Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement — RPI Form 314

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This form is used by a seller, seller agent and third-party contractor when a report on the natural hazards affecting a property is prepared for inclusion in a property marketing package, to disclose natural hazards of a property to prospective buyers for their review on commencement of negotiations as mandated.

Your use of RPI Form 314

Natural hazards

Natural hazards are risks to life and property which exist in nature due to a property’s location, not human made hazardous conditions.

Whether a seller retains a broker to market any type of property for sale or markets it themselves, the seller is obligated to disclose to prospective buyers any natural hazards known to the seller, including those contained in public records.

To unify and streamline a uniform disclosure of natural hazards adversely affecting the use of a property, the California legislature created a statutory form entitled the Natural Hazard Disclosure (NHD) Statement. [See RPI Form 314]

The seller and seller agent are required to deliver the NHD Statement to the buyer as soon as practicable (ASAP) before entering into a purchase agreement on one-to-four unit residential property.

The NHD Statement is included in the property’s marketing package handed to prospective buyers on the commencement of negotiations, the ASAP aspect of disclosure law, along with the:

Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) to disclose adverse property conditions and its environmental hazards [See RPI Form 304]; and
Home Inspection Report (HIR) to properly prepare the TDS and mitigate risks to the seller and broker. [See RPI Form 130]

Delivery of the NHD Statement to the buyer is required to be documented by a provision in the purchase agreement for the seller and the seller agent to be compliant. A counteroffer may be used by the seller to assure timely delivery under the code. [See RPI Form 150 §4.3]

When the buyer agent receives the NHD Statement from the seller or the seller agent, the buyer agent is obligated to hand it to the buyer, called delivery. [Calif. Civil Code §1103.12(a)]

Sellers and seller agents of any type of real estate are to disclose whether the property is located in:

an area of potential flooding;
a very high fire hazard severity zone;
a state fire responsibility area;
an earthquake fault zone; and
a seismic hazard zone. [CC §1103.2]

Analyzing the NHD Statement

A seller, seller agent and third-party contractor use the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement published by Realty Publications, Inc. (RPI) when they prepare a report on the natural hazards affecting a property for inclusion in the seller broker’s property marketing package. When prepared and delivered to the buyer or buyer agent, the form discloses natural hazards of a property to prospective buyers for their review on commencement of negotiations as mandated. [See RPI Form 314]

The NHD Statement contains:

the date, location, form the disclosure is prepared for, address and seller’s identity [See RPI Form 314];
yes or no checkboxes indicating whether the property is located in a(n):
- special flood hazard area [See RPI Form 314 §1];
- area of potential flooding [See RPI Form 314 §2];
- very high fire hazard severity zone [See RPI Form 314 §3];
- wildland area that may contain substantial forest fire risk [See RPI Form 314 §4];
- earthquake fault zone [See RPI Form 314 §5]; or
- seismic hazard zone [See RPI Form 314 §6];
the third-party disclosure provider’s name and date; and
signatures of the seller and seller broker, and buyer when they read and understand the representations made in the statement. [See RPI Form 314]