By Mark Dunn | July 6, 2026

One of the first questions my Columbus seller clients ask me is some version of this: "Do I have to disclose that?" And honestly, I get why. Sellers are nervous. They've lived in the house. They know things about it. And they're worried that telling a buyer about a past roof repair or a sump pump that used to run constantly will tank the deal before it even starts.

Here's what I tell them: the Ohio Residential Property Disclosure Form isn't your enemy. It's actually designed to protect you. But only if you fill it out correctly and honestly.

Every seller of a residential property in Ohio — whether you're in Columbus, Westerville, Pataskala, or anywhere else in the state — has to deal with this form. Let me walk you through exactly how it works, what it covers, and where sellers get into trouble.

What the Ohio Disclosure Form Actually Covers

The Ohio Residential Property Disclosure Form, created by the Ohio Director of Commerce and governed by Ohio Revised Code § 5302.30, covers virtually every major system and condition of a residential property. It's a multi-page document, and sellers must initial and date each page affirming the accuracy of their answers.

Here's what the form addresses:

• Water supply and sewer system — type of water source (public, well, cistern), type of sewer (public, septic), known issues
• Roof — known leaks, missing shingles, any repairs or replacements during the seller's ownership
• Foundation and structural elements — known cracks, settling, movement, or previous repairs
• Basement and crawl space — known water seepage, flooding history, drainage problems, prior waterproofing work, sump pump issues
• Plumbing system — known leaks, water pressure issues, pipe material concerns
• Electrical system — known issues with wiring, breakers, outlets, or service capacity
• Heating and cooling systems — known problems with furnace, A/C, or other mechanical systems
• Hazardous materials — known presence of lead-based paint (federally required for pre-1978 homes), asbestos, radon, mold, underground storage tanks, or contaminated soil
• Flood zone status — whether any part of the property is located in a FEMA flood zone
• Boundary and title issues — known encroachments, easements affecting use, or disputes
• Other material conditions — anything else the seller knows that materially affects the property's value or habitability

That's a thorough list. But here's the thing that most sellers miss when they first see it.

The Key Standard: What You Actually Know

Ohio's disclosure law is knowledge-based. You are only required to disclose defects and conditions that you actually know about from living in and maintaining the property. Ohio is not asking you to hire an inspector. It's not asking you to investigate your own house. It's asking you to report what you know.

That's a meaningful distinction. If there's a crack in your foundation that you've never noticed, you don't have to disclose it. If the roof leaked three years ago and you had it repaired and it hasn't leaked since, you still need to mention the leak and the repair — because you know about it.

The phrase I use with sellers: "Think of it as answering questions about your house the same way you'd answer questions about your own health. You don't have to go get a checkup first. But you do have to be honest about what you already know."

Defects that are open and obvious — a large water stain on the ceiling, a clearly cracked tile, a door that visibly doesn't close right — generally don't need to be disclosed because any buyer walking through the home can see them. The form is meant to surface hidden or non-obvious issues.

What You Don't Have to Disclose

A few things are explicitly excluded from the disclosure requirement under Ohio law:

• Deaths in the home — Ohio law does not require disclosure of any death, homicide, suicide, or alleged paranormal activity, regardless of when it occurred
• Minor cosmetic defects — scratches, scuffs, burned-out lightbulbs, small dents, and similar wear-and-tear items don't meet the threshold of "material defect"
• Things you genuinely don't know about — if you've never had a water problem and there's a crack you haven't noticed, you can't disclose what you don't know

When to Deliver It — and What Happens If You Don't

Timing matters here. Ohio law requires you to deliver the completed disclosure form to the buyer before the buyer signs the purchase contract. The standard is "as soon as practicable" — in practice, this typically means the form goes out with your listing or at the very beginning of the offer process.

If a buyer signs a contract without having received the disclosure form first, they have three business days to rescind the contract and walk away with no penalty. That means if your agent forgets to send the form, you could lose a deal that was already signed — just because of a paperwork timing issue.

In my transactions, I make sure the disclosure form is part of the seller's initial package and goes to the buyer as early in the process as possible. There's no reason to create that kind of exposure when it's easy to avoid.

Who Is Exempt from the Disclosure Requirement

Not every Ohio property sale requires a disclosure form. ORC § 5302.30 does not apply in these situations:

• Inherited property — if you inherited the home and have not lived in it within the past year, you're exempt (even if you lived there as a child decades ago)
• Foreclosure sales — when a lender or bank is selling after a foreclosure, no disclosure is required
• Court-ordered transfers — transfers resulting from divorce decrees, bankruptcy, or other court orders
• Executor or trustee sales — estates selling property through a fiduciary who never lived in the home
• New construction — homes that have never been occupied don't require the standard residential disclosure form
• Government transfers — sales to or from county governments, school districts, and other public entities

If you're selling a property that falls into one of these categories, your agent should help you complete the appropriate exemption form instead.

What Happens If You Don't Disclose a Known Problem

This is where sellers really get into trouble. And I want to be direct about it, because I've seen what happens when this goes wrong.

If a seller knowingly fails to disclose a material defect — meaning they knew about it and chose not to put it on the form — the buyer can pursue legal action after closing. At a minimum, a court can order the seller to pay for the cost of repairing the undisclosed defect.

But if the buyer can prove active fraud — that the seller didn't just omit something, but actively concealed it (fresh paint over a water stain, a rug over a rotted floor, a disclosure form that says "no known issues" when the seller knew about years of basement flooding) — Ohio courts can award double the repair cost plus attorney's fees. That's a serious financial exposure.

One important note: an "as-is" clause in a purchase contract does not protect a seller from fraud. Ohio courts have been consistent on this point. You can sell a house with known problems as-is. You can't hide known problems and then claim the as-is clause covers it.

The Ohio Supreme Court's Ashmus v. Coughlin Ruling

In July 2025, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a significant ruling that clarified the scope of seller disclosure obligations. In Ashmus v. Coughlin, the Court held that a publicly recorded sewer easement running through a property was not a material defect the seller was required to disclose — because the information was available in the public record, and the buyer had a duty to conduct due diligence (including a title search) during the contract period.

The ruling reinforced a few key principles: publicly recorded items (easements, utility lines that function properly, recorded encumbrances) are generally not seller disclosure obligations. The "as-is" clause carries real weight when paired with an adequate buyer due diligence period. And the disclosure law is meant to surface hidden, known property defects — not anticipate every possible concern a buyer might have about their intended use of the property.

If you're selling in Columbus and questions like this come up in your transaction, that's exactly the kind of nuance your agent should be helping you navigate.

A Realtor's Practical Advice

After walking many Central Ohio sellers through this form, here's what I tell them:

When in doubt, disclose. The cost of a disclosed defect is almost always lower than the cost of a lawsuit over a concealed one. Buyers who know about an issue ahead of time can price it into their offer, negotiate a repair credit, or decide to walk away. That's a far better outcome than having them discover it six months after closing.

Disclosure doesn't mean your deal falls apart. I've helped sellers disclose foundation repairs, past flooding, old HVAC systems, and previous roof replacements — and close successfully. Buyers appreciate transparency. What kills deals is finding out during the inspection that the disclosure was incomplete.

Your past repairs matter too. A lot of sellers assume they only need to disclose current problems. Not quite. If your basement flooded three years ago, you had it waterproofed, and it hasn't been an issue since, that history still belongs on the form. You knew about it — that's the standard.

If you're preparing to list your Columbus home and you're not sure what to include on the disclosure form, that's a conversation to have with your agent before you fill anything out. Getting the form right from the start protects you and your deal.

Once you've got the disclosure sorted, one of the next big surprises for Columbus sellers is the closing cost breakdown — particularly how Ohio's property tax proration system affects your net proceeds. If you haven't read through how Ohio property taxes are handled at closing, that's worth understanding before you sit down at the closing table.