FEMA is proposing federal legislation with a new condition for states to continue participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). To participate, state legislatures would be required to adopt and mandate a real estate disclosure form with specific flood-related questions. NAR has concerns about the benefits and costs of this proposal as well as the accuracy of the supporting basis study.

NAR hired the Legal Research Center to conduct a more complete, thorough, and accurate survey of existing state disclosure requirements and to publish a Flood Disclosure Reporter for Congressional, state, and public use. LRC’s team has decades of legal experience, background, and expertise in researching complex real estate laws, including each state’s full set of disclosure requirements.

Based on a more comprehensive review of existing state statutes, regulations, and court decisions, all 50 states and DC already require the disclosure of known material property conditions or facts, including prior flood damage. Many states have added flood-related disclosure requirements which have been developed by local authorities with unique knowledge and expertise, benefitted from decades of common law and court decisions, and been tailored to meet state-specific flooding concerns and enforcement.