Seller disclosure requirements in West Virginia

Is a disclosure form required by law?

We found no West Virginia statute that creates a seller’s property disclosure form, and the Real Estate Commission’s licensing rule (174 CSR 1) contains no such form either. The only form it requires is the Notice of Agency Relationship, which tells everyone whether the agent represents the buyer, the seller or both (W. Va. Code § 30-40-26(d); 174 CSR 1, § 16). The licensing act requires agents to give it before anyone signs a listing contract or a sales contract.

Some websites cite a “Residential Property Condition Disclosure Act” at W. Va. Code § 36-12. That section is the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, which deals with deeds that pass property at death. It has nothing to do with seller disclosure.

If a sale uses a condition questionnaire, it is a contract document, not a state requirement. Whatever you write on it must be true.

What the courts require

West Virginia’s Supreme Court of Appeals has said that “caveat emptor” (“buyer beware”) was never an absolute bar to a lawsuit between a seller and a buyer. Its rule, as the court restated it in 2003:

• Seller’s duty. If the seller knows of defects that substantially affect value or habitability, the buyer does not know of them, and a reasonably diligent inspection would not reveal them, the seller must tell the buyer. Failure to do so gives the buyer a cause of action (Thacker v. Tyree, Syllabus).
• “As is” does not erase the duty. An as-is clause does not relieve a seller of that obligation, and the failure to disclose “constitutes fraud” (Stemple v. Dobson, Syllabus Point 4).
• Brokers share it. A seller’s broker may be liable for material misrepresentations about fitness or habitability, or for not disclosing such defects that the broker knew or reasonably should have known, if the buyer was unaware and the concealment helped induce the purchase (Teter, Syllabus Point 1, quoted in Darrisaw).

These rulings are older. A lawyer can tell you whether newer decisions changed the test. Minor or visible problems that an ordinary inspection would find are outside the rule.

Federal lead-paint rule (homes built before 1978)

Before a buyer signs a contract, the seller and the agent must give the buyer the EPA pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home, disclose known lead-based paint and hazards, hand over available reports and include a Lead Warning Statement. Buyers get a 10-day period to test, which they can waive or change in writing. Sellers keep the signed disclosure for three years (EPA).

Exemptions

The court rule has no list of exempt sellers. It turns on what the seller knows and what a buyer could find. The federal lead rule has its own exemptions, shown in the table above, including foreclosure sales. See our foreclosure guide.

What happens if a seller does not disclose

The buyer can sue for the harm. A licensed agent who joins in fraud or concealment can also face discipline: the Commission may refuse, suspend or revoke a license for “material fraud, misrepresentation, concealment” (§ 30-40-19). A complaint generally must be filed within two years of the act, or two years after the buyer discovered or should have discovered fraud (§ 30-40-20). How to check an agent is in our license verification guide.