When does the seller’s disclosure have to reach the buyer?
The target is on or before the day the contract becomes effective. Section 5.008 of the Texas Property Code says the seller delivers the notice on or before the effective date of the contract, and Texas REALTORS describes the same rule. The TREC resale contract is built around that same moment. If you finish it before you list, that is one deadline you can stop worrying about.
You can relax a little here. The Seller’s Disclosure Notice is a known form with known questions. TREC publishes it as form 55-1, and the current version took effect in May 2026. You can download it today, sit down with a cup of coffee and your house files, and fill it out on your own schedule instead of in the middle of a negotiation.
Here’s what I’d look at first: the TREC resale contract itself. Paragraph 7B has three boxes, and the form says to check one.
| Box in Paragraph 7B | What it says | What follows |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | Buyer has received the notice | No extra termination right tied to the notice |
| (2) | Buyer has not received it, and the seller will deliver it within a set number of days | The buyer gets a termination right once it arrives, or until closing if it never does |
| (3) | Seller is not required to furnish it under the Property Code | Only fits a seller who is actually exempt |
Which box gets checked depends on where your paperwork stands when an offer is written. If the notice is signed and already in the buyer’s hands, the first box describes your situation. If it is not, the second box comes with the termination right described below.
TREC describes the notice as the form for sellers of previously occupied single-family homes, and Section 5.008 lists the transfers it does not cover, including a new home nobody has lived in yet. If your sale might be on that list, ask a Texas real estate attorney whether the third box applies before anyone relies on it.
What happens if the notice shows up after the contract is signed?
The buyer gets a short, clean exit. A late notice does not end the contract by itself, but it reopens the buyer’s options for a while.
The 7-day window
Under Paragraph 7B(2) of the TREC resale contract, once the seller delivers the notice after the effective date, the buyer may terminate for any reason within 7 days after receiving it, or before closing if that comes first. The earnest money goes back to the buyer. Section 5.008 itself gives a buyer the same 7-day right to terminate for any reason after receiving a late notice, and Texas REALTORS describes the rule in its legal FAQs.
“Any reason” is the phrase to notice. The buyer does not have to point to anything on the form. A buyer who has cooled on the house or found another one can use that window. Even if the option period in your contract has already ended, a late disclosure can give the buyer a second way out.
If it never arrives
If the seller never delivers the notice, the same paragraph lets the buyer terminate at any time before closing and get the earnest money back. That door stays open right up to the closing table. It also leaves the buyer free to walk away on closing week, which is a hard time for a seller who has already scheduled movers or a purchase of their own.
A buyer holding an open termination right is in a different spot in any later conversation about repairs or price. If you have questions about other consequences of a late or missing notice, those belong with a Texas real estate attorney.
What should you pull together before you fill it out?
Gather your records first, then answer the form from the records. That order keeps your answers tied to what you actually know, and it saves you from guessing in a busy week.
The current TREC form, which follows the notice set out in Section 5.008, asks about the home’s equipment and systems, known defects, past repairs, flooding, permits, HOA fees, lawsuits, insurance and more. A simple folder, paper or digital, makes those questions much easier. Start with:
- Repair and replacement invoices. Roof, foundation, plumbing, HVAC, water heater and any structural work. The form asks about previous structural or roof repairs.
- Permit records for additions, remodels or alterations. The form asks whether you know of work done without needed permits or not in line with the building codes in effect at the time.
- Insurance and flood history. The form asks whether you have ever filed a flood damage claim with any insurer, including the National Flood Insurance Program, and whether you have received FEMA or SBA assistance for flood damage.
- HOA documents if you have dues or assessments, plus any notices of deed restriction violations.
- Systems paperwork such as septic service records, propane setup and well information if the home has them. The form asks about the septic system, liquid propane and the water supply.
- Any inspection report you already have, including a pre-listing inspection.
Read that last item start to finish before you sign anything, so you are answering the form with the same information the report gives you. Glen’s guide to pre-listing inspections in New Braunfels covers whether ordering one makes sense for your sale.
A Canyon Lake detail worth checking
The flood section of the TREC form asks whether the property is wholly or partly in a 100-year floodplain, a 500-year floodplain, a floodway or a flood pool. The form defines a flood pool as land next to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir that lies above the normal maximum operating level and is subject to controlled flooding under Corps management.
Canyon Lake is that kind of reservoir. The Texas Water Development Board describes it as owned by the federal government and operated by the Corps for flood control and other purposes. GBRA explains that the Corps manages the flood control portion of the lake, from 909 feet up to 943 feet above mean sea level, which is the part of the lake set aside for floodwater. If you own near the lake, give that question real attention. Ask your title company or a surveyor what your records show about elevation before you mark an answer. Glen’s Canyon Lake seller records guide and the New Braunfels flood risk guide cover the broader paperwork.
Who fills it out, and what if you don’t know an answer?
The seller does. The top of the TREC form, like the notice text in Section 5.008, says the notice is a disclosure of the seller’s knowledge of the property’s condition as of the date the seller signs it. It also says the notice is not a substitute for any inspections the buyer may want and is not a warranty of any kind by the seller or the seller’s agents.
That wording tells you how to approach it. You are reporting what you know on the day you sign. You are not promising the house is free of problems, and the buyer is still expected to do their own checking.
“Unknown” is a real answer when it is true. Section 5.008 says a seller who does not know information the notice asks for indicates that on the notice and is in compliance, and Texas REALTORS describes the same point. On the TREC form, Unknown appears on the equipment list and a few other items, while many sections ask for Yes or No based on what you are aware of. Use unknown for what you cannot answer, and answer from your records where they point one way.
Some questions are easy to answer from memory and some are not. A few worth checking against the folder:
- Previous structural or roof repairs. Check invoices and warranty paperwork for dates and scope.
- Unpermitted work. Think back through additions, garage conversions and remodels, then check what permits you have.
- Flood claims and assistance. Insurance claim history and any FEMA or SBA paperwork.
- Groundwater conservation district. The form asks whether any part of the property is in a groundwater conservation district or a subsidence district.
If you are unsure how to word an answer, or whether something you know counts, take that question to a Texas real estate attorney before you sign.
How do you keep the disclosure from slowing down your sale?
Start it while you are getting the house ready to list. When the notice is signed before the first showing, it can go out with your listing materials and be in a buyer’s hands before an offer is written.
A simple order of operations:
- Download the current TREC form and read every question once before answering any of them.
- Build your records folder from the list above.
- Read any inspection report you have, start to finish.
- Answer from the records, and mark unknown only where it is honest.
- Take legal questions to an attorney before you sign, not after a buyer asks.
- Sign, date and hand it to your agent so it can go to buyers before contracts are written.
This also helps when you are pricing and planning your net proceeds. A disclosed roof repair or a past flood claim is something a buyer will weigh, and it is easier to plan around now than to talk through under a 7-day clock. Glen’s seller resources and the seller net sheet can help you think through the numbers before you list.
Filling in the form is usually the quick part. Tracking down an old invoice or permit takes longer, so open the folder as soon as you decide to sell.
