On this page
- Every disclosure a duplex sale can call for
- The Transfer Disclosure Statement covers both units
- Natural hazards and the Megan's Law notice
- Lead paint in a duplex built before 1978
- Water heaters, fixtures, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide
- The earthquake guide and the City's property report
- Getting everything to the buyer on time
Selling a duplex in California means giving the buyer a Transfer Disclosure Statement on the building's condition, a Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement and a Megan's Law notice, plus the federal lead paint disclosure if the duplex was built before 1978. Add written statements on the water heaters and plumbing fixtures, the state's earthquake guide for older wood-frame buildings and, inside the City of Los Angeles, the LADBS Residential Property Report.
- A duplex has one to four dwelling units, so the Transfer Disclosure Statement applies unless an exemption in Civil Code section 1102.2 fits your sale.
- Natural hazards, the Megan's Law notice, water heater bracing and plumbing fixtures each have to be dealt with in writing.
- A duplex built before 1978 adds the federal lead paint disclosure and a 10-day period for the buyer to test.
- Inside City of Los Angeles limits, the buyer also gets the LADBS Residential Property Report, before signing or before escrow closes.
Every disclosure a duplex sale can call for
| Disclosure | What it covers | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer Disclosure Statement | The property's condition as you know it | Civil Code section 1102 |
| Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement | Mapped flood, fire, earthquake fault and seismic hazard areas | Civil Code section 1103.2 |
| Lead-based paint disclosure | Known lead paint, any reports, EPA's pamphlet, a warning statement and a 10-day testing period | Federal law, for housing built before 1978 |
| Megan's Law notice | Where the state publishes information on registered sex offenders | Civil Code section 2079.10a |
| Water heater bracing | Your written certification that each water heater is braced, anchored or strapped | Health and Safety Code section 19211 |
| Plumbing fixtures | That water-conserving fixtures are required, and whether any fall short | Civil Code sections 1102.155 and 1101.5 |
| Smoke alarms | A written statement of an operable smoke alarm | Health and Safety Code section 13113.8, written for single-family dwellings |
| Carbon monoxide devices | No form, but required in a unit with a fossil-fuel appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage | Health and Safety Code section 17926 |
| Earthquake guide | The Homeowner's Guide to Earthquake Safety and any listed weakness you know of | Government Code section 8897.1, for light-frame buildings built before 1960 |
| Residential Property Report | The City's records on the property and any pending special assessment liens | Municipal Code section 96.300, City of Los Angeles only |
The Transfer Disclosure Statement covers both units
Civil Code section 1102 applies the statement to a sale of real property with one to four dwelling units. Your duplex is inside that line whether you live in half of it or rent out both halves.
Section 1102.6 sets out the form. Section 1102.3 wants it in the buyer's hands as soon as practicable before title transfers. It also gives the buyer a period to terminate the offer, and that period starts only when the completed form reaches them, so a statement handed over in the last week of escrow opens that window in the last week of escrow. Fill it in when you list.
On a duplex you live in, the form describes the whole property. Answer for the tenant's side the way you answer for your own, from what you've seen and what you've been told. A leak your tenant reported last winter is something you know about. So before you sit down with the form, ask your tenant what isn't working.
Section 1102.2 lists sales the statute leaves out. If you're selling as an executor, a trustee or under a court order, ask the estate's or the trust's attorney whether yours is one of them. Shaya isn't a lawyer and can't answer that, but he can tell you which of these forms a buyer's agent will ask to see.
Natural hazards and the Megan's Law notice
Civil Code section 1103.2 sets out the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement. It asks whether the property lies in a special flood hazard area, a fire hazard severity zone, a wildland fire area, an earthquake fault zone or a seismic hazard zone. Where a fire, fault or seismic map is too coarse for a reasonable person to tell which side of the line your lot is on, the statute has the answer marked Yes, unless a report prepared under section 1103.4 shows the lot is outside the zone. The statement stays between you, your agent and the buyer. Insurers, lenders and government agencies may not use it for any purpose.
The Megan's Law notice is a paragraph in the purchase contract. Civil Code section 2079.10a requires it, in type no smaller than 8 point, in every contract to sell residential property of one to four units. It tells the buyer that the Department of Justice publishes information about registered sex offenders at www.meganslaw.ca.gov. Once it's delivered, you owe the buyer nothing more about where offenders live nearby.
Lead paint in a duplex built before 1978
Federal law adds a disclosure for housing built before 1978. Under EPA and HUD's disclosure rule, you give the buyer EPA's pamphlet, Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home, tell them what you know about lead-based paint or lead hazards in the building, hand over any records or reports, and include a Lead Warning Statement. The buyer gets a 10-day period to have the paint inspected or a risk assessment done. Keep a signed copy for three years after closing.
A lead test on either unit is a record you hand over, however old it is. That 1978 date is federal, and separate from the RSO's October 1, 1978 test.
Water heaters, fixtures, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide
Health and Safety Code section 19211 requires every existing residential water heater to be braced, anchored or strapped against an earthquake, and the seller certifies that in writing to the buyer. The certification can go in the purchase contract or the Transfer Disclosure Statement. If each unit has its own heater, check both.
For plumbing fixtures, the statement depends on how the law classes your building. Civil Code section 1102.155 has a seller of single-family residential property state in writing that water-conserving fixtures are required and whether any fixture doesn't comply. Section 1101.5 asks the same of a seller of multifamily residential property, which had until January 1, 2019 to replace noncompliant fixtures. Ask your agent which one fits a duplex. Whichever it is, it covers every fixture in both units.
Smoke alarms are less tidy. Health and Safety Code section 13113.8 says a single-family dwelling sold since January 1, 1986 must have an operable smoke alarm, and its seller gives the buyer a written statement of compliance before title transfers. The section is written for one dwelling, and a duplex is two. Put working alarms in both units and ask your agent whether escrow will want the statement. With the alarms in, you can sign it truthfully either way.
Carbon monoxide devices have no sale form, but section 17926 requires one, of a type the State Fire Marshal lists, in each existing dwelling unit with a fossil-fuel heater or appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage. The deadlines passed on July 1, 2011 for single-family homes and January 1, 2013 for other dwelling units. A unit with a gas stove or a wall heater should already have one.
The earthquake guide and the City's property report
Government Code section 8897.1 covers a residential building of one to four units, of conventional light-frame construction, built before January 1, 1960. As soon as practicable before the transfer, its seller gives the buyer the Seismic Safety Commission's Homeowner's Guide to Earthquake Safety and completes an earthquake hazards disclosure, saying whether they know of any weakness listed in section 8897.2. A sale between co-owners, or to your spouse, parent, grandparent, child or grandchild, is exempt from this section.
Inside City of Los Angeles limits, Municipal Code section 96.300 adds the City's own report. You apply to LADBS for the Report of Residential Property Records and Pending Special Assessment Liens, known as Form 9, and deliver it before the purchase agreement is signed or before escrow closes. LADBS charges a fee. The report goes to the buyer whatever the City's records say, so if a unit or a garage conversion went in without permits, check the LADBS records search and read what an unpermitted unit does to a sale before you list.
Getting everything to the buyer on time
Every deadline here points toward the start of the sale. Order a natural hazard report and the Residential Property Report when you list, fill in the Transfer Disclosure Statement the same week, and gather any lead reports, permits and repair invoices for either unit. A buyer who gets all of it up front has less to discover in escrow and fewer reasons to reopen the price.
Shaya can check the list against your duplex with you, including what your tenant's unit adds, so none of it is still open when an offer arrives.