12 Things Arizona Sellers Must Disclose Before Selling

What Arizona sellers must disclose comes down to one idea. It is the material facts the seller knows that a buyer cannot readily see. Most of it lands on one form, the Seller's Property Disclosure Statement, with separate paperwork for solar, the association and older paint.

Here are twelve disclosures Scottsdale sellers should have ready before listing.

The twelve disclosures, in short:

1. SPDS delivered within three days
2. Known material facts get disclosed
3. As is shifts repairs, not disclosure
4. Past work, permits and invoices
5. Pool permit, barrier and leaks
6. Lead disclosure on pre-1978 homes
7. Soil remediation notice in writing
8. Solar lease documents and UCC filings
9. Association resale packet, capped fee
10. Affidavit of disclosure outside city limits
11. Death or felony, no liability for silence
12. Offender registry, the buyer checks it

1. What form do Arizona sellers actually fill out, and when is it due?

Under the Arizona REALTORS Residential Resale Purchase Contract, the seller delivers a completed Seller's Property Disclosure Statement within three days of contract acceptance. The buyer then gives notice of items they disapprove. That notice is due within the inspection period, or five days after receiving the form, whichever is later. The SPDS is an Arizona Association of REALTORS form, not a state statute.

A strong answer has the seller filling the SPDS out personally, in writing, before the home is listed. Every question gets an answer. Where the seller does not know, the form says so.

Blank questions create a problem the seller owns later. So does an agent who fills the form in for them. The seller signs it, and blanks read as evasion.

2. Does a seller have to disclose a problem the buyer cannot see?

Arizona courts have held that a seller has a duty to disclose known facts that materially affect a home's value. The duty applies when those facts are not readily observable and not known to the buyer. The test is not whether a form asks the question. It is whether the seller knows something the buyer cannot see.

A strong answer writes down what a buyer would never find: the slab leak repaired four years ago, the roof section replaced after a storm, the wall that was moved. The invoice beats a memory.

Deciding that a repaired problem no longer counts is a risk. A documented repair usually helps the sale. One the buyer discovers alone after closing becomes an argument about what the seller knew.

3. Does selling 'as is' cancel the duty to disclose?

An 'as is' clause does not relieve an Arizona seller of the duty to disclose known material defects. It shifts the risk for defects the seller did not know about. Reading 'as is' as permission to stay quiet about a known problem relies on a clause that does not do that.

A strong answer treats 'as is' as a repair position, not a disclosure position. The seller is not planning repairs. The disclosure statement is still completed in full, and the price usually reflects the condition.

An agent who says an as is sale means the SPDS can be light is giving costly advice. The clause protects a seller from the unknown, not from what they knew.

4. Do sellers have to disclose past repairs and work done without a permit?

Work the seller had done is exactly the kind of fact a buyer cannot readily observe. That is what brings it inside the Arizona duty to disclose. A converted garage, an added room, a rebuilt panel or a re-piped wall changes what the buyer is buying. The permit record either backs the work up or does not.

A strong answer lists the work, the year, who did it, and whether it was permitted. The permits and invoices go into the disclosure packet. Where a permit cannot be found, the seller says so plainly.

Calling unpermitted work grandfathered is a guess, not a disclosure. Time does not create a permit, and a buyer who finds out after closing starts with what the seller wrote on the form.

5. What does a seller have to tell the buyer about the pool?

A pool is a disclosure item and a safety item at once. Arizona law requires a barrier at least five feet high with a self closing, self latching gate that opens away from the pool. Scottsdale requires a permit to build a pool. It also requires a compliant barrier for every single family pool built after 20 July 1995.

A strong answer gathers the pool permit, the barrier records, the equipment age and any resurfacing invoices. It also says plainly whether the pool has leaked. The Scottsdale rule has no exemption for households without children.

Assuming the buyer will look at the pool and judge for themselves skips a disclosure. The shell, the equipment and the barrier are not readable from a walkthrough.

6. What does a seller of an older home have to say about lead paint?

The federal lead based paint disclosure rule applies to most housing built before 1978. The seller gives the buyer the required disclosure and a ten day period to have a lead inspection or risk assessment done. Both sides can agree in writing to a different period. This is a federal rule, separate from the Arizona form.

A strong answer confirms the year built from county records rather than memory. The seller signs the lead disclosure, hands over the pamphlet, and discloses any lead reports already in hand.

Skipping the lead disclosure because the house was repainted mixes two things up. Paint over paint is not a lead inspection. The disclosure follows the age of the housing, not the age of the top coat.

7. Does a seller have to disclose past soil remediation?

Arizona statute requires a seller who knows the property underwent soil remediation to give the buyer written notice before the sale. The exception is remediation that met residential use standards. This is one of the few disclosure duties written directly into Arizona statute rather than into a contract form.

A strong answer produces the remediation paperwork: who did the work, when, under what standard, and the closure letter. A seller who bought the home after the work can ask the title company and the state agency for what exists.

Being told about remediation verbally, then treating that as not knowing, is thin ground. Written notice is the point of the statute, and a buyer who finds the record later will ask why.

8. What does a seller have to disclose about leased solar panels?

The Arizona REALTORS Solar Addendum requires the seller to give the buyer the solar system documents, including any lease or power purchase agreement. A leased system is commonly recorded against the home as a UCC-1 fixture filing. Lenders and title companies generally require that filing to be terminated or subordinated before closing.

A strong answer starts the solar paperwork early: the lease or power purchase agreement, the installer contact, the monthly payment, and the finance company's transfer requirements. The title company can confirm what is recorded against the property.

Mentioning the panels but not the lease, until the buyer's lender asks, creates a delay. Transfer approval takes time, and a filing cleared at the last minute can move a closing date.

9. What does the homeowners association have to hand over, and who pays for it?

Under Arizona statute a planned community association may charge the seller no more than an aggregate of 400 dollars for the resale disclosure statement. It must deliver that statement within ten days of written notice of a pending sale. The same cap and window apply to condominiums. The fee is collected no earlier than close of escrow.

A strong answer sends the association written notice as soon as the contract is accepted. Then it checks the packet against the home: current assessments, any special assessment, the rules the buyer inherits, and open violations. Ask about a capital contribution fee, which the statute does not cap.

Ordering the resale packet late in escrow spends days the contract does not have. The association gets ten days from written notice, which can run straight through the buyer's deadlines.

10. Is there extra paperwork for a home outside city limits?

Arizona statute covers sellers of five or fewer unsubdivided parcels in an unincorporated area of a county. That seller gives the buyer a written affidavit of disclosure at least seven days before transfer. The buyer may rescind within five days of receiving it. A 2023 amendment added solar devices and any leasing company to the form.

A strong answer confirms first whether the parcel really sits in an unincorporated area, since that is what triggers the affidavit. Buyers near Rio Verde Foothills also ask who delivers the water, because homes there sit outside Scottsdale city limits.

Treating the affidavit as a formality to sign at closing misses the timing. The buyer has a right to receive it at least seven days before transfer, so a late affidavit can reopen a deal.

11. Does a seller have to disclose a death that happened in the house?

Arizona statute says a seller or licensee is not liable for failing to disclose that a property was the site of a natural death, suicide, homicide or other felony. Non disclosure of those facts is not grounds to rescind the sale. The statute is a protection from liability. It is not a rule against answering the question.

A strong answer separates two situations. If a buyer asks directly, answering honestly is usually the cleaner path. If the event caused damage or a repair, the condition of the home is a separate disclosure question.

Answering a direct question with something untrue is different from staying silent. The statute addresses non disclosure. It does not license an inaccurate answer.

12. Does a seller have to disclose that a sex offender lives nearby?

Arizona statute says a seller or licensee is not liable for failing to disclose that a sex offender lives nearby, and that non disclosure is not grounds to rescind. The same statute covers the fact that an occupant had HIV or AIDS. Buyers who want that information are expected to research it themselves.

A strong answer points the buyer to public sources rather than guessing. Registries and county records are public, and a buyer can check them during the inspection period. A seller who is asked can decline to speculate.

A seller or agent who offers an opinion about who lives nearby steps outside both the statute and fair housing practice. The lawful answer describes the property and points to public records.

What is due, and when

Arizona disclosure duties come from the contract, state statute and federal rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the seller property disclosure statement required by Arizona law?

The SPDS is a form of the Arizona Association of REALTORS, not a state mandated statutory form. It becomes required by contract. Under the Arizona REALTORS resale contract, the seller delivers a completed SPDS within three days of acceptance. Arizona courts separately held that a seller must disclose known facts that materially affect value.

How long does a buyer have to object to something on the disclosure statement?

The buyer gives notice of disapproved SPDS items within the inspection period, or five days after receiving the SPDS, whichever is later. A late SPDS can therefore extend the buyer's window rather than shorten it. Delivering the form early keeps the timeline predictable.

Do sellers in Arizona have to disclose noisy neighbors?

Arizona statute lists what a seller is not liable for failing to disclose. That list covers a natural death, suicide, homicide or other felony, that an occupant had HIV or AIDS, and that a sex offender lives nearby. Noise is not on it, and the broader duty still covers known facts that materially affect value.

What happens if a seller does not disclose a known problem?

Arizona courts have held there is a duty to disclose known facts that materially affect a home's value, when they are not readily observable and not known to the buyer. An 'as is' clause does not remove that duty. A buyer who finds such a problem after closing generally takes it up as a legal claim.

Do these rules apply to a for sale by owner seller?

The SPDS comes from the Arizona REALTORS contract, so it travels with that contract rather than with the seller. The duty the courts described is about the seller. Anyone who knows facts that materially affect value, which the buyer cannot readily observe, has a duty to disclose. Sellers comparing Scottsdale realtors often ask which disclosures are contract based.

Who can help a Scottsdale seller put the disclosure packet together?

The packet is usually the SPDS, the association resale documents, any solar agreements, permits and invoices for past work, and the lead disclosure for an older home. Sold by Samantha is a real estate team in Scottsdale whose site lists Scottsdale Ranch, McCormick Ranch, Grayhawk, DC Ranch, Silverleaf, Windgate Ranch and greater Scottsdale.

Build the disclosure packet before the listing goes live

Sold by Samantha is a real estate team in Scottsdale, Arizona, working Scottsdale Ranch, McCormick Ranch, Grayhawk, DC Ranch, Silverleaf, Windgate Ranch and greater Scottsdale. Sellers comparing the best real estate agents in Scottsdale can ask how each one handles the disclosure packet. Call (602) 541-3949 or visit liveitloveitlistit.com.

This article is general information about Arizona disclosure practice as of September 2026. It is not legal or tax advice. Statutes, contract forms and city rules change, and how they apply depends on the property. Sellers should confirm their obligations with a licensed Arizona attorney.