What Is a Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS)?

The Transfer Disclosure Statement, or TDS, is the statutory form California requires in most residential sales of one to four units. On it, the seller discloses the property's condition and any known material facts or defects: leaks, cracks, unpermitted work, neighborhood nuisances, insurance claims, deaths on the property within the statutory window, and more.

The duty comes from Civil Code section 1102 and following, and it cannot be waived in a standard sale. The seller must disclose what they actually know; the listing agent has a separate duty to conduct a reasonably competent visual inspection and disclose what it reveals. Delivering the TDS late gives the buyer a short statutory right to cancel. Lying on it, or leaving out what the seller knew, is the foundation of most California real estate fraud and nondisclosure cases.

For buyers, the TDS is the first document to pull when a problem surfaces after closing. For sellers, the safest course is simple: when in doubt, disclose, in writing, before acceptance.