What must a home seller disclose in Missouri?

Is a disclosure form required by law?

Missouri does not print a statutory condition form in any section read for this article. Instead, the law works through a short list of specific disclosures, duties on licensed agents, and general rules against deception.

Many Missouri sales still include a seller’s condition form because buyers ask for it or because the listing agent recommends it. Such a form is a contract document, not a state-mandated one. Section 339.190(2) refers to such forms: it says a real estate licensee cannot be sued over information in a “seller’s disclosure” unless the licensee signed it or knew before closing that a statement was false (or acted in reckless disregard of its truth).

If the seller does sign a form, answer it honestly. A knowingly false answer is the kind of misstatement the laws below target.

What the law does require

The landfill rule applies to a seller who “knowingly” sells such property. The meth rule in subsection 1 applies if the seller “had knowledge” of the production.

What a seller does not have to disclose

Section 442.600 says a property’s status as “psychologically impacted” is not a material fact that must be disclosed. The definition covers a home where an occupant had HIV, AIDS or another disease that medical evidence finds highly unlikely to spread through occupancy, and a home that was the site of a homicide, other felony or suicide. The statute also bars lawsuits against real estate agents and brokers for failing to disclose it.

Note two limits. The section speaks only to a duty to disclose those facts; it does not address a false answer to a direct question. And the meth rule above is a separate statute with its own disclosure duty.

What agents must disclose

A licensed agent has duties of their own. A seller’s agent must tell the client all adverse material facts the agent knew or should have known (RSMo § 339.730(1)(c)), and must disclose to any customer, such as the buyer, all adverse material facts the agent actually knew or should have known (§ 339.730(3)). The statute defines an adverse material fact as one “not reasonably ascertainable or known to a party which negatively affects the value of the property,” and lists environmental hazards, physical condition, material defects in the property and material defects in the title (§ 339.710).

The same section says a seller’s agent has no duty to inspect the property or to verify what the seller or an inspector says. That is why a buyer needs an independent inspection; see our home inspection guide. The Missouri Real Estate Commission may also discipline a licensee for “suppression, concealment or omission of material facts” (§ 339.100.2(2)).

What happens if a seller does not disclose

Liability depends on the facts, and the statutes read here do not set a single remedy. Three sources of risk:

• Merchandising Practices Act. Section 407.020 declares unlawful “the concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact” in connection with the sale of merchandise, and § 407.010 defines merchandise to include “real estate.” A buyer who suffers an ascertainable loss may sue under § 407.025. Whether a particular private home sale falls within the Act is a legal question for a Missouri attorney.
• Specific statutes. The meth and landfill sections impose the duties described above.
• Contract terms. The purchase contract and any signed form can add promises and remedies.

The federal lead-based paint rule (homes built before 1978)

For most housing built before 1978, EPA’s rule requires sellers, landlords and agents to do the following before the buyer signs a contract:

1. give the pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home;
2. disclose known lead-based paint and hazards and provide available reports;
3. include a Lead Warning Statement in or attached to the contract;
4. offer a 10-day period for a paint inspection or risk assessment, which the parties may change in writing or the buyer may waive;
5. keep a signed copy for three years after the sale.

The rule does not apply to foreclosure sales, housing built after 1977, or housing tested and found free of lead-based paint (EPA). For the full sequence of a purchase, see the home buying guide. If you are buying a foreclosed home, expect little or no seller information.