Sellers Disclosure Texas: What You Must Reveal in 2026

In Texas, nearly every home seller must hand the buyer a written disclosure notice before a contract is signed. The sellers disclosure Texas law — Texas Property Code Section 5.008 — sets the minimum form, and the free TREC Seller’s Disclosure Notice (OP-H) is the version most by-owner sellers use. Skip it, and your buyer can walk away or sue you later.

I’m David Speers, and I analyze seller paperwork and commission data for a living. The disclosure notice is the single most important document a Texas FSBO seller fills out — and it’s also the one I see people get wrong most often. Here’s everything you need to know in 2026, in plain English.

What the Sellers Disclosure Texas Law Actually Requires

The sellers disclosure Texas requirement comes from Texas Property Code Section 5.008. If you’re selling a single-family home you’ve lived in, you must give the buyer a written notice — on or before the effective date of the contract — describing the property’s condition as you actually know it.

Two things surprise people here. First, this applies whether or not you use an agent. FSBO sellers and flat fee MLS sellers carry exactly the same legal duty as sellers represented by a $20,000 listing agent. Second, the standard is your actual knowledge. You’re not promising the house is perfect. You’re promising you told the truth about what you know.

The state publishes a free minimum form: the TREC Seller’s Disclosure Notice (OP-H). Most Texas MLSs — including HAR MLS in Houston, NTREIS in Dallas-Fort Worth, Unlock MLS in Austin, and SABOR in San Antonio — circulate the longer Texas REALTORS version (TXR-1406), which covers the same ground plus extra items like flood claims and FEMA assistance.

Form	Who publishes it	Cost	Best for
TREC OP-H	Texas Real Estate Commission	Free download	FSBO sellers meeting the statutory minimum
TXR-1406	Texas REALTORS	Included with most flat fee MLS packages	MLS-listed homes; buyers’ agents expect it

What’s on the Sellers Disclosure Texas Form

The sellers disclosure Texas form runs through the house system by system. You’ll check boxes — yes, no, or unknown — and explain anything you flag. Expect questions about:

• Structure and systems: roof age and type, foundation, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, water heater
• Defects and repairs: known problems with walls, floors, windows, driveways, fences
• Water issues: previous flooding, water penetration, location in a 100-year floodplain
• Termites and pests: previous treatment or damage
• Title and legal items: HOA membership and dues, lawsuits, liens, unpermitted work
• Environmental: asbestos, radon, lead-based paint, aluminum wiring

Foundation movement deserves special attention on any sellers disclosure Texas buyers will read. Our expansive clay soils — especially across Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio — make slab issues the most litigated disclosure item in the state. If you had piers installed in 2019, say so and attach the warranty. A documented repair reassures buyers; a discovered cover-up creates a lawsuit.

One federal layer sits on top: homes built before 1978 also require the EPA/HUD lead-based paint disclosure, plus a 10-day window for the buyer to test if they ask. That one applies in all 50 states.

Sellers Disclosure Texas Exemptions: Who Can Skip the Form

Section 5.008(e) lists the sellers disclosure Texas exemptions, and they’re narrower than most people think. You generally do not need to provide the notice for:

• Court-ordered transfers, including probate and bankruptcy sales
• Foreclosure or trustee sales (and lender resales after foreclosure)
• Transfers between co-owners, or to a spouse or direct descendants
• Transfers as part of a divorce decree
• New construction that’s never been occupied
• Transfers to or from a government entity

Notice what’s missing: “as-is” sales. Selling a fixer-upper as-is does not exempt you from the sellers disclosure Texas rules. The as-is clause limits your duty to repair, not your duty to disclose. Investors selling inherited homes through probate are usually exempt; a regular homeowner selling a dated house as-is is not.

The 7-Day Rule: What Happens If You Get It Wrong

Here’s the enforcement teeth behind the sellers disclosure Texas statute. If you deliver the notice after the contract is signed — or never deliver it — Section 5.008(f) gives the buyer the right to terminate for any reason within 7 days of receiving it. Your deal can evaporate a week before closing because of paperwork you should have handed over in week one.

And if you knowingly hide a material defect? That can support a fraud or Deceptive Trade Practices Act claim after closing. Texas courts have awarded buyers repair costs, and in egregious cases treble damages plus attorney’s fees. The foundation repair you didn’t mention can cost you three times what fixing it would have.

My rule for every seller I talk to: disclose early, disclose ugly. Hand the completed notice to serious buyers before they write an offer. It kills renegotiation leverage later, and buyers consistently pay more for houses they trust.

How FSBO and Flat Fee Sellers Handle the Sellers Disclosure in Texas

If you’re selling without a traditional agent, the sellers disclosure Texas process is identical — you just keep the commission savings. With the Texas median sale price sitting around $343,800 in mid-2026 (statewide medians range from roughly $328,000 to $344,000 depending on the source), the math is worth seeing in a table.

Selling method	Listing-side cost at $340,000	Disclosure responsibility
Traditional 6% listing (3% per side)	$10,200 listing commission	Agent hands you the same TXR-1406 to fill out yourself
Flat fee MLS listing	A few hundred dollars, flat	You complete the same form — most services provide it
Pure FSBO (no MLS)	$0	You download TREC OP-H and complete it

Read that middle column again. Even with a full-commission agent, you fill out the disclosure — it’s your knowledge, and only you can legally attest to it. The agent’s role is administrative: they upload the PDF to the MLS. That’s a big part of why I think a flat fee MLS listing is the rational middle path for most Texas sellers: same MLS exposure, same forms, roughly $10,000 kept in your pocket at the median price point.

Texas also makes by-owner selling cheaper than most states in two quiet ways. There’s no state real estate transfer tax — you’ll pay county recording fees of roughly $25 to $50, not the 1%-2% transfer levies common back East. And no attorney is required at closing; a title company handles escrow and recording. The disclosure notice is genuinely the heaviest piece of seller paperwork you’ll touch. If you’re listing in Texas, the HomeRise flat fee MLS Texas page breaks down the process market by market, including Houston, where HAR MLS rules apply.

For the broader paperwork picture beyond disclosures, see my guides on how to sell a house without a realtor and why disclosure matters in a FSBO sale.

Sellers Disclosure Texas: 5 Mistakes I See Constantly

After reviewing a lot of Texas listings, the same disclosure errors keep showing up:

• Answering “unknown” to dodge a question. If you actually know, “unknown” is a misrepresentation. Buyers’ attorneys love this one.
• Forgetting old insurance claims. That 2021 hail claim on the roof is discoverable through CLUE reports. Disclose it.
• Omitting unpermitted work. The garage conversion without permits must be disclosed, even if it was done before you bought.
• Delivering the sellers disclosure Texas notice late. You hand the buyer a free 7-day exit ramp.
• Not updating the form. If the water heater fails while you’re under contract, amend the disclosure. Your duty runs through closing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a sellers disclosure Texas requirement for FSBO sales too?
Yes. Texas Property Code 5.008 applies to the seller of a single-family residence regardless of representation. FSBO and flat fee MLS sellers must provide the same notice a listed seller would, on or before the contract’s effective date.

What happens if a seller doesn’t provide a disclosure in Texas?
The buyer may terminate the contract for any reason within 7 days of finally receiving the notice. If a known defect was concealed, the buyer can also sue after closing for misrepresentation or DTPA violations, with damages that can triple in cases of knowing fraud.

Do I need an attorney to complete the sellers disclosure Texas form?
No. Texas doesn’t require an attorney for residential closings or disclosures — title companies handle the closing. The TREC OP-H form is written for homeowners. That said, if your house has a complicated history (major foundation work, litigation, flood claims), an hour of real estate attorney time is cheap insurance.

Are as-is sales exempt from the sellers disclosure Texas rules?
No. “As-is” affects repair obligations, not disclosure obligations. Only the statutory exemptions — probate, foreclosure, divorce transfers, never-occupied new construction, and similar — remove the notice requirement.

Does Texas have a transfer tax when I sell my house?
No. Texas is one of about a dozen states with no real estate transfer tax. Sellers pay county recording fees (typically $25-$50) plus their negotiated closing costs, which is part of why net proceeds in Texas tend to beat coastal states at the same sale price.

Which MLS will my Texas disclosure go into?
It depends on your market: HAR MLS covers greater Houston, NTREIS covers Dallas-Fort Worth, Unlock MLS covers Austin, and SABOR covers San Antonio. Flat fee MLS services upload your completed disclosure to the correct MLS so buyers’ agents can review it before showing.

The Bottom Line

The sellers disclosure Texas requirement isn’t a trap — it’s a checklist. Download the free TREC form, answer honestly from your own knowledge, deliver it before the contract is signed, and update it if anything changes. Do that, and the scariest document in a Texas home sale becomes a 20-minute task.

And since you’ll be filling out the form yourself either way, keep the $10,200 a traditional listing would cost at the Texas median price. A flat fee MLS listing gets you the same exposure, the same forms, and a much better closing statement. That’s the whole pitch — the disclosure was never the hard part.