
Where one undertakes to speak to a matter, he must not only state the truth, he also must not suppress or conceal facts within his knowledge that materially affect those stated.
#Fiduciary duties real estate full#
"A duty to disclose may also arise in the so-called `half-truth' context-that is, when a speaker makes a representation which, though not false, he knows will be misleading absent full disclosure of additional facts known to him which qualify the initial representation." San Diego Hospice v. Sutherland, supra, 64 Cal.App.4th at p.1544 Karoutas v. "A breach of this duty of disclosure will give rise to a cause of action for both rescission and damages. Under the Common Law, "where the seller knows of facts materially affecting the value or desirability of the property which are known or accessible only to him and also knows that such facts are not known to, or within the reach of the diligent attention and observation of the buyer, the seller is under a duty to disclose them to the buyer." Lingsch v. 1 Miller & Starr, California Real Estate (3d ed. In California, the seller of a residence has both a common law and statutory duty of disclosure to the buyer, and even full compliance with the statutory duty does not excuse the common law duty. Code § 1102.7 (emphasis added)īut the specification in the law and the TDS of particular matters to be disclosed was not intended to limit or abridge any obligation for disclosure by law which may exist to avoid fraud or deceit in the transfer transaction. The form Transfer Disclosure Statement (“TDS”) disclosure shall be filled out and made in "good faith," which is expressly defined to mean "honesty in fact in the conduct of the transaction." Civ. Other statutes also impose other disclosure obligations in sales of this type.īefore execution of a residential sales contract, the seller or his or her broker is required to deliver the statutory real estate transfer disclosure statement to the buyer, which contains a checklist to give notice of problems or potential problems with the property. Real Estate contracts also usually require disclosures pursuant to this statute, as well as other disclosures. In 1985 the California General Assembly added an article to the Civil Code, § 1102 et seq., entitled "Disclosures Upon Transfer of Residential Property." (Stats. The common law has for decades imposed duties on sellers of real estate, particularly residential real estate such as homes, condominiums, etc., to disclose to the buyer “ any material facts known to the seller affecting the value or desirability of the real estate" being sold. California Law on Disclosure Duties in Real Estate Sales, and Liability and Damages for Real Estate Fraud, Misrepresentation or Non-Disclosure of Material Facts Affecting the Value or Desirability of Real Estate Sellers’ Duties in Real Estate Transactions to Disclose Property Defects
