What disclosures do Colorado Springs home sellers need to think about?

Colorado sellers disclose what they actually know about the home, mainly on the state's Seller's Property Disclosure form, plus a few items Colorado law and the standard contract add: metro district and HOA details, the source of water, radon test history, lead-based paint for homes built before 1978, and known meth contamination. You aren't expected to inspect or guess. I recommend pulling together the records you have, fixing permit problems before you list, and answering every question truthfully. A complete, honest disclosure builds buyer confidence; gaps create doubt.

What Colorado requires you to disclose

Most of what you'll disclose goes on one form, but a few items come from separate state and federal rules.

The Seller's Property Disclosure form

Colorado's Real Estate Commission publishes the Seller's Property Disclosure. The current version has been required on contracts written since January 1, 2026. It walks through the home system by system: the structure, roof, appliances, electrical, heating and cooling, water, sewer or septic, flooding and drainage, zoning and permits, environmental issues, radon, HOA, and metro district. It ends with a space for any other adverse material facts you know about.

Two details matter. You answer based on your current actual knowledge, and the form isn't a warranty. And the standard contract lets the buyer end the deal if you disclose a new adverse material fact after signing, within five days of receiving it.

Items Colorado law adds

Colorado statutes require specific notices about metro and special taxing districts (including the district's official website for most districts formed since 2000), HOAs, the source of water, radon, oil and gas activity, and meth labs. Lead-based paint disclosure for homes built before 1978 is a federal rule: you share what you know and any reports you have, give the buyer the EPA pamphlet, and offer a chance to test.

Colorado law also says some things are not material facts, including a death, suicide, or felony that happened on the property. You aren't required to disclose those.

Disclose what you know, not what you think you know

In my experience, the most useful way to think about the form is this: disclose what you materially know, not what you think you know. If you replaced the water heater, had a leak repaired, or put on a new roof after a hailstorm, that's work you've had done, and it belongs on the form. If you only suspect something, the form doesn't ask you to speculate. Answer what you know, and say you don't know when you don't.

That also means you can't skip something because it was fixed. A repaired problem is still part of the home's history, and the form asks about it.

What Colorado Springs sellers most often need to think through

Hail, roofs, and insurance claims

Hail is a fact of life here, and the form asks about it directly: past hail, wind, fire, or flood damage; the roof's age; and any property insurance claim, paid or not. If you've had a roof replaced or a claim filed, list it. Your insurer's claims history may also show up when the buyer shops for insurance, so it's better for the buyer to hear it from you first. If you're weighing a new roof before listing, see whether to replace the roof before selling.

Work done without a permit

The form asks whether any additions or alterations were made without a building permit. In El Paso County, permits run through the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department (PPRBD), and you can look up a home's permit history on PPRBD's permit search.

My recommendation is to deal with permit problems before you list. Buyers have options in this market, and it needs to be right. That isn't an absolute, but more often than not, an unpermitted basement or addition makes buyers worry and see it as a project they'll have to take on.

PPRBD's rules are worth knowing before you decide:

• When unpermitted work is found, PPRBD can issue a stop-work order and record a notice of non-compliance against the property, which acts as a lien until the work is permitted.
• An investigation fee applies when work begins without a required permit, equal to two times the permit fee.
• A homeowner can pull a permit only for their own primary residence. A hired contractor has to pull their own permit, and work on a rental needs a licensed contractor.

Radon

El Paso County is in the EPA's highest radon zone, and El Paso County Public Health reports that more than 40% of homes tested in the county between 2005 and 2023 had high levels. Colorado requires you to share any radon tests you know about, the results, and any mitigation system. Buyers also receive the state's radon brochure.

Metro districts and HOAs

Many Colorado Springs neighborhoods, especially newer ones, sit in a metro district, an HOA, or both. If yours is in a metro district, Colorado requires you to give the buyer the district's official website. Having your HOA documents and any metro district information ready keeps the buyer's review moving. For background, see what a metro district is.

Wells and septic

If the home has a well or septic system, disclose what you know about its condition and repairs. El Paso County no longer requires a septic inspection at sale, so your records carry more weight than they used to. See buying a home with a well or septic system in El Paso County for what buyers will check.

Drainage and soils

The form asks about flooding, drainage problems, and expansive soils or earth movement. If you've had foundation work, regrading, or a sump pump installed, list it and keep the paperwork.

Pull together your records before you list

My advice is simple: pull together what you have. If you can't get something, you can't get it. But fill out the form truthfully.

Records worth gathering:

• Receipts and contractor invoices for repairs and upgrades
• Permits and final inspections (from your files or PPRBD's search)
• Roof replacement paperwork and any warranty
• Insurance claim paperwork
• Any inspection reports, including a pre-listing inspection
• Radon test results and mitigation details
• HOA documents, metro district information, and well or septic records

For anything you know about but haven't fixed, getting a contractor's quote is worth it. A quote doesn't commit you to selling as-is or discounting the price. It means you go into negotiations with real numbers. See what to repair before selling for how to decide.

Why a complete disclosure helps you sell

Disclosure is a two-way street. On one purchase, the listing agent told my buyer that everything from a previous inspection had been taken care of, but the seller wouldn't provide the report. All it did was create doubt and reduce my buyer's confidence in the house.

Buyers want to see what's been done and who did it. A clear disclosure with records behind it tells them the home has been looked after, and it keeps surprises from showing up during the inspection period, when they're hardest to negotiate.

What happens if something isn't disclosed

Leaving out something you knew about can give the buyer grounds to end the contract before closing or to bring a claim after it. Under Colorado law, the time to bring a fraud or concealment claim generally runs three years from when the problem is discovered, not from closing.

Selling "as is" doesn't change your duty to disclose. As-is tells the buyer you won't make repairs; it doesn't excuse leaving out what you know. See selling as-is or making repairs first. The same is true if you sell without an agent or to a cash buyer.

A simple way to decide what to put on the form

• If you know about it, disclose it.
• If you fixed it, disclose it and attach or offer the records.
• If you're not sure work was permitted, check PPRBD's permit search before you list, and deal with any gap first.
• If you don't know, say so rather than guess.
• If you're unsure whether something counts as an adverse material fact, ask your agent, and take legal questions to a real estate attorney.

What could change the answer

• You're selling for someone else. If you're selling as a personal representative, trustee, or agent under a power of attorney, you may know little about the home's history. You still disclose what you do know, and the form allows "don't know" answers.
• The home was built before 1978. The federal lead-based paint disclosure and pamphlet apply in addition to the state form.
• You're selling land or a property with extra structures. Colorado has a separate disclosure form for land and a supplement for additional structures such as barns or detached shops.
• The forms change. The Real Estate Commission updates its forms periodically, so confirm you're using the current version when you list.

When to talk with a professional

A real estate attorney is the right call for any question about whether something legally has to be disclosed, or if you're worried about a past problem. PPRBD can tell you what it will take to permit earlier work, and a licensed contractor can give you the quote. Your insurance agent can explain your claims history.

Sources

• Colorado Division of Real Estate, Real Estate Broker Contracts and Forms (Seller's Property Disclosure (Residential) and Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate (Residential), for use on or after January 1, 2026)
• Colorado Real Estate Commission, Commission Position 27: Broker Disclosure of Adverse Material Facts
• Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 38, Article 35.7: Purchaser Disclosures (metro districts, HOAs, meth, water, oil and gas, radon)
• Colorado Revised Statutes, § 38-35.5-101: Psychologically impacted property
• Colorado Revised Statutes, § 13-80-101 and § 13-80-108 (limitation periods)
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Real Estate Disclosures about Potential Lead Hazards
• Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Radon and real estate
• El Paso County Public Health, Radon
• El Paso County Public Health, 2026 OWTS program updates
• Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, Homeowner Permits, Fee Schedule, and Permit Search
• Colorado Bar Association, The Colorado Lawyer, Is Your Client Really Selling Their Home "As Is"?