If someone has died in a Texas home, does the seller have to disclose it to a buyer?
Generally, no. But Texas law draws an important distinction based on how the person died and whether the death was related to the condition of the property.
Texas Property Code §5.008(c) specifically addresses certain deaths and provides an important exception to the seller’s disclosure obligations. However, the statute is narrower than many sellers and buyers might realize.
What Does Texas Property Code §5.008 Actually Say?
Texas Property Code §5.008(c) provides:
“A seller or seller’s agent shall have no duty to make a disclosure or release information related to whether a death by natural causes, suicide, or accident unrelated to the condition of the property occurred on the property or whether a previous occupant had, may have had, has, or may have AIDS, HIV related illnesses, or HIV infection.”
In other words, Texas law specifically exempts deaths from natural causes, suicide, and an accident unrelated to the condition of the property from the seller’s disclosure obligation. That does not, however, mean that every circumstance involving a death is automatically exempt from disclosure.
What If the Death Was Caused by a Problem With the Property?
This is where the distinction becomes important.
The statute specifically refers to an accident “unrelated to the condition of the property.” If a death resulted from a known property condition or defect, the underlying property condition may create a separate disclosure obligation. For example, consider a situation in which a person died because of a known structural defect, dangerous electrical condition, defective stairway, or other hazardous condition of the property. The issue is not simply whether someone died at the property. The issue becomes whether there is a known condition of the property that must be disclosed. Sellers should therefore avoid treating §5.008(c) as a blanket exemption for anything involving a death.
What About a Homicide?
Homicide is a more complicated issue.
Texas Property Code §5.008(c) specifically identifies natural causes, suicide, and accidents unrelated to the condition of the property. Homicide is not included in that list. At the same time, the statute does not expressly state that every homicide occurring at a property must be affirmatively disclosed to a future buyer. That makes homicide a situation that should be evaluated carefully based on the specific facts, rather than assuming either that disclosure is always required or that disclosure is never required.
Where there is uncertainty, particularly involving a notorious or widely publicized event, obtaining legal advice before responding to a buyer or completing a transaction is prudent.
What If the Buyer Asks Directly?
This is an important distinction.
There is a difference between having no duty to volunteer certain information and making a false statement when asked a direct question. For example, a seller may not be required to volunteer that someone died of natural causes in the home. That does not mean a seller should provide an inaccurate answer if a buyer specifically asks about the property’s history. A seller who chooses to answer a direct question should make sure the response is truthful and accurate. Depending on the circumstances, a knowingly false statement or material misrepresentation can create legal issues separate from the statutory disclosure exemption. Real estate license holders also have professional obligations under the Texas Real Estate License Act, including obligations concerning honesty, misrepresentation, and significant property defects.
The safest approach is to distinguish between information that does not have to be disclosed and information that can safely be denied. Those are not necessarily the same thing.
What About the Seller’s Disclosure Notice?
Texas has two versions of the standard Seller’s Disclosure Notice in active use: the Texas Real Estate Commission’s own promulgated form, and the TXR-1406 form published by Texas REALTORS®, which Prominus and most member brokerages use. The current TXR-1406 form is revised as of June 15, 2026, and states on its face that it “complies with and contains additional disclosures which exceed the minimum disclosures required by the Code.”
Neither version includes a line item asking whether a death occurred on the property, for the same reason: §5.008(c) specifically exempts that information from the disclosure requirement. This is an important point because not every legally required disclosure appears on the standard form. Sellers should answer the disclosure notice accurately and completely based on their knowledge of the property and should not assume that the form eliminates other disclosure obligations.
Should a Seller Voluntarily Disclose a Death?
If a death clearly falls within the exemption in §5.008(c), Texas law generally does not require the seller to disclose it. Whether to voluntarily disclose the information can be a risk-management and transaction-strategy decision, depending on the circumstances.
For example, additional consideration may be appropriate when:
- The death was widely reported in the media.
- The property has become associated with a notorious event.
- The buyer specifically asks about the property’s history.
- There is uncertainty about whether the death was related to the condition of the property.
- The circumstances could reasonably affect the buyer’s decision to purchase the property.
Voluntary disclosure is not necessarily required simply because information might be interesting or concerning to a buyer. The goal is to understand the actual legal obligation and avoid creating unnecessary issues through speculation, inaccurate statements, or incomplete answers.
Should a Seller Voluntarily Disclose a Death?
Texas law does not require a seller to disclose every death that has occurred on a property. Under Texas Property Code §5.008(c), a seller or seller’s agent has no duty to disclose information about whether a death by natural causes, suicide, or accident unrelated to the condition of the property occurred on the property. But that statutory language should not be expanded into a blanket rule covering every circumstance involving a death. The circumstances surrounding the death matter. The condition of the property matters. And what a seller or agent says in response to a buyer’s questions matters.
For sellers and real estate professionals, the best approach is to understand the statutory exemption, distinguish it from separate property-condition disclosure obligations, and obtain legal guidance when the circumstances fall outside the straightforward situations addressed by the statute.
Prominus Real Estate believes real estate transactions should be handled with more than a form and a signature. Understanding the legal issues surrounding a transaction is part of what it means to Expect More from your REALTOR®.
This article is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Disclosure obligations are fact-specific, and parties should consult qualified legal counsel regarding the circumstances of a particular transaction.
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