Key Takeaways
- No disclosure statute: the duty comes from case law. A seller must disclose known facts that materially affect value and that a buyer could not find by reasonable inspection (Hill v. Jones, 151 Ariz. 81 (App. 1986)).
- The SPDS is a private form doing statutory-sized work: no law requires it, but the standard resale contract does, within three days after acceptance. Waiving the form does not waive the duty.
- Three facts are exempt by statute: a death or felony on the property, a prior occupant exposed to HIV or AIDS, and nearby sex offenders cannot support a claim (A.R.S. § 32-2156).
- The buyer's exit is the inspection period: ten days after acceptance by default, with disapproval notice due inside that window or five days after the SPDS arrives.
- Land outside city limits has its own form: unsubdivided parcels in unincorporated county areas need a recorded Affidavit of Disclosure seven days before transfer, with a five-day rescission right (A.R.S. § 33-422).
- As-is limits repairs, not honesty: an as-is sale decides who pays for the roof, not whether you mention it.
Arizona seller disclosure requirements surprise people because there is no state disclosure statute to read. Most states write the form into the code. Arizona did the opposite: the courts built the duty, Arizona REALTORS built the form, and the purchase contract stapled the two together. The result is a duty broader than any checklist.
This guide covers where the duty comes from and what the Arizona SPDS asks. It also covers the three facts a seller never has to volunteer, the statutory disclosures for pools and septic systems, the affidavit required for unincorporated land, and what an as-is sale changes.
What Are Arizona's Seller Disclosure Requirements?
An Arizona seller must disclose facts known to the seller that materially affect the value of the property and that the buyer could not reasonably discover on their own. That rule comes from the Arizona Court of Appeals in Hill v. Jones, 151 Ariz. 81, 725 P.2d 1115 (App. 1986), decided in March 1986, not from any section of the Arizona Revised Statutes.
The termite case that wrote the rule
The buyers were told a ripple in a wood floor was water damage, and the escrow termite report came back clean. After closing, a neighbor pointed out termite damage across the house and fence, and the buyers learned the sellers had paid for treatments more than once. The court held that a seller has a duty to disclose termite damage known to the seller but not the buyer when it materially affects value.
That holding is the backbone of every Arizona resale. It does not require a seller to inspect, hire anyone, or research records. It requires a seller to say what they already know.
What counts as material
A fact is material if a reasonable buyer would attach importance to it in deciding whether to buy or what to pay. Prior roof leaks qualify. So does a repaired foundation crack, an air conditioner replaced twice in six years, a pool that never cleared a green tint, a past termite treatment, an unpermitted casita, or a pending assessment. Opinions about value do not.
The standard resale contract turns that case law into a promise that survives closing: the seller warrants that all material latent defects known to the seller have been disclosed. A buyer who proves otherwise has both a fraud theory and a breach theory. See also our Arizona cash home buyer overview.
What the Arizona SPDS Asks, Section by Section
The Arizona SPDS is a multi-page questionnaire the seller completes alone, organized into six subject areas running from ownership through building systems to a catch-all for anything else the seller knows. Arizona REALTORS publishes the statewide form and Phoenix REALTORS publishes its own December 2024 version; both ask the same substantive questions.
| SPDS section | What it asks | Where Arizona sellers get caught |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership and property | Years owned, occupancy, year built, historic or age-restricted community, road maintenance, legal and physical access, rental use, liens, notices of default, code and CC&R violations | Patios and additions with no closed permit |
| Building and safety | Roof age, leaks, repairs and warranties, heating and cooling type and age, water heater, appliances, interior and exterior features, termites, structural items and soil movement | Foam roofs recoated rather than replaced, an aging package unit or evaporative cooler, past termite treatment |
| Utilities and water | Service providers by name, water source and quality, private and shared wells, flood irrigation, propane tanks | Flood-irrigated lots in Arcadia and Laveen, where irrigation turns cost money |
| Environmental information | Soil settlement, fissures, drainage, mold and moisture, floodplain, asbestos, radon, lead-based paint, storage tanks, noise | Monsoon water intrusion, fissures, slab cracking on expansive soils |
| Sewer and wastewater | Sewer or septic, provider, whether the whole property is connected, repairs, last inspection or pumping | Septic systems, which trigger a separate state inspection rule |
| Other conditions and factors | HOA membership, transfer fees and litigation, district assessments, insurance claims, solar and other alternate power systems, and a final open question | Leased solar and battery systems, pending assessments, claims that surface on a CLUE report |
The Residential Seller Disclosure Advisory
Arizona REALTORS pairs the SPDS with a companion document, the Residential Seller Disclosure Advisory, whose title is the whole instruction: when in doubt, disclose. It explains that Arizona law requires disclosure of material facts even when nobody asks, and that the obligation survives an agreement that no SPDS will be provided. Its practical advice is to attach the paper.
Solar leases, pools, and termites
Three Arizona conditions generate most of the disclosure questions. Leased solar is the first. The SPDS asks whether an alternate power system is owned free and clear, leased, or financed, and it asks for the lease itself. Our guide to selling a house with a solar lease in Phoenix covers how that transfers. Pools are the second, since a green pool is both a disclosure item and a financing problem. Termites are the third, and they are not rare here: termites are considered Arizona's number one urban pest (University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, AZ1356, March 2005).
The SPDS discloses what you know; it is not a warranty. If you truly do not know the age of a roof you inherited, say so and say why. What you cannot do is use "unknown" to bury something you were told, saw, paid to repair, or filed a claim on.
The Three Things Arizona Sellers Never Have to Disclose
Arizona law protects sellers from liability for failing to disclose exactly three categories of fact, listed in A.R.S. § 32-2156. No criminal, civil, or administrative action may be brought against a seller for staying silent about any of them:
- A death on the property, whether natural, a suicide, a homicide, or any other felony.
- Ownership or occupancy by a person exposed to HIV or diagnosed with AIDS, or with any other disease not known to be transmitted through common occupancy.
- A sex offender living in the vicinity.
The statute goes one step further. Staying silent about those three subjects is also not grounds for terminating or rescinding the transaction.
| Must disclose if known | Never required to disclose |
|---|---|
| Roof leaks, repairs, and recoating history | A natural death, suicide, or homicide on the property |
| Termite infestation, damage, and treatments | Any other felony committed on the property |
| Soil settlement, fissures, and foundation work | Prior ownership or occupancy by a person exposed to HIV or diagnosed with AIDS |
| Mold, water intrusion, and past flooding | Any other disease not known to be transmitted through common occupancy |
| HOA assessments owed or pending, and HOA litigation | A registered sex offender living in the vicinity |
| Unpermitted additions, alterations, and code violations | Opinions about what the property is worth |
A.R.S. § 32-2156 shields a seller who says nothing about those three subjects. It does not shield a seller who is asked directly and answers falsely. The standard contract handles the other side: buyers are told that if a death, a crime, or a nearby sex offender matters to them, they must investigate during the inspection period.
Statutory Disclosures That Sit Outside the SPDS
Arizona does impose a handful of specific written disclosures by statute or rule, and each operates independently of the SPDS. Filling out the form does not satisfy them, and skipping it does not excuse them.
Pool safety notice
A house with a swimming pool carries its own notice. Anyone selling a dwelling with a pool or other contained body of water must give the buyer a notice on pool safety and the responsibilities of pool ownership (A.R.S. § 36-1681(E)). The form has to be the one approved by the Arizona Department of Health Services. The same statute sets the barrier rules: a five-foot enclosure with self-closing, self-latching gates opening outward from the pool.
Septic and alternative wastewater systems
A house on a conventional septic or alternative system has to be inspected before it changes hands. The seller must hire a qualified inspector within six months before the transfer. The buyer then files a Notice of Transfer within 15 days after it (Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, A.A.C. R18-9-A316). The report goes to the buyer, not the state, and the rule controls even if a contract says otherwise.
Remediated soil
An owner who knows the property has been through soil remediation must give the buyer written notice before transferring ownership, unless the remediation met residential standards (A.R.S. § 33-434.01). Rare in tract subdivisions, less rare near former industrial or agricultural land.
Homeowners association resale package
In a planned community or condominium with fewer than 50 units, the selling owner delivers the resale package. The deadline is ten days after written notice of a pending sale. The package includes the association documents plus a dated statement of assessments, reserves, and recorded violations. At 50 units or more the association handles it instead (A.R.S. § 33-1806, and § 33-1260 for condominiums). Unpaid dues belong in that packet and on the SPDS. Owners already behind should read our guide to HOA dues and foreclosure in Phoenix.
Federal lead-based paint disclosure
For any house built before 1978, federal law requires three things from the seller. Disclose known lead-based paint and hazards. Hand over any reports in the seller's possession. Provide the EPA pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home. The standard Arizona contract then gives the buyer a ten-day assessment period and a right to cancel within five days after receiving that information. Midtown Tucson bungalows, Sam Hughes, the Phoenix historic districts, and most 1950s and 1960s valley tract stock sit inside that line.
The Affidavit of Disclosure for Land Outside City Limits
A seller of five or fewer unsubdivided parcels in an unincorporated area of an Arizona county must deliver a written Affidavit of Disclosure at least seven days before the transfer (A.R.S. § 33-422). The buyer has to acknowledge receipt. The affidavit must be printed in twelve-point type, and the seller records it when the deed records. Any waiver of the seller's liability for an omission in it is not binding on the buyer. The buyer also gets five days to rescind after the affidavit is furnished, a cancellation right that runs on its own clock.
The affidavit runs more than twenty numbered items. They are the questions that decide whether rural Arizona land is usable:
- Legal access, physical access, and whether the two are the same.
- Whether the road is publicly maintained, privately maintained, or not maintained at all.
- FEMA floodplain status, fissures, and expansive soils.
- Which utilities are connected, and whether water has to be hauled in and by whom.
- Private versus shared wells, and whether a wastewater facility exists and has been inspected.
- Leased solar or battery systems.
- County zoning, the land-division rules, and military airport or restricted airspace zones.
How the Inspection Period and Cancellation Rights Work
The buyer's inspection period under the standard Arizona resale contract is ten days after contract acceptance, unless the parties write in a different number. That window is where disclosure turns into leverage. The seller delivers the SPDS within three days after acceptance. The buyer's deadline to object then runs to the end of the inspection period, or five days after the SPDS arrives, whichever is later.
| Event | Deadline under the standard resale contract |
|---|---|
| Seller delivers the completed SPDS | Within 3 days after contract acceptance |
| Seller delivers the five-year insurance claims history | Within 5 days after contract acceptance |
| Seller delivers the Affidavit of Disclosure, if the parcel needs one | Within 5 days after acceptance, and at least 7 days before transfer under A.R.S. § 33-422 |
| Buyer's inspection period | 10 days after contract acceptance by default |
| Buyer's single written notice of items disapproved | Inside the inspection period, or 5 days after receiving the SPDS, whichever is later |
| Seller's written response to disapproved items | 5 days after delivery of the buyer's notice; no response counts as a refusal |
| Buyer cancels after a refusal to correct | Within 5 days of the response or of the expiration of the response time |
| New disclosure made after the inspection period closes | Buyer gets 5 days from delivery to disapprove and cancel |
Two details matter most. A buyer must put every disapproved item into one signed notice, so a seller sees a single list rather than rolling demands. And a disclosure made after the inspection period closes reopens a five-day cancellation window. A seller who remembers the roof repair in week four has handed the buyer a fresh exit, which is the argument for finishing the SPDS carefully on day one.
Does Selling As-Is in Arizona Remove the Disclosure Duty?
No. An as-is sale in Arizona settles who pays for repairs, not what a seller may leave unsaid. The standard resale contract puts it in capital letters. The seller shall disclose known material facts and defects affecting the property, including insurance claims within the past five years. That holds even if the buyer waives the CLUE report or the SPDS.
The form carries the same warning. Regardless of occupancy, the seller is obligated under law to disclose known facts and defects that materially and adversely affect the use and value of the property and cannot be discovered by a reasonable inspection. Those disclosures are required even if the form has been waived through contract negotiations.
What as-is buys a seller is the other half of the deal. The same contract says the seller has no obligation to inspect the property for the buyer's benefit and none to repair or cure defects that have been disclosed. That is the trade: full honesty about condition, no obligation to fix it.
What Happens If an Arizona Seller Conceals a Defect?
A buyer who discovers a concealed material defect after closing can sue for fraud, misrepresentation, or breach of contract, and can ask for money damages or rescission of the sale. Arizona treats nondisclosure of a material fact much like an assertion that the fact does not exist, which is how silence becomes actionable rather than merely unhelpful.
The risk is wider than the repair bill: a buyer typically asks for the cost to cure, the diminished value of the property, and sometimes attorney fees under the contract. Because the disclosure warranty survives closing, the claim does not disappear when the deed records. Under A.R.S. § 12-543, an action for fraud must be brought within three years. That clock does not start until the buyer discovers the facts constituting the fraud. A defect that surfaces in year two starts the clock in year two.
The defense is paperwork. Answer every SPDS question and write full explanations instead of one-word answers. Attach the invoices, permits, and warranties the advisory asks for, and keep a signed copy. Send an update the moment something changes during escrow. A seller who disclosed a 22-year-old roof and a 2019 termite treatment has a boring file. A seller who left both blank has a claim waiting on the disclosure a neighbor or a pest invoice will eventually supply.
How a Cash Buyer Prices a Disclosed Arizona Defect
A direct cash buyer treats a disclosed defect as a pricing input rather than a reason to cancel. There is no appraiser to satisfy, no underwriter applying condition rules to a foam roof or an unfenced pool, and no lender demanding a repair escrow. The condition shows up in the number and the sale keeps moving.
That matters most to sellers with no appetite for a repair negotiation. Think of heirs carrying a vacant house through a Phoenix summer with the air conditioning running, owners with a trustee's sale date on the calendar, and out-of-state landlords who cannot walk the property. Redfin reported an Arizona median sale price of $448,407 in May 2026, up 0.8% year over year, with a statewide median of 67 days on market (Redfin, May 2026). Zillow's ZHVI, which models the value of a typical house rather than what closed, put the city of Phoenix at $410,222 as of June 2026, down 2.1% year over year (Zillow ZHVI, June 2026). Neither figure counts the concessions a condition-impaired house gives up in an inspection-period negotiation.
Propcash is a direct cash homebuyer, so the offer comes from Propcash as the buyer and the seller works with the decision-maker throughout. Propcash buys houses as-is, sellers pay no fees or commissions, and cash sales can close in as few as 7 days on a date you choose. You can get a cash offer on your Arizona house at any point. Heirs settling an estate should read our guide to selling an inherited house in Arizona. Anyone with a recorded notice of sale should start with how to stop foreclosure in Arizona, since the 91-day trustee's sale clock moves faster than a repair negotiation.
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Let's chatFrequently Asked Questions
What do Arizona sellers have to disclose when selling a house?
Arizona sellers must disclose facts they know that materially affect the value of the property and that a buyer could not discover through a reasonable inspection. That duty comes from Hill v. Jones, 151 Ariz. 81 (App. 1986), not from a statute. In practice sellers satisfy it with the Seller's Property Disclosure Statement, which asks about roof leaks, heating and cooling, termites, soil movement, pools, water and sewer, mold, solar systems, and HOA assessments.
Is the Arizona SPDS required by state law?
No. The SPDS is a private form published for member use by Arizona REALTORS, and Phoenix REALTORS publishes its own version, so neither is statutory. What is mandatory is the duty to disclose known material facts. The standard resale contract then requires delivery of a completed SPDS within three days after contract acceptance, and waiving the form does not waive the duty.
What are Arizona sellers not required to disclose?
A.R.S. § 32-2156 bars any criminal, civil, or administrative action against a seller for failing to disclose three things. The first is that the property was the site of a natural death, suicide, homicide, or any other felony. The second is that it was owned or occupied by a person exposed to HIV or diagnosed with AIDS, or with another disease not known to be transmitted through common occupancy. The third is that it sits in the vicinity of a sex offender. That omission is also not grounds for rescinding the transaction.
Does selling a house as-is in Arizona remove the disclosure requirement?
No. An as-is sale settles who pays for repairs, not what a seller may leave unsaid. The standard resale contract states that the seller shall disclose known material facts and defects even if the buyer waives the SPDS, and the form carries the same warning. As-is means no obligation to fix what is disclosed, which is very different from hiding it.
How long does an Arizona buyer have to inspect and cancel?
The inspection period runs ten days after contract acceptance unless the parties write in a different number. The seller delivers the SPDS within three days after acceptance, and the buyer must give notice of disapproved items within the inspection period or five days after the SPDS arrives, whichever is later. A buyer who disapproves may cancel outright or ask the seller to correct the items.
Do I have to disclose termite damage or a pool problem in Arizona?
Yes, if you know about it. Termite history is the fact pattern that created the Arizona rule, because Hill v. Jones involved sellers who knew about past infestation and treatments and said nothing. The form asks separately about termite problems, termite damage, and any pest warranty in place, and about problems with a pool, spa, or hot tub. A seller of a house with a pool must also give the buyer the pool safety notice approved by the Arizona Department of Health Services under A.R.S. § 36-1681.
Data Sources: A.R.S. §§ 32-2156, 33-422, 33-434.01, 33-1806, 33-1260, 36-1681, and 12-543 (Arizona State Legislature, read September 2026); Hill v. Jones, 151 Ariz. 81, 725 P.2d 1115 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1986); Arizona REALTORS SPDS and Residential Seller Disclosure Advisory; Phoenix REALTORS SPDS and Residential Resale Purchase Contract, December 2024; Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (A.A.C. R18-9-A316); University of Arizona Cooperative Extension AZ1356; Redfin, May 2026; Zillow ZHVI, June 2026. Propcash is a direct cash homebuyer, not a law firm. For a specific disclosure question, consult an Arizona-licensed real estate attorney.