Guides / Seller Disclosure Laws / Vermont

Seller Disclosure Laws in Vermont

No mandatory general-purpose disclosure form exists. Vermont's only mandatory disclosure content is the flood-hazard disclosure required under 27 V.S.A. Section 380 (typically delivered as a "Flood Disclosure Addendum" plus a FEMA flood map/notice; no single statutorily-named form). The widely used but legally OPTIONAL industry document is the "Seller's Property Information Report" (SPIR), published by the Vermont Association of Realtors for member agents to use voluntarily -- it is NOT required by statute or regulation. — Primary: 27 V.S.A. Section 380 (Title 27, Chapter 5, "Conveyance of Real Estate") -- flood hazard disclosure, enacted by 2024 Act 181, effective June 17, 2024, amended by 2025 Act 52, Section 2, effective September 1, 2025. Related: 27 V.S.A. Section 616 (groundwater/private well source testing disclosure, applies to contracts executed on/after Jan 1, 2013); 18 V.S.A. Sections 1759-1767 (Title 18, Chapter 38 "Lead Poisoning" -- pre-1978 "target housing" lead-paint disclosure, alongside the federal lead disclosure rule at 42 U.S.C. Section 4852d / 24 CFR Part 35); 26 V.S.A. Section 2296 (Office of Professional Regulation -- unprofessional conduct for a licensed broker/salesperson who fails to disclose known material facts to a buyer; binds licensees, not unrepresented sellers). No statute establishes a comprehensive, checklist-style seller property-condition disclosure regime like most other states have.

Vermont is best described as a modified caveat emptor ("buyer beware") state, and it is accurate to say so plainly: Vermont has never adopted a general, comprehensive statutory seller-disclosure law requiring a checklist-style report on structural condition, roof, systems, or known defects, unlike the majority of U.S. states (which mirror something like California's or Texas's mandatory disclosure statements). Common law fills most of the gap -- a seller and their agent cannot affirmatively misrepresent the property's condition and cannot actively conceal a known material defect (fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and breach-of-contract claims remain available to a buyer), but outside a few specific statutory carve-outs there is no freestanding legal duty for an unrepresented seller to proactively volunteer a defect checklist. The state's actual mandatory, codified disclosure obligations are narrow and topic-specific: (1) flood hazard status/history under the newly enacted 27 V.S.A. Section 380; (2) private well/groundwater testing information under 27 V.S.A. Section 616; and (3) federal lead-based-paint disclosure for pre-1978 housing, reinforced by Vermont's own lead poisoning statute (18 V.S.A. Chapter 38). Everything else -- the popular SPIR checklist covering foundation, roof, heating, plumbing, water heater, flood zone, hazardous materials, termites, permits, and boundary disputes -- is an industry-created, voluntary best practice pushed by Realtor associations and attorneys, not a legal mandate. Sellers who use an agent face an additional layer of accountability because 26 V.S.A. Section 2296 makes it professional misconduct for the licensee (not the seller personally) to fail to disclose material facts actually known to the licensee; it does not require inspections or investigation. Bottom line for anyone drafting Vermont-specific consumer content: do not claim Vermont requires a comprehensive seller disclosure statement -- it does not. The one area where Vermont has genuinely tightened the law recently is flood-risk disclosure (2024-2025), which is worth flagging as the current legal development.

Key Disclosures

Flood hazard status and history (27 V.S.A. Section 380, effective June 17, 2024, amended Sept 1, 2025): before or as part of the sale contract, seller must give buyer (a) a copy/link of the official FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map or notice that none is available, (b) whether the property was subject to flooding or flood damage (inundation, flood-related erosion, or landslide) during the seller's ownership, and (c) whether the seller carries or is required to carry flood insurance.
Groundwater/private well disclosure (27 V.S.A. Section 616, contracts executed on/after Jan 1, 2013): for property with a potable water supply not served by a public water system, seller must give buyer, within 72 hours of contract execution, Department of Health informational materials on health effects of contaminated groundwater and availability of test kits.
Federal + state lead-based paint disclosure for housing built before 1978 ('target housing'): seller must provide the EPA/VT Dept. of Health-approved lead hazard pamphlet, disclose known lead-based paint or hazards including any test/risk-assessment reports, letters of exemption, or unresolved court/administrative orders, and include a Lead Warning Statement in the purchase contract, with a 10-day buyer inspection opportunity (18 V.S.A. Sections 1759-1767; 42 U.S.C. Section 4852d).
No comprehensive statutory 'Seller's Disclosure Statement' exists; the commonly seen SPIR (Seller's Property Information Report) form covering structure, roof, systems, appliances, hazardous materials, and boundary issues is a voluntary industry form from the Vermont Association of Realtors, not a legal requirement -- and it is expressly based only on the seller's personal knowledge, not on any inspection duty.
Common-law baseline: sellers and their licensed agents may not make affirmative misrepresentations about the property and may not actively conceal a known material defect; a buyer's remedy for such conduct sounds in fraud, negligent misrepresentation, or breach of contract, not a statutory disclosure violation.
Licensee-specific duty (26 V.S.A. Section 2296): a real estate broker or salesperson commits unprofessional conduct (subject to Office of Professional Regulation discipline) if they fail to fully disclose to a buyer all material facts actually within their knowledge about the property; this duty attaches to the licensee, not to a for-sale-by-owner seller, and does not require an independent investigation or inspection.

Exemptions

Noncompliance with the flood disclosure statute (27 V.S.A. Section 380) and the groundwater disclosure statute (27 V.S.A. Section 616) does not affect marketability of title -- the remedy runs to contract termination/damages against the seller, not to voiding the deed or clouding title.
Groundwater disclosure liability under 27 V.S.A. Section 616 is capped at a civil penalty of $25 to $250 per violation, payable to the Department of Health -- it is not an open-ended damages exposure.
Properties already connected to a public water system fall outside the Section 616 groundwater disclosure requirement, since it applies only to potable supplies not served by a public system.
Multiple secondary sources (real estate/legal blogs) explicitly state they could not confirm a specific statutory exemptions list (e.g., for foreclosure sales, new construction, or intra-family transfers) for the Section 380 flood disclosure requirement -- I was unable to independently verify the exact text of any Section 380 exemption subsection through available sources, so any claimed carve-out for foreclosures, estates, or new construction should be treated as unconfirmed rather than asserted as fact.

Recent Changes

The most significant recent development is Vermont's new mandatory flood-risk disclosure law: enacted as 2024 Act 181 (27 V.S.A. Section 380), effective June 17, 2024, requiring sellers to disclose FEMA flood zone status, flood/flood-damage history, and flood insurance status before or as part of a sale contract, with buyer remedies of contract termination, damages, attorney's fees, and (for knowing violations) punitive damages. This was subsequently amended by 2025 Act 52, Section 2, effective September 1, 2025 -- multiple sources confirm this amendment occurred but I could not independently verify the precise substantive changes made by the 2025 amendment from available secondary sources; that detail should be confirmed against the enrolled act text before being presented as settled. Separately, Vermont's 2025-2026 legislative session also produced H.106 (Act 52), described in bill-tracking sources as "an act relating to selling real property within a FEMA mapped flood hazard area," approved by the Governor on June 11, 2025 -- this appears to be the same flood-disclosure amendment thread referenced above (sources were inconsistent on bill numbering, so treat the H.106/Act 52 label as likely but not fully confirmed). No other new general seller-disclosure mandate was found for the 2025-2026 session; Vermont's underlying caveat emptor posture for general property condition remains unchanged.

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.

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