What Is a Seller's Disclosure in Virginia, Maryland, and DC?
One of the most misunderstood aspects of buying or selling a home in the DMV is the seller's disclosure. Buyers often assume sellers are required to tell them everything about a property. Sellers often assume they only need to disclose what they are legally required to, and sometimes not even that.
The reality is more nuanced, varies significantly by jurisdiction, and can have serious financial consequences for both parties if misunderstood.
Here is exactly what the seller's disclosure process looks like in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia in 2026.
What Is a Seller's Disclosure?
A seller's disclosure is a document in which the seller of a property reports known defects, material conditions, and relevant facts about the property to the buyer before the sale is finalized. The purpose is to give buyers access to information that would affect their decision to purchase or the price they are willing to pay.
Disclosures are distinct from home inspections. An inspection is conducted by a third-party professional hired by the buyer. A disclosure is a statement from the seller about what they know. Both are important, and neither fully substitutes for the other.
Washington DC: Mandatory Full Disclosure
Washington DC requires sellers to provide a comprehensive disclosure to buyers covering all known material defects and conditions affecting the property. DC's disclosure requirements are among the most thorough in the DMV.
Required DC disclosures include the condition of the roof, foundation, electrical system, plumbing, HVAC, and structural components. Sellers must also disclose any flooding or water intrusion history, any environmental hazards including lead paint for homes built before 1978, any pending legal actions or liens, any zoning or code violations, and any tenant occupancy situations that would trigger DC's TOPA rights.
The TOPA disclosure is particularly important and often catches buyers off guard. DC's Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act gives current tenants the right of first refusal when a property is sold. If there is an active tenant, this must be disclosed upfront and it affects your closing timeline significantly.
DC sellers who fail to disclose known material defects can face legal liability for damages, including the cost of repairs plus additional damages if fraud or intentional concealment is proven.
Maryland: Disclosure or Disclaimer, The Seller's Choice
Maryland is unique in the DMV because it gives sellers a choice: they can provide a full disclosure OR file a disclaimer.
A full disclosure means the seller completes a detailed property condition form covering all known defects and material conditions, similar to DC's approach.
A disclaimer means the seller is saying: "I am not making any representations about this property's condition. You are buying it as-is and I am not responsible for defects I did not explicitly tell you about."
Most buyers mistakenly believe a disclaimer means the seller does not have to disclose anything at all. That is not accurate. Even under a disclaimer, Maryland sellers must still disclose:
Latent defects, meaning defects that a reasonable inspection would not uncover and that pose a health or safety risk. If a seller knows the foundation has a serious crack that cannot be seen during a normal inspection, they must disclose it even under a disclaimer.
Maryland law also requires disclosure of any pending legal actions, any environmental hazards, and lead paint in homes built before 1978.
The practical guidance for buyers: treat a disclaimer listing with heightened caution. It does not mean there is something wrong with the property, but it does mean you bear more of the responsibility for discovering condition issues before closing. A thorough inspection is even more critical in a disclaimer transaction.
Virginia: Seller Disclosure with Caveat Emptor Exceptions
Virginia requires sellers to complete a residential property disclosure statement covering known material defects. However, Virginia has some important nuances that buyers should understand.
Virginia Code allows sellers to sell property in as-is condition, and the state has historically maintained elements of caveat emptor, buyer beware, in its disclosure framework. Virginia sellers are required to disclose material defects they are actually aware of, but Virginia law does not require sellers to investigate their own property to discover defects they do not currently know about.
This creates a practical limitation: if a seller genuinely did not know about a defect, they have no disclosure obligation for it under Virginia law. This is why thorough independent inspections are so important for Virginia buyers.
Virginia-specific disclosures also include information about the property's location within certain military air installation noise zones, whether the property is in a dam break inundation zone, any pending assessments from homeowners associations, and any pending zoning changes.
Virginia sellers who actively misrepresent or conceal known defects face civil liability, but the burden of proof for buyer claims is higher than in DC's more protective disclosure environment.
What Buyers Should Know Regardless of Jurisdiction
Disclosure is not a substitute for inspection. In all three DMV jurisdictions, never waive your inspection contingency based on the assumption that the seller's disclosure is comprehensive. Sellers can only disclose what they know, and what they know may not include defects a professional inspector would find.
Read the disclosure carefully before making an offer. A well-read disclosure can tell you a great deal about a property's history before you spend money on inspections. Look for patterns, multiple references to water intrusion, multiple roof repairs, or HVAC systems that have been serviced frequently. These are signals worth investigating further.
Ask your agent to walk through the disclosure with you. Disclosures are standardized forms but the information in them requires context and interpretation. An experienced agent will know which disclosures are routine and which represent potential red flags.
If something is not disclosed but you discover it during inspection, you have negotiating leverage. The inspection contingency exists precisely for this situation. Undisclosed defects discovered during inspection are grounds for requesting repairs, credits, or in some cases withdrawal from the contract.
Ready to Navigate the Disclosure Process?
Whether you are a buyer trying to understand what you are getting into or a seller trying to make sure your disclosures are done correctly, working with an experienced DMV agent makes a significant difference.
Book your free consultation at donnellwilliams.com/donnells-calendar to discuss your specific situation in any of the three DMV jurisdictions. If you are a seller thinking about listing, get your free home valuation at hmbt.co/trMYK6 as a first step.
Published as part of our June Homeownership Month series. New posts every day throughout June covering everything DMV buyers, renters, and homeowners need to know about the local market.
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