FAQ: When is the Seller’s Disclosure About Groundwater and Surface Water Rights required?TREC added language to contract forms to provide prospective buyers with relevant information on groundwater and surface water rights that are associated with a property. Accordingly, Paragraph 7 in most residential and farm and ranch TREC contracts has been updated to include a new paragraph that states that the seller must provide the Seller’s Disclosure About Groundwater and Surface Water Rights (TXR 1425, TREC 61-0) unless all of the following are true:
The seller is not aware of a water well on the property, in use or not in use.
The seller is not aware of a pond, lake, or water tank on the property.
The seller is not aware of any certificate of adjudication, certified filing, or permit for surface water rights associated with the property administered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
The seller is not aware that any groundwater rights to the property have been severed, sold, or leased in whole or in part.
The property receives water only from a municipality, municipal utility district or other special district, water supply corporation, or private water supply company, and the seller should indicate the source of water in the blank provided in the contract.
Note that the notice is not required for the Residential Condominium Contract (Resale) (TXR 1605, TREC 30-18) or either of the Texas REALTORS® New Residential Condominium Contract (Incomplete and Complete) (TXR 1608 & 1609).