Utah does not have the long statutory disclosure regime some states do. What it has is a short list of specific legal duties, a duty the state Supreme Court recognized, a contract that requires a written disclosure in nearly every sale, and one statute that expressly lets sellers stay quiet about certain things.
Put together, the rule is simpler than it sounds: if you know about a material problem a buyer could not reasonably find on their own, tell them in writing. The rest of this page is the detail behind that rule, for sellers deciding what to write and buyers deciding what to make of it. It is general information about Utah law and the state contract form, not legal advice; a seller with a specific question about a known problem should ask a Utah real estate attorney before listing.
Where the duty to disclose comes from
Four separate sources apply to an ordinary Utah County resale. They overlap, and each one fills a gap in the others.
1. The state statute: methamphetamine
Utah's only general disclosure statute for home sales is narrow. Under Utah Code 57-27-201, if an owner "has actual knowledge that the property is currently contaminated from the use, storage, or manufacture of methamphetamines," the owner must disclose that contamination in the lease, sale or other transaction. Any person may file a civil action to enforce the chapter, and a court can award damages, costs and attorney fees to the prevailing party.
Two words limit it: actual knowledge and currently. A seller who suspects but does not know is not covered by this statute, though the court-made duty below may still apply. A property that was contaminated and has been officially cleaned up is treated differently, as the stigmatized-property section explains.
2. Federal law: lead-based paint in pre-1978 homes
For any home built before 1978, federal law requires a Lead Warning Statement and the seller's disclosure of known lead-based paint or hazards, plus any reports the seller has. The state-approved Disclosure and Acknowledgment form on the Division of Real Estate's forms page carries that language. The seller checks whether lead hazards are known, lists any reports, attaches the EPA pamphlet Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home, and the buyer gets a 10-day opportunity (or another agreed period) to test, unless the buyer initials a waiver.
That covers a lot of Provo: the housing on the Tree Streets, for one, skews to the 1950s and 1960s. Our guide to asbestos and lead in older Utah Valley homes covers what that means once you own the house.
3. The courts: known material defects
The broadest duty comes from case law. In Mitchell v. Christensen, 2001 UT 80, a case over a swimming pool that buyers said was leaking when they bought the house, the Utah Supreme Court held that sellers of real property owe a duty to disclose material known defects that cannot be discovered by a reasonable inspection by an ordinary prudent buyer.
Each word in that sentence does work:
- Known. The seller has to know. Hidden wiring faults the seller never had reason to suspect are not covered.
- Material. It has to matter: something that affects the property's value or a buyer's decision.
- Not discoverable by reasonable inspection. A sagging roofline anyone can see is the buyer's to notice. A basement that floods every April but is dry and freshly painted in September is not.
The REPC adopts nearly the same words. In Section 10.3, the seller agrees to "disclose in writing to Buyer defects in the Property known to Seller that materially affect the value of the Property that cannot be discovered by a reasonable inspection by an ordinary prudent Buyer." So in a standard Utah deal the duty is both a court rule and a contract term.
4. The contract: the Section 7 document list
Section 7 of the REPC requires the seller to deliver, by the Seller Disclosure Deadline:
- a written property condition disclosure, completed, signed and dated;
- the lead-based paint disclosure, if built before 1978;
- the title commitment;
- the CC&Rs, rules and regulations;
- the HOA's most recent minutes, budget and financial statement, if there is an HOA;
- any long-term leases and short-term rental booking schedules that run past closing;
- any property management agreements;
- evidence of water rights or shares included in the sale;
- written notice of known environmental problems and building or zoning code violations; and
- a FIRPTA notice if the seller is a foreign person for federal tax purposes.
That last group is easy to underestimate. A basement apartment the city never approved, an addition built without a permit, a notice of violation from code enforcement: these are "building or zoning code violations" known to the seller. In Provo, where the legality of basement apartments and occupancy limits is a live issue, our guide to Provo zoning explains how to check a property's status.
The disclosure form itself
The condition disclosure that Section 7 requires is, in practice, a multi-page form published by the Utah Association of Realtors, as KSL reported in a 2019 explainer on Utah disclosure rules. It walks through the roof, structure, water and sewer, heating and cooling, appliances, pests, mold, additions and remodels, boundaries and easements, HOA membership and similar topics, with yes, no and do-not-know answers.
According to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, the form asks: "Are there any hazardous conditions on the Property such as Radon gas in house or well?"
Because the form is not a statute, its exact wording can change from year to year. What does not change is the legal backdrop: a written answer you knew was false is the fact pattern that leads to lawsuits, and a written disclosure of a defect is strong evidence the buyer accepted it.
What Utah lets a seller leave out
Stigmatized property
Utah law speaks directly to the house with a past. Utah Code 57-1-37, as amended in 2025, says the failure to disclose that a property is stigmatized "is not a material fact that must be disclosed," and that neither the owner nor the owner's agent is liable for failing to disclose it.
Utah Code 57-1-1 defines stigmatized as:
- the site or suspected site of a homicide, other felony, or suicide;
- the dwelling place of someone infected or suspected of being infected with HIV or another infectious disease that the Department of Health and Human Services determines cannot be transmitted by living in the home; or
- property found to be contaminated by illegal drug activity that the local health department later found decontaminated under the state's cleanup law.
A natural death is not on that list, and nothing in Utah statute requires disclosing one either.
The statute protects silence. It says nothing protecting a false statement. A seller who answers a buyer's direct question with a lie has stepped outside "failure to disclose" and into misrepresentation, which is a different legal problem. A seller who prefers not to discuss the history can say so.
Radon
Radon is the Utah Valley topic people assume is regulated and is not. A 2014 bill to create a Radon Testing and Disclosure Act was introduced in the Legislature; the chapter number it proposed is now the Utah Reverse Mortgage Act, and the state DEQ says plainly that "there is no state law requiring radon testing at the time of resale." Mitigating a high reading is a matter for negotiation between buyer and seller.
DEQ also reports that its surveys found 30 percent of homes tested in Utah above the EPA's 4.0 pCi/L action level, and that levels vary too much within a county for maps to predict an individual house. A buyer who wants a radon test runs it during due diligence. A seller who already has a high test result in a drawer should disclose it, because the form asks and because the court-made duty covers known problems.
Water rights, unless they are in the deal
Utah's water rights addendum statute, 57-3-109, lets a seller file a water rights addendum with the deed describing what water rights transfer, or stating that none do. The statute says a person recording the deed "may" submit one; it is optional. The REPC is stricter in its own way: Section 1.4 includes the water rights that legally supply the home's culinary and irrigation water unless excluded, and Section 7 requires evidence of any rights in the sale.
For sellers: how to fill it out without creating a problem
Answer from what you know, and say what you do not. "Do not know" is a legitimate answer on a form built around actual knowledge. Guessing "no" is not.
Disclose repaired problems too, with the repair. A roof leak fixed in 2022 with a receipt is a non-event for most buyers. The same leak discovered by the buyer's inspector, unmentioned, invites the question of what else was left out.
Attach the paperwork. Inspection reports from your own purchase, mitigation certificates, permits for the basement finish, the sewer line replacement invoice. Documents turn a vague answer into a closed question.
Include known code issues. An unpermitted bedroom, a second kitchen the city has not approved, a notice from code enforcement. Section 7 asks for them by name.
Update it if something changes. The REPC requires delivery of the property in substantially the same condition as at Acceptance. If the water heater fails during the contract, tell the buyer in writing.
For the larger picture of preparing a Provo house for sale, our guide to selling a home in Provo covers pricing, timing around the academic calendar and the deadline chain. If you are selling without an agent, our guide to selling by owner in Utah Valley covers the extra work.
For buyers: what the disclosure can and cannot tell you
Read it the day it arrives. The disclosure feeds your due diligence period, and the Due Diligence Deadline does not move because the documents came late. Our guide to REPC deadlines explains why.
Hand it to your inspector. A "yes" on past water intrusion tells the inspector where to look.
Notice the do-not-knows. A seller who has owned the home for fifteen years and does not know the age of the roof is giving you information.
Ask questions in writing. If something matters to you, including a property's history, ask through your agent in writing and keep the answer. The stigmatized-property statute lets a seller stay silent; it does not make a written false answer safe.
Check what is not on the form. Permits are public. The Utah County Recorder's online records show recorded documents such as liens and deed restrictions against a parcel. The FEMA flood map changes that took effect in Provo in 2026 are covered in our flood map explainer, and our guide to homeowners insurance in Utah Valley covers what a standard policy leaves out.
Finally, remember that the seller can only tell you what the seller knows. The REPC's as-is clause says you are relying on your own judgment and your inspectors once due diligence ends. The disclosure is where your investigation starts, and the inspection is where it gets done.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Utah require a seller disclosure form?
What is a Utah seller legally required to disclose?
Do I have to tell a buyer someone died in the house in Utah?
Do I have to disclose a former meth lab?
Is radon disclosure required in Utah?
Can I sell my house as-is in Utah and skip disclosures?
What if I do not know the answer to a disclosure question?
Does a buyer still need an inspection if the seller disclosed everything?
Sources
The facts in this guide were checked against these sources. Hours, fees and rules change, so confirm anything time-sensitive with the source before you go. How we make Provo.com.
- State Approved Forms, Utah Division of Real Estate. Checked October 19, 2026.
- Radon and Real Estate Transactions in Utah, Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Checked October 19, 2026.
- Utah County Recorder, Utah County. Checked October 19, 2026.
- Utah Code 57-27-201, Utah Legislature. Checked October 19, 2026.
- Utah Code 57-1-37, Utah Legislature. Checked October 19, 2026.
- Utah Code 57-1-1 (definition of stigmatized), Utah Legislature. Checked October 19, 2026.
- Utah Code 57-3-109, Water rights addenda, Utah Legislature. Checked October 19, 2026.
- S.B. 109 (2014) Radon Testing for Home Purchase, Utah Legislature. Checked October 19, 2026.
- Utah Code 57-28-101 (Utah Reverse Mortgage Act), Utah Legislature. Checked October 19, 2026.
- Mitchell v. Christensen, 2001 UT 80 (summary), LawPipe. Checked October 19, 2026.
- Utah Home Sellers' Disclosures, Nolo. Checked October 19, 2026.
- Real Estate Purchase Contract (effective Dec. 4, 2024), Utah Division of Real Estate. Checked October 19, 2026.
- What Utah home sellers must disclose to buyers, KSL.com. Checked October 19, 2026.
