Two laws, two different scopes

This trips people up because the two requirements arrived within months of each other and cover different property types.

The first is the New Jersey Law of Flood Risk Notification, P.L. 2023 c.93, signed July 3, 2023 and effective March 20, 2024. Codified at N.J.S.A. 56:8-19.2, it requires every seller of real property in New Jersey, residential or commercial, to answer the Flood Risk Addendum questions, currently numbered 109 through 117, before the purchaser becomes obligated under any contract. That obligation applies whether or not the seller completes the rest of the form.

The second is the New Jersey Real Estate Consumer Protection Enhancement Act, P.L. 2024 c.32, effective August 1, 2024. It requires all sellers of residential real property to complete and sign the Property Condition Disclosure Statement promulgated by the Division of Consumer Affairs under N.J.A.C. 13:45A-29.1. Questions 1 through 108 are now mandatory for residential sellers, answered to the best of the seller's knowledge unless otherwise stated.

What the form actually is

The current version is New Jersey Realtors Form 140, and it runs fourteen pages. It is organized in three parts.

Questions 1 through 108 cover the property itself: the roof, structural conditions, basement and crawl space, water and sewer, plumbing, heating and cooling, electrical, environmental conditions, and any known material defects. Questions 109 through 117 are the Flood Risk Addendum. Questions 118 through 136a form an addendum on statutory disclosures and other items.

A seller signs a separate acknowledgement for each portion completed. If a seller does not answer questions 1 through 108, which now applies only to non-residential sales, no acknowledgement is required for that portion, but the Flood Risk Addendum must still be completed and acknowledged.

The flood questions deserve their own attention

Questions 109 and 110 ask whether the property sits wholly or partially in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area, the 100-year floodplain, or a Moderate Risk Flood Hazard Area, the 500-year floodplain, according to current flood insurance rate maps. Sellers must verify those two answers, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection publishes a Flood Risk Notification Tool at flooddisclosure.nj.gov for exactly that purpose.

Questions 111 through 117 are answered based on the seller's actual knowledge. They cover flood history, prior flood damage, and whether flood insurance has been required on the property.

For anyone selling along the Hudson River waterfront in Edgewater, Weehawken, West New York, or North Bergen, or near the Hackensack River corridor in Teaneck and Ridgefield Park, this section is not a formality. Get the flood zone determination for the exact parcel rather than relying on a neighborhood impression.

Where sellers actually get exposed

The disclosure statement supplements the Consumer Fraud Act, which is the part worth understanding. Failure to comply with the flood disclosure requirement can support contract rescission and liability. That is a different category of risk than a renegotiated inspection credit.

Three patterns come up repeatedly.

Answering from memory rather than records. If a prior owner had a claim, or the property was in a different flood zone under an older map, the honest answer requires checking rather than recalling. Verify questions 109 and 110 with the state tool.

Assuming the form is the whole obligation. The Division of Consumer Affairs instructions state plainly that the seller is obligated to disclose any known material defects even if the printed form does not ask about them. The form is a floor, not a ceiling.

Treating an estate or investment sale as exempt. An executor selling an inherited home still completes the form to the best of their knowledge, and that knowledge is often limited. Saying so accurately is far better than guessing. The estate process itself is covered in Selling an Inherited Home in Bergen County.

Why disclosing more is usually the stronger position

Sellers often want to say as little as the form allows. In practice that is backwards.

A buyer who learns about a condition from the disclosure statement prices it into the offer. A buyer who learns about the same condition from their inspector on day 12 reopens the negotiation from a position of strength and suspicion, and now questions everything else you did not mention. The inspection phase is where deals get renegotiated, and a thorough disclosure is the cheapest insurance available against that.

It also shortens attorney review. A disclosure that is complete and specific gives the buyer's attorney less to probe.

On unpermitted work specifically, that interacts with the certificate of occupancy process in most Bergen and Hudson municipalities, which is covered in the certificate of occupancy guide.

What to do before you list

Complete the form early, not at contract. Working through fourteen pages three days before attorney review is how sellers end up guessing. Doing it during listing preparation gives you time to pull permits, locate service records, and get the flood determination.

Then reconcile it against your listing. If the disclosure says the roof is fifteen years old and the marketing says newer roof, someone will notice.

The Three Pillars Behind a Clean Sale

Disclosure is where timing, cash-flow, and property condition intersect, because what you disclose shapes what you net.

Frequently Asked Questions

About Scott Selleck

Scott Selleck is a dual-licensed New Jersey and Florida REALTOR and Broker Sales Associate leading The Selleck Group at Keller Williams City Views Realty. Licensed since 1993, with more than 500 transactions closed serving Bergen and Hudson County. He specializes in guiding longtime homeowners through home sales and New Jersey to Florida relocations with an education-first approach.