By Eric Berman, REALTOR® | The Eric Berman Team at Compass
TL;DR:
New York requires a completed Property Condition Disclosure Statement before a binding contract — 56 questions, mandatory since the March 20, 2024 amendment. The option of giving the buyer a five hundred dollar credit instead was eliminated then, and a great deal of guidance still circulating says otherwise. The part that causes the most unnecessary worry is what the form actually asks: it asks what the seller knows, imposes no duty to investigate, and permits "Unknown" as an answer. A seller who answers honestly from actual knowledge has complied. A seller who guesses, or conceals something they know, has created a problem that survives the closing.
What the Law Requires Now
Every seller of residential property in New York must deliver a completed Property Condition Disclosure Statement to the buyer before a binding contract is signed. The form runs 56 questions covering the property's systems, structure, environmental conditions, and history.
The rule changed on March 20, 2024. Before that amendment, a seller could decline to complete the form and instead give the buyer a five hundred dollar credit at closing. Most sellers took that option, because it was faster and limited what they had to put in writing.
That option no longer exists. A great deal of material still circulating online describes the credit as available. Any guidance a seller encounters that mentions it is pre-amendment and should be disregarded.
The amendment also added seven flood-related questions, asking about past flood damage, flood insurance history and claims, and whether the property lies in a designated flood area. Those matter across Long Island's coastal areas — Manhasset Bay, the South Shore, and anywhere in an AE or VE zone.
The completed form becomes part of the contract file. It's signed, and the signature means something.
The Part That Causes Unnecessary Panic
Sellers approach this form as though it demands total knowledge of everything that has ever happened to the house. It doesn't, and understanding what it actually asks removes most of the stress.
The form asks what the seller knows. It imposes no duty to investigate. A seller is not required to open walls, order tests, hire inspectors, or research the property's history to answer it. The questions are directed at actual knowledge, and where a seller genuinely doesn't know, "Unknown" is a permitted and appropriate answer.
This matters because the failure mode runs both directions. Sellers who over-answer — guessing at the age of a roof they never replaced, speculating about whether a stain indicates a leak, asserting there has never been water in a basement they've owned two years — create statements that can be challenged later. A seller who owned a home six years genuinely doesn't know what happened in the forty before, and saying so is correct rather than evasive.
The obligation is honesty about what is known, not omniscience about what isn't. A seller who inherited the property, bought recently, or never lived in it will legitimately answer "Unknown" to many questions, and that's what the form contemplates.
Where the line sits: a seller who knows something and answers otherwise has misrepresented. A seller who doesn't know and says so has complied.
Selling As-Is Changes Nothing Here
This misconception is expensive and it comes up constantly.
As-is is a statement about repairs. It tells a buyer the seller won't be fixing things, won't negotiate credits for inspection items, and is pricing accordingly. It's legitimate and common, particularly in estate sales and properties with deferred maintenance.
It has no effect whatsoever on the disclosure obligation. An as-is seller completes the same 56-question form with the same honesty requirement. The two address different questions: as-is answers what will be repaired, disclosure answers what is known. The full treatment of what as-is actually does covers the rest of that distinction.
The one genuine exemption is for estates. An executor or administrator who never occupied the property isn't required to complete the PCDS — they have no knowledge to disclose. That exemption doesn't extend to federal lead-based paint disclosure, and it doesn't apply to an heir who actually lived in the home.
What Happens If a Seller Gets It Wrong
The exposure is real and narrower than most sellers fear, which is worth understanding precisely.
Under New York's Real Property Law, a seller who willfully fails to disclose a condition — meaning they knew and didn't say — can be liable to the buyer for actual damages resulting from that failure. The claim survives the closing. That's why the form deserves genuine attention rather than a rushed pass the week of listing.
The counterweight is that New York otherwise operates largely on caveat emptor in residential transactions. A seller isn't generally obligated to volunteer everything they can think of beyond what the form asks, and isn't liable for conditions they didn't know about. What creates liability is active concealment — painting over a known water stain, hiding evidence of a problem, or affirmatively stating something untrue.
Put together, the practical picture is manageable. Answer the questions asked, honestly, from actual knowledge. Use "Unknown" where it applies. Don't conceal. A seller who does those three things has met the obligation, and anyone wanting comfort about a specific question should raise it with their attorney before signing — which is one more reason engaging counsel before listing rather than after an offer pays for itself.
Lead Paint Is Separate
Federal law requires a distinct disclosure for homes built before 1978, and completing the PCDS does not satisfy it.
It requires its own form, delivery of an EPA-approved pamphlet, and a ten-day period for the buyer to conduct testing if they choose. Much of Long Island's housing stock predates 1978, so this applies broadly. The estate exemption from the PCDS does not extend to this requirement.
The Track That Runs Alongside
Sellers conflate disclosure with the municipal record, and they're different things running on different timelines.
The PCDS asks whether the seller knows of work done without required permits. Separately and independently, the buyer's attorney orders municipal searches after contracts are signed, and whatever is on file with the governing authority comes back regardless of what anyone disclosed. A finished basement, a deck, a dormer never signed off.
A seller can answer the form correctly and still face a permit problem. The disclosure question and the municipal record are two different things.
Which authority holds the record varies more across Long Island than sellers expect. Levittown is unincorporated and falls entirely within the Town of Hempstead. Port Washington and Manhasset each span several incorporated villages plus town-governed area. Bayside falls under the New York City Department of Buildings. The full picture of how permit issues surface and resolve covers the mechanics.
Calling the right building department before listing costs nothing and prevents the most common expensive surprise in a Long Island sale.
A Worked Example
Consider a composite case — a Nassau County seller preparing to list a 1954 colonial she'd owned eight years, working through the form with her attorney.
Three questions gave her trouble. On flooding, she knew water had entered the garage during a severe storm two years earlier and had never entered the house. She disclosed exactly that — the specific event, the specific location — rather than either denying flood history or overstating it.
On the roof, she had no idea of its age; it was original to her purchase and the prior owner's records were gone. She answered "Unknown." Her instinct had been to estimate, which would have converted a non-answer into a statement someone could later dispute.
On an oil tank, she suspected one might remain buried based on a neighbor's comment, but had no confirmation. She answered "Unknown" and separately asked her attorney, who recommended a tank sweep before listing. It found nothing, and she had documentation for any buyer who asked.
None of that required expertise. It required answering the actual question and asking her attorney where she was unsure.
Where to Start
Get the form early, well before listing, and read it through once without answering anything. Note which questions turn on facts you genuinely know and which don't. Gather what records exist — permits, receipts, warranties, prior inspection reports.
Then complete it with the attorney rather than alone the night before contracts. Use "Unknown" wherever it honestly applies. Where a known issue exists, describe it specifically rather than vaguely. And separately from the form, call the building department that governs the property, since that record surfaces regardless.
Sellers wanting a read on where the property stands before any of this can start with a quiet look at current value. More Long Island market and process coverage lives in Local Insights.
The Honest Bottom Line
The disclosure form is less frightening than it looks and more consequential than it feels. It asks what the seller knows, and it accepts "Unknown" for things they don't. That alone resolves most of the worry sellers bring to it.
What it doesn't tolerate is knowing something and saying otherwise. That's where liability lives, it survives the closing, and no amount of as-is language or careful phrasing changes it.
The sellers who handle this well aren't the ones with perfect houses. They're the ones who answered the questions in front of them honestly, said so plainly where a real issue existed, and used "Unknown" without embarrassment where they genuinely didn't know. For anyone working through a specific question on the form, with no pressure attached, that conversation is available whenever the timing suits.
This is general information, not legal advice. Disclosure obligations carry real consequences and turn on specific facts. Complete the Property Condition Disclosure Statement with a licensed New York real estate attorney and raise any uncertain question with counsel before signing.
FAQs
Can a New York seller still give a $500 credit instead of the disclosure form?
No. That option was eliminated when the Property Condition Disclosure Statement was amended effective March 20, 2024. The 56-question form is now mandatory for residential sales and must be delivered to the buyer before a binding contract is signed. The amendment also added seven flood-related questions. Guidance still describing the credit as an available alternative is pre-amendment material and should be disregarded — a substantial amount of it remains online. The completed form is signed and becomes part of the contract file.
What if a seller genuinely doesn't know the answer to a question?
"Unknown" is a permitted and appropriate answer. The form asks what the seller actually knows and imposes no duty to investigate, inspect, or test in order to complete it. A seller who has owned a home for six years doesn't know what happened during the forty years before that, and saying so is correct rather than evasive. The more common error runs the other way — sellers who guess at a roof's age or speculate about a stain create statements that can later be disputed, where an honest "Unknown" would have carried no exposure.
Does selling as-is remove the disclosure obligation?
No, and this misconception is expensive. As-is describes what the seller will repair — it signals no repairs, no inspection credits, and pricing that reflects condition. It says nothing about what must be disclosed. An as-is seller completes the same 56-question form with the same honesty requirement. The only genuine exemption is for estates, where an executor who never occupied the property has no knowledge to disclose — and that exemption doesn't extend to federal lead-based paint disclosure for pre-1978 homes.
What happens if a seller fails to disclose a known problem?
Under New York's Real Property Law, a seller who willfully fails to disclose a known condition can be liable to the buyer for actual damages resulting from that failure, and the claim survives the closing. The counterweight is that New York otherwise operates largely on caveat emptor — a seller is generally not liable for conditions they didn't know about and isn't required to volunteer everything beyond what the form asks. What creates liability is active concealment: painting over a known water stain, hiding evidence, or affirmatively stating something untrue.
Does the disclosure form cover unpermitted work?
Partially, and the distinction matters. The form asks whether the seller knows of work done without required permits. But the buyer's attorney separately orders municipal searches after contracts are signed, and whatever the governing authority has on file surfaces regardless of what was disclosed. A seller can answer the form correctly and still face a permit problem. Which office holds the record varies across Long Island — the Town of Hempstead for Levittown, several villages for Port Washington and Manhasset, the Department of Buildings for Bayside.
By Eric Berman, REALTOR® | The Eric Berman Team at Compass
Eric Berman | Long Island & Queens Associate Broker | Compass
1468 Northern Blvd, Manhasset, NY 11030
(917) 225-8596 | eric@ericbermanre.com | theericbermanteam.com
