Tennessee Seller Disclosure: What Middle TN Home Sellers Must Tell Buyers (2026)

Tennessee home sellers must give the buyer a written statement disclosing any material defects they actually know about before the buyer's offer is accepted. This comes from the Tennessee Residential Property Disclosure Act (Tennessee Code Annotated 66-5-201 et seq.) and applies to most sales of residential property with one to four dwelling units. You are not required to inspect your own home, hire experts, or go looking for problems, but you must honestly disclose what you already know, and signing a disclosure you know to be false can expose you to liability for the buyer's actual damages.

In plain terms: disclose what you know, in writing, and update it if anything changes before closing. The standard is your actual knowledge, not perfection. Our team works with sellers across Davidson, Williamson, Sumner, Wilson, and Rutherford counties every month, and disclosure is the legal step that trips people up most. This guide walks through what Tennessee actually requires, who is exempt, and what happens if you get it wrong. (This is general education about Tennessee law, not legal advice. For a specific situation, talk with a Tennessee real estate attorney.)

What is the Tennessee Residential Property Disclosure Act?

The Tennessee Residential Property Disclosure Act, codified at T.C.A. 66-5-201 through 66-5-213 and in effect statewide since 1994, requires owners of residential property to tell prospective buyers about the condition of the home before a sale is finalized. The law covers transfers of property with one to four dwelling units, including sales, exchanges, installment land contracts, and leases with an option to purchase.

In practice, most Middle Tennessee sellers satisfy the law using the Tennessee REALTORS Residential Property Condition Disclosure form (commonly referenced as form RF 201). It is a standardized questionnaire that walks you through the home's major systems and asks you to report problems you know about. The form also carries a required notice telling buyers that the answers are the owner's representations, not the real estate agent's, and that buyers may wish to get their own professional inspections.

What you must disclose: known material defects

Under T.C.A. 66-5-202, you must disclose the condition of the property, including any material defects known to you. A material defect is generally any fact or condition that might affect a buyer's decision to purchase the home or the price they would pay. The standard is knowledge: you disclose what you actually know. The disclosure form is organized by the home's major components, and you should answer honestly for each. Typical categories on the Tennessee form include:

• •Structural items: foundation, slab, basement, crawl space, and the roof
• •Water systems: the water supply source (public, well, or other) and the sewer or septic system
• •Major mechanical systems: heating and air conditioning, plumbing, and the electrical system
• •Water intrusion history: past flooding, drainage problems, standing water, or moisture in the basement or crawl space
• •Environmental and safety items: known presence of asbestos, radon, mold, or lead-based paint
• •Pest and structural pests: wood-destroying insects (such as termites) and any related damage or treatment
• •Boundary, zoning, and legal matters: encroachments, easements, shared driveways, or known zoning violations
• •Homeowners association: existence of an HOA, dues, and known assessments

Two points sellers consistently get wrong. First, you are not required to go looking for problems. The statute does not make you inspect your home, hire a contractor, or conduct an independent investigation. You disclose what you know. Second, when a buyer asks a direct question about a specific item, such as the wiring, the plumbing, or whether the basement has ever taken on water, you must answer honestly. Stating you do not know when you do know is exactly the kind of misrepresentation the law allows a buyer to pursue.

You must update the form before closing

If something changes between the date you sign the disclosure and the closing, you are required to update the buyer. A pipe bursts, the HVAC fails, a storm damages the roof, you learn of a defect you did not previously know about: any material change has to be communicated, or you confirm to the buyer that the original disclosure is still accurate. Disclosure is not a one-and-done form you forget after listing day.

The disclosure-vs-disclaimer option

Tennessee gives owners who are subject to the Act two ways to comply, set out in T.C.A. 66-5-202:

1. Disclosure statement: You complete the full property condition disclosure form, reporting the condition of the home and any known material defects. This is what the vast majority of Middle TN sellers do.
2. Disclaimer statement: You provide a statement that you make no representations or warranties about the condition of the property, sometimes thought of as selling 'as is.' Critically, a disclaimer is only allowed if the buyer waives their right to receive the required disclosure.

That last condition is the catch. A disclaimer is not a unilateral escape hatch. The buyer has to agree to waive the disclosure. And, just as important, a disclaimer does not give you license to hide a problem. Even with a disclaimer in place, an owner remains exposed to other claims, such as fraud or intentional misrepresentation, if the owner actively conceals or lies about a known defect. 'As is' limits warranties; it does not legalize deception.

Who is exempt from disclosure?

T.C.A. 66-5-209 lists specific transfers that are exempt from the disclosure requirement. The exemptions are narrow and fact-specific. Common ones our team sees in the Nashville region include:

• •Court-ordered transfers, including those in estate administration, writs of execution, foreclosure sales, bankruptcy trustee transfers, eminent domain, and decrees of specific performance
• •Transfers by a lender or trustee under a deed of trust, and transfers by deed in lieu of foreclosure
• •Transfers by a fiduciary administering a decedent's estate, guardianship, conservatorship, or trust
• •Transfers between co-owners and transfers solely to a spouse or a person in the direct (lineal) line of family relation
• •Transfers between spouses resulting from a divorce decree or property settlement
• •Transfers to or from a government or public housing authority
• •The first sale of a newly built dwelling, provided the builder offers a written warranty
• •Property sold at public auction
• •Any transfer where the owner has not resided on the property at any time within the three years prior to the transfer

That three-year, non-occupancy exemption surprises landlords and investors most often. If you own a rental in a Nashville neighborhood like East Nashville or a Sumner County community such as Hendersonville and have not lived in it within the prior three years, the standard disclosure requirement may not apply. The new-construction exemption is also why buyers of a brand-new home typically receive a builder warranty rather than a seller condition disclosure. Even when an exemption applies, Tennessee REALTORS provides an exemption notification form to document why, and many buyers will still request whatever information you have. Federal lead-based paint disclosure rules apply separately to homes built before 1978, regardless of these state exemptions.

The liability of getting it wrong

This is the part that makes accurate disclosure worth the time. Under T.C.A. 66-5-208, if you misrepresent the condition of the home on the disclosure statement, a buyer may sue for actual damages caused by defects that existed as of the date the purchase contract was signed and that the buyer was not aware of by the earlier of closing or occupancy. Other remedies include terminating the contract before closing, and additional remedies in law or equity in the case of intentional or willful misrepresentation.

There is an important limit that protects sellers, too. A buyer generally cannot sue you simply for failing to provide the form. The exposure attaches to misrepresentation, to affirmatively stating something false or concealing a known material fact, not to a paperwork gap by itself. And there is a deadline: an action over the disclosure must generally be brought within one year of the date the buyer received the disclosure statement or the date of closing (or occupancy in a lease situation), whichever happens first.

How disclosure fits the current Middle TN market

Accurate disclosure matters more in a balanced market. Greater Nashville REALTORS reported 3,370 home closings in May 2026, up about 6 percent from the 3,164 closings a year earlier (Greater Nashville REALTORS, May 2026 monthly report). As inventory has loosened from the frantic pace of a few years ago, buyers and their inspectors are scrutinizing condition more closely, and a clean, complete disclosure helps a well-prepared listing in Brentwood, Mount Juliet, or Murfreesboro close smoothly.

As for where prices go from here, no one can guarantee the future. In forecasts published in late 2025 and revised into 2026, the major named outlooks point to modest, low-single-digit national home-price growth for 2026 rather than the double-digit swings of the pandemic years: the National Association of REALTORS has been near the high end (around 4 percent), Fannie Mae in the low single digits (roughly 1 to 3 percent depending on the measure), and the Mortgage Bankers Association at the conservative end (close to flat). Mortgage rates have hovered in the low-to-mid 6 percent range through mid-2026, with Fannie Mae, the MBA, NAR, and Realtor.com year-end forecasts generally clustered around 6.0 to 6.3 percent. Treat all of these as ranges from named forecasters, not promises; forecasts vary and no one can guarantee them. What you can control is your disclosure, your pricing, and your preparation.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to get an inspection before I sell in Tennessee?

No. The Tennessee Residential Property Disclosure Act does not require you to inspect your home or hire experts. You disclose the material defects you actually know about. Some sellers choose to get a pre-listing inspection anyway, because it surfaces issues early and lets you address them before a buyer's inspector finds them, but it is optional.

Can I sell my Tennessee house 'as is' and skip disclosure?

Selling 'as is' uses a disclaimer statement, which is only permitted if the buyer waives the required disclosure. Even then, 'as is' does not let you conceal or lie about a known defect; you can still be liable for fraud or intentional misrepresentation. Many buyers will still want a disclosure or full inspection contingency before agreeing.

What happens if I forget to disclose something I knew about?

Under T.C.A. 66-5-208, a buyer may pursue actual damages for a misrepresentation about defects that existed when the contract was signed and that the buyer did not know about by closing or occupancy. A claim generally must be filed within one year of the disclosure or closing. Honest, written, updated disclosure is the best protection.

I have a rental I never lived in. Do I still have to disclose?

Possibly not. T.C.A. 66-5-209 exempts transfers where the owner has not resided on the property within the three years before the sale, among other exemptions. Whether your specific sale qualifies depends on the facts, so confirm with your agent and, when in doubt, a Tennessee real estate attorney.

Selling in Middle Tennessee? Let's get your disclosure right

Getting your disclosure complete and accurate is one piece of a clean, well-run sale. Our team guides sellers through it every week across Nashville and the surrounding counties, alongside pricing, preparation, and negotiation. If you are weighing a sale in Franklin, Brentwood, Hendersonville, Mount Juliet, Murfreesboro, or anywhere in the region, our Seller's Guide and city pages can help you plan your next step. For buyers, our team provides full representation at little or no cost to you, because the seller usually covers it (negotiated, not automatic after the 2024 NAR changes).