What the form asks about
The disclosure form is a state-prescribed checklist of the house’s material physical condition, answered from the seller’s own knowledge. Under R.C. 5302.30, it covers:
- The source of the water supply and the type of sewer system.
- The roof, foundation, walls and floors.
- Hazardous materials, including lead-based paint, asbestos, urea-formaldehyde foam insulation and radon.
- Other material defects within the seller’s actual knowledge.
A 2006 revision added information about maintaining a sewage treatment system. The form has a statement of purpose, instructions, and signature and date lines for the seller and buyer.
It isn’t a home inspection and isn’t a warranty. It records what you know, as of the day you sign.
Who must give it and who is exempt
Most sellers of residential property must complete the form. R.C. 5302.30(B)(2) lists 14 kinds of transfers that don’t need one:
| # | Exempt transfer |
|---|---|
| a | Court-ordered transfers: probate sales, execution, bankruptcy trustee, eminent domain, specific performance |
| b | Deed in lieu of foreclosure to a mortgage lender |
| c | Transfer to a deed-of-trust beneficiary by a defaulting trustor |
| d | Foreclosure sales after a mortgage default |
| e | Power-of-sale sales after a deed-of-trust default |
| f | Resale by a lender that acquired the house at a foreclosure sale or by deed in lieu |
| g | Transfers by a fiduciary administering an estate, guardianship, conservatorship or trust |
| h | Transfers between co-owners |
| i | Transfers to a spouse or to lineal relatives |
| j | Transfers between spouses or former spouses under a divorce, dissolution, annulment or legal separation |
| k | Transfers to or from the state or another government body |
| l | Newly built homes never lived in |
| m | Sales to a buyer who has lived in the house as their home for at least a year |
| n | Sales by a seller who inherited the house and didn’t live there in the year before the sale |
Two exemptions matter most locally. Executors selling through a Summit or Stark County estate fall under (g), and heirs who sell a parent’s house they never lived in fall under (n). Our guide on how to sell a house in probate in Ohio covers the estate side.
When and how the form is delivered
The seller must give a signed, dated copy to each prospective buyer or the buyer’s agent “as soon as is practicable.” Delivery can be in person, by ordinary or certified mail, or by fax. The statute applies to transfers on or after July 1, 1993, and a transfer is treated as happening when the initial contract is signed.
The timing has a consequence. If the buyer receives the form before making the offer and signing the agreement, the buyer has no rescission right under the statute. That’s why most sellers provide it before accepting any offer.
The buyer’s right to rescind
A buyer who gets the form late, or never, can back out. R.C. 5302.30(K) allows rescission without liability when:
- The form or an amendment arrives after the agreement is signed: the buyer can rescind within 3 business days after receiving it.
- No form was ever delivered: the buyer can rescind by the same written process.
Either way, the rescission must be a written, signed and dated document, and it must be delivered by the earlier of closing or 30 days after the seller accepted the offer. Deposits must be returned. The buyer can waive the right.
Good faith and the seller’s liability
Every disclosure must be made in good faith, which the statute defines as “honesty in fact.” Three rules follow:
- If you don’t know an answer, you may give a good-faith approximation, as long as it isn’t used to dodge the form.
- You aren’t liable in damages for an error, inaccuracy or omission that wasn’t within your actual knowledge.
- A condition that arises after delivery, such as a leak next week, doesn’t make the original form non-compliant, though you should amend it.
What the statute does not protect is hiding something you knew. An agent who passes along your false statement is shielded by R.C. 4735.68 unless the agent knew or acted recklessly, so the risk of a false answer sits with the seller.
Filling it out without getting into trouble
A careful afternoon with the form prevents most disputes. Practical habits:
- Answer every item. A blank looks like a dodge. If you don’t know, say so.
- Describe repairs, not just problems. “Basement seeped in 2019, interior drain installed 2020, dry since” is better than “yes.”
- Attach records: receipts, warranties, inspection or septic reports, permits.
- Don’t guess on age or capacity unless you mark it as an estimate.
- Amend it if something changes before closing, and deliver the amendment the same way.
- Keep a signed copy with the buyer’s acknowledgment and the date it was delivered.
Landlords should ask tenants about leaks, pests or repairs before filling it out, since a tenant may know of conditions the owner hasn’t seen.
The form doesn’t cover everything
The Ohio form is about the house’s physical condition. Some disclosures sit outside it:
- Lead paint: a pre-1978 house needs the separate federal disclosure, pamphlet and 10-day testing option. See lead paint disclosure when selling a house.
- Radon test results: covered on the form, explained further in radon when selling a house in Ohio.
- Events, not conditions: whether a death in the house must be disclosed is a different question, covered in do you have to disclose a death in a house in Ohio.
Ask an attorney if you are unsure whether your sale is exempt or how to answer an item. If the list of known defects is long and you’d rather sell the house as it is, you can request a written offer.
