The Form That Comes with the House
ORC 5302.30 — the seller's disclosure form, and the three business days a late one opens
Every sale of a house in Ohio comes with a form the seller fills in about what they know is wrong with it. The form is a creature of one section, and the section is more about timing than about content: when the form is delivered decides what the buyer can do with it.
Who handles this in Ohio: legal aid programs, lawyer referral and the state offices, listed in the Ohio directory.
The seller completes the form and delivers it as soon as practicable. Every person who intends to transfer residential real property completes the property disclosure form the director of commerce prescribes, disclosing material matters relating to the physical condition of the property within the transferor's actual knowledge, and delivers a signed and dated copy to each prospective buyer or the buyer's agent as soon as is practicable.
Actual knowledge, not a warranty. The form states what the transferor actually knows, and it carries the statement that it is not a warranty of any kind by the transferor or any agent. A transferor is not liable in damages for an error, inaccuracy or omission in the form that was not within the transferor's actual knowledge, and where an item is unknown the transferor may make a good faith approximation of it.
Three business days after a late form arrives. Where the buyer did not receive the form before entering into the transfer agreement, the buyer may rescind the agreement by delivering a written, signed and dated document of rescission to the seller or the seller's agent within three business days following the date the buyer or the buyer's agent receives the form.
But never after the closing, and never more than thirty days after acceptance. The rescission is available only until the earlier of the date thirty days after the seller accepted the buyer's offer and the date of the closing. A form that never arrives does not keep the door open indefinitely: it closes on the thirtieth day or at the closing table, whichever comes first.
On rescission the buyer is entitled to the return of any deposit made in connection with the transfer, and the seller returns it. Rescission under the section is a return to the starting line rather than a claim for damages.
| The event | What follows |
|---|---|
| The eventForm delivered before the agreement is signed | What followsNo rescission right under the section |
| The eventForm delivered after the agreement is signed | What followsThree business days from receipt to rescind, by a written, signed and dated document |
| The eventThe outer limit | What followsThirty days after acceptance, or the closing, whichever is earlier |
| The eventOn rescission | What followsThe deposit comes back |
The transfers the section exempts, among them foreclosure and court ordered transfers and transfers between co owners, what a buyer may do about a defect the seller knew of and left off the form, which is a claim of a different kind rather than a rescission under this section, and the inspection contingency in the contract itself are not on this page. Whether a particular delivery was in time, and whether a particular omission was knowing, are questions for a licensed Ohio attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- ORC 5302.30 — The residential property disclosure form, and the three business days
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Ohio attorney.