Seller's Guide · 2026
Seller's Disclosure Guide
Before your listing goes live, you must tell buyers — in writing — about the problems they could not spot on their own. Done properly, honest disclosure is the single best protection you have against a buyer coming back demanding money.
Written & verified by
Cara Hendricks
Conveyancing Attorney
Cara is a conveyancing attorney who helps buyers, sellers and agents understand the legal side of property in plain language.
The disclosure test
“If the buyer walked through with a normal, careful inspection, would they be able to find this themselves?” If yes, they can see it — you do not have to declare it. If no, it is hidden — you must declare it. That is the whole principle.
1The one test that decides everything
The law splits defects into two boxes, and the test above tells you which box you are in.
Visible (patent) defects
Anything a buyer can see or test on a normal walk-through — a cracked window pane, peeling paint, a visible damp stain, a dripping tap, a sticking door. The buyer is expected to notice these, so you generally do not need to list them (you can still mention them if you want to be upfront).
Hidden (latent) defects
A problem the buyer cannot find on a normal inspection — a roof that only leaks in heavy rain, damp behind a freshly painted wall, a structural crack filled and painted over, or building work with no approved plans. These cause fights after transfer, and you are obliged to disclose them.
About building plans: declare what you know, do not guarantee what you do not
If you have never had the plans in your hands and genuinely do not know whether everything was approved, do not warrant that the plans are in order — say honestly that you do not have them and cannot confirm their status. But “I do not have the plans” is not the same as knowing about unapproved work and keeping quiet. If you know about unapproved work, you must declare it. The “do not guarantee” rule is for genuine uncertainty, not for hiding something you already know.
Do not assume the electrical certificate will catch it
The Electrical Certificate of Compliance only confirms that the fixed installation (wiring, DB board, plugs, switches, earthing) is safe. It does not certify that everything is in good working order, and it does not cover appliances. Stoves, geysers, aircons and pool pumps count as appliances — the certificate checks how they are wired in, not whether they work. If the oven heats unevenly or a plug has never worked, a clean certificate will not disclose that for you. If you know about it, it still goes on the form.
2Why bother? Because it stops the comeback
When a hidden defect is properly declared up front, the buyer has bought the property knowing about it and factored it into their offer.
Disclosed = risk transferred
Once it is on the disclosure form, the buyer cannot later argue “had I known, I would have offered less.” They knew, they offered anyway, the price already reflects it. No claim, no dispute, no demand for repair costs after transfer.
Silence = liability
Stay quiet about a hidden problem you knew about, and the buyer can argue you deliberately concealed it. That strips away the voetstoots (“as is”) protection that normally shields sellers — South African courts have made sellers pay both the repair bill and the buyer’s losses. Disclosing costs you nothing; hiding can cost you everything.
“I have lived with it and it never bothered me”
This is one of the most common reasons sellers leave something off the form, and it does not hold up. The test is not whether the issue bothered you — it is whether the buyer could find it on a normal inspection. A quirk you have worked around for years (the plug that only works if you jiggle it, the drain that backs up twice a winter) is still a defect the buyer is entitled to know about.
3How to fill in the Mandatory Disclosure Form
Your agent must give you this form before they take the mandate. For each line you answer Yes, No, or N/A — and every “Yes” needs a full written explanation in the additional information section. A bare tick with no detail is where future arguments start.
Watch the wording — it flips. On most lines “I am aware of the defects in the roof / electrics / plumbing” means a Yes tells the buyer there IS a problem. But on the building-approval and heritage lines the wording is reversed: “I am aware that additions were made only after the proper consents were obtained” means a Yes is the good answer (you have approvals) and a No flags that approval may be missing. Read each line slowly so your tick says what you actually mean.
What each line means — tap to expand:
There is also a final “anything else” space. Use it for things that do not fit a neat box — a past insurance claim, a recurring maintenance headache, a neighbour issue. If it is something a reasonable buyer would want to know and could not easily find out, put it in.
4Before show day: do not over-beautify
There is a difference between presenting your home well and hiding a known defect — and it is a line you do not want to cross.
Cleaning, decluttering, a tidy garden and a general fresh coat of paint are all fine and expected. But a fresh coat specifically over the damp patch you know about, new tiles over the crack that keeps coming back, or a cupboard moved to cover a stain is not styling — to a court it looks like deliberate concealment, and it is the fastest way to lose your voetstoots protection.
Simple rule: if you are fixing something properly, great. If you are covering something up so the buyer will not notice it — stop, and put it on the disclosure form instead. The form is the safe place for it.
5In short
- Use the test: if a buyer could not find it on a careful inspection, declare it.
- Visible problems (patent) generally do not need declaring. Hidden ones (latent) always do.
- Do not guarantee plans you have never seen, but do declare any unapproved work you know about.
- The electrical certificate confirms the installation is safe, not that everything works. It does not cover appliances or light bulbs, so known electrical faults still go on the form.
- “I have lived with it and it never bothered me” is not an exception. If a buyer could not find it, declare it.
- Every “Yes” on the form needs a written explanation. Read each line carefully — the wording flips on the approval lines.
- Present your home, do not disguise it. Over-beautifying a known defect can cost you the protection the law would otherwise give you.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Every sale is different, so speak to your conveyancer about your specific property. Disclose honestly, keep a copy of the signed form, and you can walk away from the sale knowing it will not follow you home.
Still have questions?
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Every sale is different, so for a question about your specific property, ask our resident attorney Cara — or get an instant answer from our assistant.