AB 163

Under current law, with certain exceptions, owners selling certain residential

real property must give prospective buyers a form, known as the real estate condition

report, on which the owner discloses certain conditions of the real property of which

the owner is aware. The property to which the report applies is property that

includes one to four dwelling units and that has been inhabited. A dwelling unit is

defined as a structure or part of a structure that is used as a home or residence or

sleeping place by one person or by two or more persons maintaining a common

household. The report must be given to a prospective buyer no later than ten days

after the seller has accepted an offer to purchase, creating a contract of sale. A

prospective buyer may rescind a contract of sale if he or she does not receive a report

within the specified time or if he or she timely receives a report but it is incomplete

or discloses a defect of which the buyer was not aware.

This bill creates a vacant land disclosure report, similar to the real estate

condition report, on which the owner of the property must disclose certain conditions

of the property of which the owner is aware. For example, the owner must disclose

whether he or she is aware of underground storage tanks on the property; of any

planned public improvements that may result in special assessments; of any

significant odor, noise, water intrusion, or other irritants coming from neighboring

property; of any burial sites or archeological artifacts on the property; of whether the

property is connected to electricity, cable, municipal water and sewer, telephone

service, or natural gas; or of whether the land is in a certified farmland preservation

zoning district or subject to a farmland preservation agreement. The property to

which the vacant land disclosure report applies is property that does not include any

buildings. The provisions in current law that apply to the real estate condition report

regarding the timing for providing a report and rescinding a contract of sale on the

basis of not receiving a report on time or receiving an incomplete report or a report

that discloses a defect also apply to the new vacant land disclosure report.