New Disclosure Requirements Regarding Low-Cost Fire-Hardening Retrofits

By David Hamerslough and Victoria B. Naidorf

Beginning July 1, 2025, sellers of property meeting certain criteria listed below will need to disclose whether certain low-cost retrofits developed by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) have been completed. These new disclosures are required in addition to the fire-hardening/vulnerability disclosures that have previously been required regarding property features that potentially make the house vulnerable to wildfires and flying embers. 

Those retrofits that sellers must disclose that either have or have not been completed during their ownership are as follows:

1. Has the roof been replaced with a Class A fire-rated roof? 
2. Have any spaces between your roof covering and sheathing been blocked with noncombustible materials (a.k.a. bird stops)? 
3. Has a noncombustible gutter cover been installed on gutters to prevent the accumulation of leaves and debris in the gutter?
4. Have the chimney and stovepipe outlets been covered with a noncombustible, corrosion-resistant metal mesh screen (spark arrestor), with 3/8-inch to 1/2-inch openings? 
5. Have ember- and flame-resistant vents been installed? 
6. Have gaps greater than 1/8-inch around exposed rafters been caulked and plugged to block and prevent ember intrusion into the attic or other enclosed spaces? 
7. Have gaps in exterior siding greater than 1/8-inch in siding been caulked or plugged and have damaged boards, including those with dry rot, been replaced?
8. Have weather-stripping compliant with UL Standard 10C to gaps greater than 1/8-inch been installed between garage doors and doorframes to prevent ember intrusion?
9. Have windows been replaced with multi-paned windows that have at least one pane of tempered glass? 
10. Have siding and/or decks been replaced with compliant noncombustible, ignition-resistant, or other OSFM Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Products? 
11. Have openings to operable skylights been covered with a noncombustible metal mesh screen with openings in the screen that do not exceed 1/8 inch?
12. Has a minimum 6-inch metal flashing been applied vertically on the exterior of the wall at the deck-to-wall intersection to protect the combustible siding material? 

A seller will be required to provide all of these new disclosures as well as the previously required fire-hardening vulnerability disclosures if the property meets all four of the following criteria:

1. The property was constructed prior to 2010;
2. The property is located in a High or Very High fire hazard severity zone; 
3. The property is residential one-to-four, a common-interest development unit such as a condominium, or a manufactured home; and
4.  The seller must complete a Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement (“TDS”).

C.A.R. has revised its Fire-Hardening And Defensible Space Disclosure And Addendum (“FHDS”) to meet this new disclosure requirement. Sellers should only use the FHDS with a revision date of 06/2025 or later. PRDS will be revising its Fire-Hardening/Defensible Space Disclosure And Addendum (PRDS FHDS) to address these new disclosure requirements. 

The following are some issues to consider with respect to this latest statutory disclosure requirement: 

• Fire-hardening disclosures, including those related to low-cost retrofits, are part of the law relating to the real estate Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS). The same exemptions and cancellation rights exist with respect to the fire-hardening/low-cost retrofit disclosures. If the required disclosure is delivered after the buyer has submitted an offer, the buyer will have a three- or five-day right of cancellation from the date of delivery of the disclosure based upon the method of delivery (in person vs. electronically). If the disclosure is not delivered, ongoing cancellation rights on the part of the buyer may exist until it is delivered or within three or five days after delivery is effectuated.

• As with other disclosures, the questions should be answered fully and completely. For example, if a question is not answered, then a buyer may be in a position to request fully completed disclosures, triggering a new right of cancellation if delivery occurs after the buyer’s offer.  Thus, the best practice is for seller’s agents to make sure all of the questions have been answered before delivering the disclosure form to anyone.

• The newly required disclosures of low-cost retrofits differs from the previously required disclosures regarding fire-hardening vulnerabilities. The latter disclosures required sellers to respond if they are “aware” of various features that may make the home vulnerable to wildfire and flying embers. Responding to questions based on one’s awareness is the same requirement for questions in the TDS, the Seller Property Questionnaire (SPQ), and/or the PRDS Supplemental Seller’s Checklist (SSC). If a seller is not aware of or does not have knowledge of the information that is being requested in those disclosure forms, then the question can be answered “No.”
   
  However, the new disclosures regarding low-cost retrofits require sellers to affirmatively state whether they have “completed” any of the retrofits during the time they have owned the property. The retrofits that are to be disclosed include, in some instances, very specific types of materials such as Class A fire-rated roof, compliant noncombustible, ignition-resistant, or other OSFM Wildland Urban Interface (“WUI”) products, and metal mesh screens of a particular size. Sellers need to understand the specificity of these terms. Sellers need to make sure that their disclosures accurately reflect whether their completed low-cost retrofits meet the identified criteria. Sellers should also be aware that if only a portion of the property has one of the retrofits, their response needs to clarify that the retrofit was not made to the entire property. For example, if only a portion of the roof but not the entire roof was replaced with Class A fire-rated roofing material, this distinction should be made clear by the seller in responding to the question. There is a section in the FHDS entitled “Explanation/Clarification” for the seller to do so.
  
  A good practice for sellers would be to attach all documentation regarding any retrofit to the FHDS so that the documentation is part of the initial disclosure. 

• Since the questioned work needs to meet the specific language of the statute, there may well be an additional disclosure as to whether or not the work was done with or without permits and/or by an appropriately licensed contractor.  If sellers know that the completed retrofits were done without permits and/or by unlicensed personnel, it would be a good practice for sellers to disclose that information in the “Explanation/Clarification” portion of the disclosure form.  

• The low-cost retrofits are not a point-of-sale requirement. Sellers are not statutorily required to complete any of the retrofits to sell their property; they only have to disclose whether any retrofits have or have not been completed by them during their ownership.  Please also note that the current language in both the C.A.R. and PRDS purchase contract forms do not require sellers to complete these retrofits. 

• Please remember that disclosures regarding fire-hardening vulnerabilities and low-cost retrofits are separate and distinct from disclosures and agreements regarding defensible space. The law has not changed regarding defensible space disclosures and agreements, and that subject is not addressed in any detail in this article.

• The new disclosures regarding the low-cost retrofits are required by statute, but sellers have a common-law duty to disclose all known material facts that is separate and distinct from any statutory obligation to make specific disclosures. Therefore, if the property does not meet the criteria for the statutory disclosure (such as the property is not in a High or Very High fire hazard severity zone), sellers should consider fully disclosing those low-cost retrofits that were completed during their ownership. In addition, the best practice would be for sellers to provide buyers with any historical documents regarding such retrofits that may have been completed either by the seller or by a prior owner. 

Disclosures regarding fire hardening as well as those related to defensible space continue to evolve because we unfortunately continue to experience more wildfires. All of us are already aware of the challenges that buyers face with respect to obtaining insurance on property they are purchasing even if it is not in a High or Very High fire-hazard zone.  It is not known what impact, if any, these new disclosures will have on insurance underwriting standards.  

Both the C.A.R. and PRDS FHDS forms identify websites where a buyer and/or seller can obtain more information regarding the issues related to fire hardening and defensible space. Buyers and sellers should investigate these issues with a qualified source.   

We do not recommend that agents research and/or analyze any retrofit issues via a generic Internet search. The starting point for determining whether a property is located within a High or Very High fire-hazard zone is a qualified Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement provider. The discussion of these issues in such a report will also provide appropriate resources that sellers and buyers can consult if there are any questions.  Determining whether or not any completed retrofit work actually meets the material and size specifications of the new disclosure laws should best be made by licensed construction professionals.