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TX · Flood-disclosure law

Does a Texas seller have to disclose flooding?

Texas Property Code § 5.008 requires sellers of residential real property (single dwelling unit) to deliver a Seller's Disclosure Notice. SB 339 (2019) expanded the flood portion: the seller must disclose, to the best of belief/knowledge, present flood insurance coverage; previous flooding due to a reservoir failure/release; previous water penetration into a structure due to a natural flood event; and whether the property is wholly/partly in a 100-year floodplain, 500-year floodplain, floodway, flood pool, or reservoir, with statutory definitions for each.

Texas at a glance

Flood-specific disclosure

The statute or the state-mandated form has dedicated flood questions — flood-zone status, flood history, prior claims, or flood-insurance history.

DisclosureRequired
Opt-outNone
Primary-source verified· verified June 16, 2026
Tex. Prop. Code § 5.008 (as amended by SB 339, 2019)

The 4-card answer

Texas flood-disclosure, decoded

Whether the seller must disclose, what triggers it, the penalties, and any opt-out gotcha — each card cites its source.

Does the seller have to disclose flooding?

Disclosure required

Flood-specific disclosure

Texas Property Code § 5.008 requires sellers of residential real property (single dwelling unit) to deliver a Seller's Disclosure Notice. SB 339 (2019) expanded the flood portion: the seller must disclose, to the best of belief/knowledge, present flood insurance coverage; previous flooding due to a reservoir failure/release; previous water penetration into a structure due to a natural flood event; and whether the property is wholly/partly in a 100-year floodplain, 500-year floodplain, floodway, flood pool, or reservoir, with statutory definitions for each.

The statute or the state-mandated form has dedicated flood questions — flood-zone status, flood history, prior claims, or flood-insurance history.

Tex. Prop. Code § 5.008 (as amended by SB 339, 2019)Primary-source verified· verified June 16, 2026

What triggers the duty

  • Sale of residential real property comprising not more than one dwelling unit
  • Seller's belief/knowledge as of the notice date ('unknown' answers are compliant)

Penalties & remedies

If the seller had actual knowledge and failed to disclose, the buyer may bring a civil action for misrepresentation (and other statutory/common-law remedies). The statute itself centers on the termination remedy.

Buyer remedy: If the contract is executed before the notice is delivered, the purchaser may terminate the contract for any reason within seven days after receiving the notice (§ 5.008(f)).

Opt-out gotchas

No statutory opt-out or waiver-for-credit mechanism identified. Not an opt-out, but § 5.008(e) exempts eleven transfer types (e.g., foreclosure/trustee sale, transfers between family members, first sale of a never-occupied new residence).

Research note ▾

Primary statute text fetched and confirms the SB 339 flood expansion, the seven-day termination right (§ 5.008(f)), and the exemptions (§ 5.008(e)). Misrepresentation civil action for actual-knowledge non-disclosure is corroborated by secondary analysis.

Buyer's rights

If you're buying in Texas

Your rights re-framed from the buyer's side, plus a pre-closing checklist that holds in every state.

What Texas law gives you as a buyer

Texas requires a seller disclosure (see the answer cards), so you have a statutory document to rely on — and a remedy if the seller knowingly withheld a material flood fact. If the contract is executed before the notice is delivered, the purchaser may terminate the contract for any reason within seven days after receiving the notice (§ 5.008(f)).

Tex. Prop. Code § 5.008 (as amended by SB 339, 2019)

Your pre-closing checklist (works in every state)

  • Pull a free FEMA flood-zone lookup

    Enter the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center to see the property's flood-zone designation (Special Flood Hazard Area = Zone A/V). This is public and free, regardless of what the seller discloses.

    msc.fema.gov ↗

  • Request a CLUE / loss-history report

    A C.L.U.E. (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) report shows insurance claims filed on the property in the last ~7 years, including water and flood claims. The current owner can pull theirs free once a year from LexisNexis.

    LexisNexis consumer disclosure ↗

  • Get an independent inspection — ask about water

    Hire your own inspector and specifically flag drainage, grading, sump pumps, and signs of past water intrusion (staining, efflorescence, fresh paint in basements). An inspection contingency protects you if problems surface.

  • Get a flood-insurance quote before you waive contingencies

    Quote NFIP or private flood coverage early. Homeowners' insurance does NOT cover flood damage. A federally backed mortgage on a property in a Special Flood Hazard Area generally requires flood insurance — budget for it.

    floodsmart.gov ↗

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Texas

Does the seller have to disclose flooding?

Disclosure required

Flood-specific disclosure

Texas Property Code § 5.008 requires sellers of residential real property (single dwelling unit) to deliver a Seller's Disclosure Notice. SB 339 (2019) expanded the flood portion: the seller must disclose, to the best of belief/knowledge, present flood insurance coverage; previous flooding due to a reservoir failure/release; previous water penetration into a structure due to a natural flood event; and whether the property is wholly/partly in a 100-year floodplain, 500-year floodplain, floodway, flood pool, or reservoir, with statutory definitions for each.

The statute or the state-mandated form has dedicated flood questions — flood-zone status, flood history, prior claims, or flood-insurance history.

Tex. Prop. Code § 5.008 (as amended by SB 339, 2019)Primary-source verified· verified June 16, 2026

What triggers the duty

  • Sale of residential real property comprising not more than one dwelling unit
  • Seller's belief/knowledge as of the notice date ('unknown' answers are compliant)

Penalties & remedies

If the seller had actual knowledge and failed to disclose, the buyer may bring a civil action for misrepresentation (and other statutory/common-law remedies). The statute itself centers on the termination remedy.

Buyer remedy: If the contract is executed before the notice is delivered, the purchaser may terminate the contract for any reason within seven days after receiving the notice (§ 5.008(f)).

Opt-out gotchas

No statutory opt-out or waiver-for-credit mechanism identified. Not an opt-out, but § 5.008(e) exempts eleven transfer types (e.g., foreclosure/trustee sale, transfers between family members, first sale of a never-occupied new residence).

Research note ▾

Primary statute text fetched and confirms the SB 339 flood expansion, the seven-day termination right (§ 5.008(f)), and the exemptions (§ 5.008(e)). Misrepresentation civil action for actual-knowledge non-disclosure is corroborated by secondary analysis.

Summary of Texas law as of June 2026. Not legal advice.

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