Flood History/Flood Risk: Southern Environmental Law Center Petition to North Carolina Real Estate Commission Addressing Disclosures

The Southern Environmental Law Center (“SELC”) submitted a Petition to the North Carolina Real Estate Commission asking that the North Carolina Residential Property and Owners’ Association Disclosure Statement (“Disclosure Statement”) be amended to require the disclosure of a property’s flood history and flood risk.

The SELC filed the Petition on behalf of the following organizations:

• Natural Resources Defense Council
• North Carolina Justice Center
• MDC, Inc.
• North Carolina Disaster Recovery and Resilience School
• Roberson County Church and Community Center
• NC Field

(Collectively, “SELC”)

The Petition argues that the North Carolina Real Estate Commission only requires that property sellers disclose whether a home is in a flood plain or subject to a flood hazard. The Petition deems this language as falling outside of best practices for flood hazard disclosure. It argues that such a disclosure would not require identification of relevant issues such as:

• A property’s actual damages
• Cost of flood insurance
• Whether previous owners have ever received federal disaster assistance

SELC argues in support of its Petition that providing buyers such information would enable them to make fully informed decisions addressing:

• Risk of flooding at the property
• Needed investments in order to address the risk of flooding

Arguments of the Petition include:

• Flooding in North Carolina will continue to worsen with climate change
• The proposed disclosures will provide North Carolina homebuyers with critical information regarding flood risk
• The proposed amendments will empower homebuyers to mitigate the risks of a flood-prone home
• Strong, bi-partisan support for flood disclosure exists in North Carolina

The Petition requests that the North Carolina Real Estate Commission initiate a rulemaking to amend the Disclosure Statement to require the disclosure of a property’s flood hazard and flood risk as SELC outlines.

A copy of the Petition can be downloaded here.