Disclosure Rules Change in Maryland, D.C.

Sellers now also must disclose if the property is a D.C. landmark or located within a historic district; whether the property has been cited for a violation during the period that the seller owned the property, and whether the property is subject to a conservation easement.

According to the Board of Real Estate, the old form is obsolete and the new form must be used, effective immediately. However, I was unable to locate the revised form on the District's Web site.

There are a number of exemptions to the disclosure requirement:

· Court-ordered transfers of property.

· Transfers made by a non-occupant fiduciary administering a decedent's estate, guardianship, conservatorship or trust. Note the distinction between the District and Maryland. In the District, if the fiduciary is living in the property at the time a sales contract is entered into, disclosures must be provided to a buyer.

· Transfers between spouses under a divorce decree or a property settlement agreement incidental to a judgment.

Sellers anywhere should not be afraid to disclose known problems in their houses. It is better to disclose now than be hit with a lawsuit by a buyer after he discovers that there are defects in the property and that the seller knew -- or should have known -- about problems before the property was transferred.

You can never go wrong in telling the truth about your house.

Benny L. Kass is a Washington lawyer. For a free copy of the booklet "A Guide to Settlement on Your New Home," send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Benny L. Kass, Suite 1100, 1050 17th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036. Readers may also send questions to him at that address.