Selling on the Emerald Coast?

What do you have to disclose when selling a house in Florida?

Florida law requires you to tell the buyer about any known problem that affects the home's value and that they can't easily see for themselves — in writing, before the contract is signed. Since October 1, 2024, that includes a separate flood disclosure covering any flood damage, flood insurance claim, or FEMA assistance during your ownership. If your Destin or 30A home sits seaward of the coastal construction control line, you also owe the buyer a written coastal disclosure and a survey or affidavit showing where that line crosses your lot. Condo sellers must hand over the association's milestone inspection summary and structural reserve study, which triggers a 3-day cancellation right for the buyer.

By Harrison Lilly Emerald Coast | September 10, 2026

A seller in Crystal Beach had a slow roof leak patched two summers ago. No claim, no big deal, and the ceiling stain got painted over before the photos were taken. Eight months after closing, the buyer's contractor pulled the drywall and found the rot. The seller's "I forgot" cost more in legal fees than the roof would have.

That's the whole point of Florida's disclosure rules. They don't ask you to guarantee the house. They ask you to say what you know. Here's what that means in Okaloosa and Walton County, including two rules that hit beach property harder than anywhere else in the state.

The rule underneath everything: known, material, and hidden

Florida doesn't have a single statute that lists every item you must disclose. The core duty comes from a 1985 Florida Supreme Court case, Johnson v. Davis. The rule is short: if you know about a problem that has a real effect on the home's value, and the buyer can't easily spot it, you have to tell them.

Three words carry the weight:

• Known. You're not on the hook for defects you didn't know about. A Florida appeals court sided with sellers who didn't know their contractor's remodel violated code.
• Material. It has to matter to the price or to whether a reasonable buyer would still want the house. A sticky window doesn't count. A cracked slab does.
• Hidden. If a buyer can see it on a walk-through, it's on them. If it's behind the drywall, under the carpet, or only shows up during a Gulf storm, it's on you.

Two things people get wrong. First, selling "as-is" doesn't waive any of this. As-is means you won't make repairs — it doesn't mean you can stay quiet about the leak. Second, verbal disclosure is technically allowed for most items, but it's nearly impossible to prove later. Put everything in writing.

The form most Emerald Coast sellers use

Florida doesn't require a specific form for the general duty, but nearly every listing in Destin, Santa Rosa Beach, Niceville, and Fort Walton Beach uses the Florida Realtors Seller's Property Disclosure — a multi-page checklist you fill out before the home hits the market. It asks about the roof, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, foundation, drainage, termites, mold, sinkholes, past insurance claims, unpermitted work, open code violations, and whether any Chinese drywall was ever installed.

Answer every line, and answer it the way you'd want it answered if you were buying. "Don't know" is a legitimate answer when it's true. "No" when the answer is "yes, but it's fixed" is not — say yes and explain the repair.

A few Emerald Coast items sellers routinely miss:

• Past water intrusion during a storm, even without a claim. Tropical storm rain that came under the sliders counts.
• Roof age and any wind mitigation report you've had done. Buyers' insurance quotes depend on it, and the buyer will find out anyway.
• Unpermitted additions — enclosed porches, converted garages, extra bathrooms. Okaloosa and Walton County permit records are public.
• Short-term rental history, including any code enforcement complaint tied to the rental. If you sold a Destin rental with an open violation, the buyer would inherit the problem.

The flood disclosure: new since 2024, and broader than you think

Since October 1, 2024, Florida sellers must give buyers a separate written flood disclosure at or before the time the contract is signed. It's not part of the general property disclosure — it's its own document, and it asks three questions:

1. Do you know of any flooding that damaged the property while you owned it?
2. Did you file an insurance claim for flood damage?
3. Did you receive federal assistance — FEMA or otherwise — for flood damage?

The definition of "flooding" is the part that trips people up. It isn't limited to storm surge or to homes in a FEMA AE or VE zone. It includes runoff from a drainage ditch, overflow from a bayou, and sustained standing water from heavy rain. If your Bluewater Bay backyard held two feet of water for a week after a summer downpour and it got into the crawlspace, that's flooding under this law.

The state expanded the same framework on October 1, 2025 to cover residential landlords on leases of a year or more and to condo developers. If you own an Emerald Coast rental and lease it annually, you now owe tenants the same disclosure.

Get this one right, because flood history drives the buyer's carrying cost. A Zone X home might insure for $400 to $1,200 a year; the same square footage in a VE zone on the Gulf can run $5,000 to $15,000 or more. We break down what each zone costs in what flood insurance really costs on the Emerald Coast.

Gulf-front sellers: the coastal construction control line

This is the rule that separates a Destin beach sale from a sale in Crestview. Florida draws a coastal construction control line — usually called the CCCL — along the entire Gulf shoreline. It marks where the state regulates building because of erosion and storm surge. Most Gulf-front lots from Okaloosa Island through 30A are partially or fully seaward of it.

If any part of your property sits seaward of the CCCL, state law requires two things:

• A written coastal disclosure, delivered before both of you sign the contract. The statutory wording tells the buyer the property may be subject to coastal erosion and to rules governing the control line, seawalls, beach renourishment, and sea turtle protection.
• A survey or affidavit showing exactly where the CCCL crosses the property, delivered before closing — unless the buyer waives it in writing.

Missing the CCCL disclosure won't void the contract or give the buyer a way out. But it's a soft spot in a lawsuit, and a luxury buyer's attorney will look for it. A CCCL survey typically costs a few hundred dollars on top of a standard boundary survey. Budget for it, and order it early. Surveyors on 30A book out in season.

Selling a Gulf-front or Gulf-view home and want to know what it's worth before you list? Get your free home value estimate at onlyhomesemeraldcoast.com/home_value — our Emerald Coast team tracks every sale in Okaloosa and Walton County.

Condo sellers: the document package and the 3-day clock

If you're selling a condo in Destin, Miramar Beach, or Fort Walton Beach, the disclosure burden is heavier and it comes with a deadline. Florida's condo statute requires you — at your expense — to give the buyer:

• The declaration, bylaws, and rules of the association
• The most recent year-end financial statement and annual budget
• The association's frequently asked questions sheet
• A copy of the inspector-prepared summary of the milestone inspection — the structural inspection required for buildings three or more stories once they reach 30 years old
• The association's most recent structural integrity reserve study, usually called a SIRS, or a written statement that the association hasn't completed one

Once the buyer receives that package, they have 3 days to cancel the contract for any reason, and they can't waive that right. Practically, that means you want the documents ready the day you list. Every day the association takes to produce them is a day the buyer's cancellation window hasn't started.

The SIRS and milestone reports also decide whether the buyer's lender will fund the deal. Fannie Mae eliminated the limited-review path for condo loans on August 3, 2026, and reserve requirements climb from 10% to 15% of the budget in January 2027. If your building's reserves are thin, the buyer's financing may fall through after your 3-day window has passed — and you'll be back on the market in a five-month-supply Destin. Read why Destin condo loans are getting denied in 2026 before you set a price.

Homeowner associations work differently. If your home is in a community like Kelly Plantation, Regatta Bay, or a 30A neighborhood with an HOA, you owe the buyer a disclosure summary — a one-page statement that they'll have to pay dues, that the association can place a lien for unpaid assessments, and that the covenants restrict what they can do with the property. If you don't deliver it before the contract, the buyer can void the deal within 3 days of finally receiving it.

The disclosures everyone forgets — and the ones you don't owe

A handful of smaller items are still required, and each one shows up in the standard Florida contract:

The property tax notice matters more on the Emerald Coast than most sellers realize. If you've held a Destin home under the Homestead Exemption for a decade, your assessed value has been capped at 3% growth a year by Save Our Homes. When you sell, that cap resets. The buyer's tax bill on a $640,000 home in Okaloosa County will be roughly $3,800 a year at the county's approximate 0.60% rate, which could be double what you were paying. The buyer should know that, and the contract makes sure they do. Our post on the truth about property taxes on the Emerald Coast walks through the reset math.

What you don't have to disclose, under Florida statute: that someone died in the home, that a prior occupant had HIV or AIDS, or that the property was the site of a crime unrelated to its physical condition. If a buyer asks directly, don't lie — but you're allowed to decline.

What good disclosure actually does for your sale

Sellers tend to see this as a liability exercise. On the Emerald Coast, in a market with prices down about 3% year over year and homes sitting 100 or more days, it's a pricing tool.

A buyer who reads a complete, honest disclosure trusts the rest of your listing. A buyer who finds a painted-over stain during inspection assumes everything else is hidden too, and comes back with a repair credit request that's twice the actual cost. In a market where buyers have real choices, that second scenario is how a deal dies at day 45 and you relist with a stigma.

Disclose early, disclose in writing, and attach the receipts — the roof invoice, the wind mitigation report, the flood elevation certificate. Every document you hand over is one less thing the buyer can renegotiate. And every dollar you don't give back at the inspection table is a dollar that stays in your net after the 0.70% Documentary Stamp Tax — $4,480 on a $640,000 sale — and everything else we covered in what it really costs to sell a house in Destin.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a Seller's Disclosure required by law in Florida?

Florida doesn't require a specific general disclosure form, but case law requires you to disclose any known material defect the buyer can't easily see. Specific written disclosures are required by statute for flood history, coastal construction control line status, radon, property taxes, lead paint on pre-1978 homes, and condo and HOA documents. Nearly every Emerald Coast listing uses the Florida Realtors Seller's Property Disclosure to cover the general duty.

Does selling a house "as-is" in Florida mean I don't have to disclose problems?

No. As-is means you won't make repairs or credits for the home's condition. It doesn't cancel your duty to disclose known material defects. A seller who hides a known problem behind an as-is clause can still be sued for misrepresentation after closing.

What is the Florida flood disclosure and when do I have to give it?

It's a separate written form, required since October 1, 2024, that asks whether you know of flood damage during your ownership, whether you filed a flood insurance claim, and whether you received FEMA or other flood assistance. You must give it to the buyer at or before the time the contract is signed. "Flooding" includes standing water from heavy rain and runoff, not only storm surge.

What is the coastal construction control line disclosure on 30A and Destin?

If any part of your property is seaward of Florida's coastal construction control line, you must give the buyer a written notice before the contract that the property may be subject to erosion and coastal building regulations. Before closing, you must also provide a survey or affidavit showing where the line crosses your lot, unless the buyer waives it in writing. Most Gulf-front homes from Okaloosa Island through Inlet Beach are affected.

How long does a condo buyer have to cancel after getting the documents in Florida?

Three days. Once a resale condo buyer receives the declaration, bylaws, rules, financials, FAQ sheet, milestone inspection summary, and structural integrity reserve study, they have 3 days to cancel for any reason. The right can't be waived, so sellers should have the package ready at listing to start the clock as early as possible.

The bottom line: Florida asks you to say what you know, in writing, before the buyer signs. On the Emerald Coast that means the flood form, the CCCL notice on Gulf-front lots, and the full condo package. Do it well and it protects your price, not only your liability.

Wondering what your Emerald Coast home is worth right now? Get your free estimate at onlyhomesemeraldcoast.com/home_value — our Emerald Coast team tracks every sale in Okaloosa and Walton County.

This post describes how Florida disclosure rules generally work. It isn't legal advice. Talk to a Florida real estate attorney about your specific property and situation.

About Harrison Lilly Emerald Coast — Harrison Lilly Emerald Coast is the Destin–Fort Walton Beach team of Harrison Lilly Realty, serving buyers, sellers, and vacation rental investors across Okaloosa and Walton County, from Destin and Niceville to Santa Rosa Beach and the 30A corridor. Call (850) 851-0089 or visit onlyhomesemeraldcoast.com.