seller’s duty applies to both.

A Listing Rule for 2027

A 2026 law, chapter 2026-239, changes section 689.261, and starting February 1, 2027, printed listing materials can’t include the seller’s current property taxes.

Online, a listing platform has to show estimated property taxes for every home it displays.

The platform can’t use the seller’s current assessment or taxes to figure that estimate.

Instead, it figures the estimate from the listing price, using either current tax rates or the countywide average rate.

A platform that skips the estimate can’t display the seller’s current taxes, and it has to link you to the county property appraiser’s tax estimator or homepage.

Section 689.261 also requires a seller to give you a property tax disclosure summary at or before you sign.

That summary says you shouldn’t count on the seller’s current taxes as your bill in the year after you buy.

The reason is that a change of ownership or property improvements triggers a reassessment that could mean higher property taxes.

Radon and Sinkhole Notices

Two older duties, a radon notice and a sinkhole claim disclosure, still apply when you buy a home.

Section 404.056 requires a radon gas notice on at least one document you sign at or before the contract to buy a building.

The statute spells out the exact wording, which calls radon a naturally occurring radioactive gas.

In sufficient quantities inside a building, radon may present health risks if you’re exposed to it over time.

The notice also tells you that Florida buildings have had radon levels above federal and state guidelines.

It then directs you to your county health department for more information on radon and radon testing.