What Do Sellers Have to Disclose in Williamsburg, VA?

What do home sellers have to disclose in Williamsburg, Virginia?

Virginia is a buyer beware state. Sellers in the City of Williamsburg, James City County, and York County sign a Residential Property Disclosure Statement that makes no representations about the condition of the home, which puts the investigation on the buyer. A short list of situations still triggers a required written disclosure, including pending building code or zoning violations, methamphetamine manufacture, and parcels in a military air installation noise or accident potential zone. The Real Estate Board's current form took effect July 1, 2026.

By Jackie Berberabe | August 26, 2026

Here's the part that surprises almost everyone relocating from another state.

In a lot of states, the seller fills out a long questionnaire. Age of the roof. History of the HVAC. Every past leak.

Virginia does not work that way. Sellers here sign a short notice pointing you toward your own due diligence, and that's most of the story. The document is the Residential Property Disclosure Statement, and the Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act (Section 55.1-700 et seq. of the Code of Virginia) governs it.

This comes up on nearly every relocation call I take, because it changes how you spend your inspection window.

WHAT THE VIRGINIA DISCLOSURE FORM ACTUALLY SAYS

The form is a numbered list of items where the owner makes no representations. Nearly every line ends with a version of "purchasers are advised to exercise whatever due diligence a particular purchaser deems necessary."

Here's what the form disclaims, in plain language:

- Condition of the property and improvements, plus covenants and mineral rights
- Lot lines, setbacks, lot coverage, and whether you can expand or add structures
- Adjacent parcels, including zoning and permitted uses
- Historic district ordinances and any local review required before you alter or demolish
- Resource protection areas under the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act
- Registered sexual offenders
- Dam break inundation zones, impounding structures, and dams
- Wastewater systems, including type, size, and septic pump out costs
- Special flood hazard areas and whether flood insurance is required
- Conservation easements, community development authorities, and solar collection devices
- Marine clays, radon zones, defective drywall, and lead pipes
- Aircraft noise from a nearby public use airport
- Proximity to a military ground installation

Only the last one is new for 2026. Proximity to a military ground installation was added on the form revised for July 1, 2026, while the aircraft noise item took effect a year earlier, on July 1, 2025. Both are worth a second look around here given Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, Coast Guard Station Yorktown, and Cheatham Annex.

Historic district ordinances. In the City of Williamsburg, exterior work inside the Architectural Preservation District or the Corridor Protection District goes through the Architectural Review Board before permits are issued. If you're changing windows, siding, or paint colors, verify the requirements before you close.

Resource protection areas. James City County's Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance protects tidal wetlands, tidal shores, certain nontidal wetlands, and a 100 foot buffer landward of them. That buffer can limit clearing, grading, and where a shed, pool, or addition can go. County staff can confirm whether a parcel is affected.

"No representations" is not the same thing as "nothing to worry about." It means nobody is handing you the answers, so you go get them.

THE DISCLOSURES WILLIAMSBURG SELLERS STILL HAVE TO PUT IN WRITING

The buyer beware notice is the default, not the whole rule. Virginia carves out situations where a seller owes you an affirmative written disclosure on a Real Estate Board form:

1. Pending building code enforcement or zoning violations, when the owner has actual knowledge of a pending action affecting safe, decent, sanitary living conditions and the locality notified them in writing (Section 55.1-706).
2. Lis pendens, meaning a pending lawsuit filed against the property (Section 55.1-706.1).
3. Military air installation noise or accident potential zones. In a locality where a military air installation is located, the owner discloses whether the parcel sits in a designated zone on the official zoning map (Section 55.1-704). This comes up far more in Hampton and Virginia Beach than here, so ask whether it applies.
4. Methamphetamine manufacture, if the property was used to make meth and has not been cleaned up to state standards (Section 55.1-708).
5. Privately owned stormwater management facilities on the property (Section 55.1-708.1).
6. Repetitive risk loss, meaning a history of repeated flood damage claims (Section 55.1-708.2).
7. Septic system operating permit validity (Section 32.1-164.1:1).
8. New construction. The first sale of a dwelling is exempt from most of the Act, but the builder still discloses known material defects that would violate the building code (Section 55.1-702.B).
9. Lead based paint. For homes built before 1978, the federal disclosure applies regardless.

One more isn't in the Act but shows up in most local transactions. If the home sits in a mandatory HOA or condo association, and around Williamsburg that includes Kingsmill, Ford's Colony, Greensprings West, and Scott's Pond, the seller pays for the resale disclosure package or condo resale certificate, plus the HOA transfer fee. Initiation fees and capital contributions are typically the buyer's cost. I break that down in HOA fees when buying a home in Williamsburg. 

A point I make to every seller I list a home for: the disclosure act does not give you permission to lie. Making no representations is allowed. Answering a direct question falsely is not, and neither is taking steps to hide a problem, because Virginia treats concealment by conduct as fraud. Your listing agent also carries a duty under Virginia Code 54.1-2131 to disclose material adverse facts about the property's physical condition that the agent actually knows.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF WHEN THE FORM TELLS YOU NOTHING

If you're buying, your due diligence period does the work the disclosure form doesn't.

Start with a general home inspection, which runs about $400 to $700 here. Add a radon test, and a pool inspection if the home has one. Well and septic evaluations are typically the seller's responsibility unless your contract says otherwise.

You'll also want a termite and moisture inspection, which covers wood destroying insects, moisture readings throughout the crawl space and structural wood, and active fungus growth. The moisture portion is not a mold inspection. A mold inspection is separate, so order it on its own if that concerns you. It's usually ordered once a home is under contract, because most lenders want it completed within 30 days of closing.

Then make the calls the form tells you to make. Check the flood zone. Ask James City County or York County about resource protection areas and septic permits, and the City of Williamsburg about historic district review. If schools factor into your planning, verify current attendance boundaries with Williamsburg-James City County Schools, since new boundaries take effect fall 2027.

If you're selling, know what the form does and does not buy you. It limits your representations. It does not stop a buyer from finding a failing HVAC system and asking for a price cut. Sellers who reach closing with the fewest surprises know their home's condition before the sign goes in the yard, which is the same math behind what it costs to sell a house in Williamsburg. 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Does Virginia require a seller's disclosure statement?
Yes, but not the kind most people expect. Virginia requires the seller to deliver a Residential Property Disclosure Statement, a buyer beware notice in which the owner makes no representations about the condition of the property and the buyer is directed to complete their own due diligence before settlement.

Does a Williamsburg seller have to tell me about a leaky roof or a bad HVAC system?
No, not on the disclosure form. Under the Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act, the owner makes no representations about the condition of the home or its systems, so there's no duty to volunteer a known roof leak or a failing HVAC system. What a seller cannot do is answer a direct question falsely or take steps to hide a problem, because Virginia treats concealment by conduct the same as an outright lie. The listing agent also has a separate duty under Virginia Code 54.1-2131 to disclose material adverse facts about the physical condition of the property that the agent actually knows, which is why direct questions and a thorough home inspection matter here.

What changed on the Virginia disclosure form on July 1, 2026?
The July 1, 2026 revision added one item: proximity to a military ground installation, which tells buyers to research potential noise and other effects of military operations themselves. The aircraft noise item just above it is often mistaken for new, but it took effect July 1, 2025, and points buyers to locality maps and the Virginia Department of Aviation.

Who pays for the HOA resale disclosure package in Williamsburg?
The seller orders and pays for the resale disclosure package or condo resale certificate, along with the HOA transfer fee. Buyers typically pay any initiation fee or capital contribution charged at closing. Those amounts vary by community, so it's worth confirming early.

Can a buyer cancel if the seller never delivers the disclosure statement?
Yes, within limits. Under Virginia Code 55.1-709, when the required disclosure is delivered after the contract is ratified, your sole remedy is to terminate the contract without penalty, and you have to act within three days of delivery in person or electronically, or five days after the postmark if it was mailed. That right also ends at settlement, at occupancy, when you apply for a mortgage loan under an application that says so, or if you sign a waiver. Ask your settlement agent or a real estate attorney about the window that applies.

PLANNING A MOVE TO THE WILLIAMSBURG AREA?

Virginia's disclosure form is short by design, so your questions and your inspection window are what protect you.

I put together the Williamsburg Military Relocation Guide, loaded with local insights, tips, and the details that make a PCS or relocation go smoothly. Grab your copy here: https://jacquelinedeleon.lofty.me/military-relocation-guide

If you're thinking about a move, call or text me at 757-870-1902.

One note before you act on this. This post explains how Virginia law generally works. It isn't legal advice, and it can't account for the facts of your transaction. Statutes and deadlines change, contract terms vary, and outcomes often turn on details specific to your deal. Before you act on anything here, especially anything involving terminating a contract, an earnest money deposit, a refund, or a possible claim, talk with a Virginia real estate attorney. I'm glad to refer you to one.

ABOUT JACKIE BERBERABE

Jackie Berberabe is a licensed real estate agent in the Commonwealth of Virginia and a Military Relocation Professional with Real Broker LLC, serving Greater Williamsburg, including James City County and York County. With more than 20 years of experience, she helps military families, relocating buyers, and local sellers move through every step from preparation to closing, with deep knowledge of VA loans and the local market. Reach Jackie at 757-870-1902 or jackie@goodtobeehome.com. Real Broker LLC, 855-450-0442.