Selling As-Is in New York: What Sellers Still Need to Disclose

When selling an older home, you may not want to replace the kitchen, repair every cosmetic flaw or undertake another renovation. An as-is sale may suit that plan, but disclosure requirements still need to be considered separately.

New York’s Property Condition Disclosure Act expressly allows agreements concerning the property’s condition, including as-is sales, while requiring covered sellers to provide a disclosure statement. Work with your attorney on both the sale terms and the applicable disclosure requirements. New York Real Property Law §462.

The Act’s definition generally covers property improved by a one-to-four-family dwelling. It excludes condominium units and cooperative apartments, among other exclusions. Separate exemptions apply to specified transfers. Have your attorney classify the property and transaction before assuming you must, or need not, use the Property Condition Disclosure Statement, commonly called the PCDS. RPP §461; RPP §463.

A Flushing co-op seller should not treat the PCDS exclusion as permission to disregard questions, contractual representations, or other applicable disclosures. Instead, prepare a separate document checklist with the attorney and managing agent. Identify what concerns the apartment, what concerns the building, and who can provide reliable information about each.

Older articles sometimes advise sellers to give the buyer a $500 credit instead of completing the PCDS. New York’s Department of State announced that this option ended effective March 20, 2024. Do not use that advice to plan a current sale. New York Department of State notice.

For a covered transaction, the statement must reach the buyer or buyer’s agent before the buyer signs a binding sale contract. Use a current form approved for your transaction by your attorney; the statutory text checked for this article reflects a July 4, 2025 revision. Answer based on actual knowledge, without guessing or presenting a known issue as unknown. RPP §462.

Before completing the form, record each issue you remember in date order: when and where it occurred, what you observed, who assessed it, what work followed and which documents remain available.

For example, “water appeared at the basement wall during a storm; a contractor performed drainage work in May” is more precise than an unsupported statement that a problem is permanently solved. Let records establish the scope of repairs. Avoid filling gaps with confident conclusions that a contractor or insurer never actually gave you.

Collect relevant invoices, photographs, reports, permits, warranties, and correspondence. Keep originals. Ask your attorney which materials should accompany the statement and how to explain incomplete records. This preparation helps you give consistent factual answers during showings and contract discussions.

If you learn something that makes an earlier PCDS materially inaccurate, §464 requires a revised statement as soon as practicable, subject to the statute’s endpoint at transfer of title or buyer occupancy, whichever occurs first. Tell your attorney promptly if circumstances change. RPP §464.

The Act preserves other legal remedies, and §465 addresses liability for willful failures under the Act. As-is language should not be treated as blanket protection against claims. RPP §465.

Federal lead-disclosure requirements are a separate review item for most pre-1978 housing. Covered sellers must provide required information and materials, disclose known lead information and available reports, and address the buyer’s inspection opportunity. The federal disclosure rule itself does not require a seller to test the house before selling. Confirm applicability with your attorney. EPA: Real estate disclosures; EPA: Testing before sale.

Discuss your preferred approach before marketing: which work you intend to complete, what you would consider negotiating, and what the contract will actually require. Avoid promising buyers an outcome before your attorney reviews the language.

Read Comparing Home Offers and Home Sale Net Proceeds when weighing repair requests against price and other terms.

Discuss listing preparations with B Square Realty and identify questions for your New York real estate attorney. Having the records ready helps you explain the property condition accurately.

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For covered New York residential sales, the property condition disclosure rules apply even when the contract says “as is.” Condo and co-op exclusions from the PCDS definition do not erase every other legal or contractual obligation. Use current legal materials rather than an old $500-credit checklist.