The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2024 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Title 27 : Property
Chapter 005 : Conveyance of Real Estate
Subchapter 002 : EXECUTION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
(Cite as: 27 V.S.A. § 380)-
§ 380. Disclosure of information; conveyance of real estate
(a) Prior to or as part of a contract for the conveyance of real property, the seller shall provide the buyer with the following information:
(1) whether the real property is located in a Federal Emergency Management Agency mapped special flood hazard area;
(2) whether the real property is located in a Federal Emergency Management Agency mapped moderate flood hazard area;
(3) whether the real property was subject to flooding or flood damage while the seller possessed the property, including flood damage from inundation or from flood-related erosion or landslide damage; and
(4) whether the seller maintains flood insurance on the real property.
(b) The failure of the seller to provide the buyer with the information required under subsection (a) of this section is grounds for the buyer to terminate the contract prior to transfer of title or occupancy, whichever occurs earlier.
(c) A buyer of real estate who fails to receive the information required to be disclosed by a seller under subsection (a) of this section may bring an action to recover from the seller the amount of the buyer’s damages and reasonable attorney’s fees. The buyer may also seek punitive damages when the seller knowingly failed to provide the required information.
(d) A seller shall not be liable for damages under this section for any error, inaccuracy, or omission of any information required to be disclosed to the buyer under subsection (a) of this section when the error, inaccuracy, or omission was based on information provided by a public body or by another person with a professional license or special knowledge who provided a written report that the seller reasonably believed to be correct and that was provided by the seller to the buyer.
(e) Noncompliance with the requirements of this section shall not affect the marketability of title of a real property. (Added 2023, No. 181 (Adj. Sess.), § 102, eff. June 17, 2024.)
