This form is used by a seller, seller’s 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.
The Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement
Natural hazards are risks to life and property which exist in nature due to a property’s location. [See RPI e-book Real Estate Principles Chapter 17]
Whether a seller lists the property with a broker or markets the property themselves, the seller needs to disclose to prospective buyers any natural hazards known to the seller, including those contained in public records.
To unify and streamline the disclosure by a seller (and in turn the seller’s agent) for a uniform presentation to buyers concerning natural hazards which affect a property, the California legislature created a statutory form entitled the Natural Hazard Disclosure (NHD) Statement. [See RPI Form 314]
Compliance by the seller and seller’s agent to deliver the NHD Statement to the buyer is required to be documented by a provision in the purchase agreement. [See RPI Form 150 §11.5]
It is the buyer’s agent who has the duty to hand the buyer the NHD Statement the buyer’s agent receives from the seller or the seller’s agent, called delivery. [Calif. Civil Code §1103.12(a)]
Sellers and seller’s 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]
A seller, seller’s agent and third-party natural hazard expert use the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement published by RPI 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.
Form navigation page published 10-2021.
Form last revised 2019.
Form-of-the-Week: Purchase Agreement and Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement – Forms 150 and 314
Article: Form 314 – Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement
Article: Transparent solicitation of offers via a marketing package
Word-of-the-Week: Natural Hazards
Letter to the editor: Which real estate forms are required to complete a home sale?
Blog: Amid climate change, agents find safety in complete disclosures
Video: A Unified Natural Hazard Disclosure for All Sales
Video: The NHD Form for Uniformity
Video: Delivery of the NHD to the Buyer
Video: Investigating the Existence of a Hazard
Video: Disclosure of Fire Risks
Video: Flood Zones
