Louisiana Residential Property Disclosure Document ("Property Disclosure Document" / "PDD") — official Louisiana Real Estate Commission (LREC) mandatory form — Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 9, Chapter 8, "Residential Property Disclosure," R.S. 9:3196–9:3200 (definitions at 9:3196; scope/exemptions at 9:3197; seller duties, delivery, and liability at 9:3198; contaminated-property duties at 9:3198.1; real estate licensee duties at 9:3199). Enacted 2003 (form required by April 1, 2004); amended multiple times including Acts 2018, No. 559. Related licensee-discipline provision: R.S. 37:1455(A)(33). A pending 2026 bill, House Bill 1166 (Rep. Carver, "HLS 26RS-1050"), would amend 9:3196–9:3199 and 37:1455 to extend the same regime to "vacant residential property" (unimproved residential land), effective January 1, 2027 if enacted.
Louisiana is NOT a pure "caveat emptor" state — it has a real, codified affirmative disclosure statute (La. R.S. 9:3196 et seq.), but the duty is narrower and more seller-protective than "full disclosure" states like California. Sellers of residential property (1-4 dwelling units) must complete and deliver LREC's official Property Disclosure Document to the buyer no later than when the buyer makes an offer, disclosing "known defects" — conditions the seller actually, subjectively knew about that substantially hurt value, significantly impair health/safety, or would significantly shorten the property's life if unrepaired. There is no duty to inspect or investigate — sellers report only what they already know. R.S. 9:3198(D) expressly states the disclosure "shall not be considered a warranty," and sellers bear no liability for good-faith errors absent willful misrepresentation, or for inaccurate info sourced from a public body or another licensed professional. Late delivery (after an offer) lets the buyer cancel within 72 hours with full deposit refund. This statutory overlay sits on top of Louisiana's civil-law redhibition regime (Civil Code arts. 2520 et seq.) governing latent defects and "as-is" sales, which retains a more traditional buyer-diligence character absent fraud or seller bad faith — so in practice Louisiana is often described as a hybrid: mandatory disclosure of known defects, but not a broad warranty-like regime. I could not verify substantive content changes to the LREC form for the "2026 version" beyond its effective-date rollover (Jan 1, 2026); an LREC blog post confirmed a new 2026 form exists but did not detail specific content changes. I also found and debunked an AI-generated-sounding secondary source claiming sweeping "no-loopholes," "digital-first" 2026 changes — that language could not be corroborated by any primary source and should be disregarded.
LREC's mandatory forms (including the Property Disclosure Document) roll over annually; a "2026" version became current effective January 1, 2026 per LREC's own site, but I could not confirm specific substantive content changes through primary sources — LREC's blog post announcing the rollover did not itemize changes. A secondary-source blog claiming a "no-loopholes" 2026 overhaul with new "immediate written notice" duties reads as unverified marketing/AI-generated content with no statutory or LREC citation and should be disregarded. The one confirmed, citable legislative development is House Bill 1166 (2026 Regular Session, Rep. Carver, HLS 26RS-1050), read directly from the Legislature's own bill-text PDF: it would amend R.S. 9:3196, 9:3197, 9:3198, 9:3198.1, 9:3199, and 37:1455 to extend the whole disclosure/exemption/liability framework to "vacant residential property," effective January 1, 2027 if enacted. Its final disposition is genuinely unconfirmed: one source showed it still pending in House Commerce Committee as of April 1, 2026, while a separate tool response claimed full passage and gubernatorial signature as "Act No. 708" — a claim I disproved, since Act 708 from the most recently verifiable session actually belongs to an unrelated 2024 bill. The 2026 regular session adjourned sine die June 1, 2026, so HB 1166 has by now passed, failed, or died, but I could not verify which through a reliable primary source — this should be confirmed directly at legis.la.gov before relying on it. No other 2023-2026 amendments to the disclosure chapter were found; a 2025 legislative wrap-up covering other real-estate bills (servitudes, HOA flag rights, municipal liens, roof-inspection permitting) did not touch the disclosure statute.
Facts on this page reflect research current as of 2026-07-05. Programs, rates, and laws change — confirm current figures with the relevant state agency before relying on them.