SPQ in California: Over 50 Questions Sellers Often Miss

The SPQ in California real estate is the Seller Property Questionnaire, a supplemental disclosure form published by the California Association of REALTORS® and used in most residential sales. It fills in gaps the Transfer Disclosure Statement leaves open, covering everything from insurance claims to deaths on the property. Sellers should answer every question based on actual knowledge and attach supporting documents. Buyers should read it closely and let it guide their inspection priorities, not replace them.

TL;DR:

• Sellers should complete the SPQ early, ideally before listing, to identify potential issues and avoid rushed, incomplete disclosures during escrow.
• The SPQ covers non-physical issues like insurance claims, deaths, disputes, and government notices, complementing the physical focus of the Transfer Disclosure Statement.
• Providing detailed, specific answers with supporting documents reduces the risk of legal disputes and protects sellers if they exercised ordinary care and relied on professional reports.
• Most standard residential sellers in California are required to complete both the TDS and the SPQ, except in specific exempt transactions like foreclosures or transfers by law.
• Buyers must thoroughly review, question, and verify disclosed items, requesting documentation and clarifying vague answers before removing contingencies or proceeding to close.

Table of Contents

• What the SPQ Is and Who Publishes It
• How the SPQ Differs From the Transfer Disclosure Statement
• What the SPQ Actually Asks: Categories and Sample Questions
• Who Must Complete the SPQ, and Common Exemptions
• Legal Duties, Seller Liability, and the Actual Knowledge Standard
• How to Complete the SPQ: A Seller’s Checklist and Workflow
• Common Mistakes That Lead to Post-Closing Disputes
• A California REALTOR’s Notes on Getting the SPQ Right
• The Playbook Most Sellers Never Get
• Let a Local Expert Guide Your Disclosure Process
• Where to Find the Original Forms and Statutes
• Sources
• FAQ

What the SPQ Is and Who Publishes It

The Seller Property Questionnaire comes from the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.), the trade organization that drafts and revises the majority of standard forms used in California residential transactions. C.A.R. periodically updates the SPQ’s language and question categories, and current versions circulate through brokerages statewide as part of the standard listing package. You will not find “SPQ” anywhere in the California Civil Code. It is not a statute. It is standard industry practice, built into the paperwork flow through the Residential Purchase Agreement (RPA), which typically references the SPQ as part of the disclosures a seller agrees to provide.

That distinction trips up a lot of first-time sellers. They assume every form in the disclosure packet carries the same legal weight as the Transfer Disclosure Statement. It does not, but that doesn’t make it optional in practice. Nearly every California listing agent hands sellers an SPQ because buyers, their agents, and title companies now expect to see it. Skip it, and you raise a flag that makes buyers nervous for no good reason.

The SPQ exists because the TDS, while legally mandatory, was written decades ago and focuses narrowly on physical defects and mechanical systems. Real estate transactions since then have gotten more complicated. Solar leases, homeowner association disputes, government notices, deaths in the home, methamphetamine contamination orders. None of that fits neatly into the TDS format, so the industry built a second form to catch it.

Timing matters here. Most sellers complete the SPQ at one of two points:

• At listing, when the agent walks the seller through the property history before marketing begins. This is the smarter window because it gives sellers time to pull old inspection reports, permits, and insurance records without a closing clock ticking.
• Once in escrow, after an offer is accepted, when the buyer’s agent or the transaction coordinator requests it as part of the standard disclosure package.

Agents who ask sellers to complete the SPQ early tend to catch problems before they become deal breakers. A seller who remembers a roof leak from three winters ago, mentioned casually during a listing consultation, is a seller who avoids a rescission claim eighteen months later. Waiting until escrow to think through these questions almost always produces rushed, incomplete answers. If you’re preparing to list, understanding how the listing agreement incorporates disclosure obligations is worth reading before you sign anything.

How the SPQ Differs From the Transfer Disclosure Statement

The Transfer Disclosure Statement is state law. The SPQ is not, and confusing the two leads sellers to either over-rely on one form or under-prepare for the other.

California Civil Code §1102 requires sellers of most 1-to-4-unit residential properties to complete a TDS. That form focuses almost entirely on the physical condition of the property: roof, foundation, plumbing, electrical, appliances, and known material defects in those systems. It is short, standardized statewide, and courts treat it as the backbone of California disclosure law. If a seller lies on a TDS about a cracked foundation, that is a straightforward, well-litigated category of dispute.

The SPQ picks up everything the TDS was never designed to cover. Where the TDS asks “is the roof leaking,” the SPQ asks about matters with no physical inspection trail at all:

• Insurance claims filed on the property, even for damage that was fully repaired
• Lawsuits, boundary disputes, or neighbor conflicts tied to the property
• Deaths that occurred on the property within the timeframe Civil Code §1710.2 addresses
• Government notices, code violations, or orders, including methamphetamine contamination designations
• HOA assessments, CC&R violations, or pending association litigation
• Title issues, easements, or encroachments not yet resolved

Pro Tip: Think of the TDS as answering “what’s wrong with the house” and the SPQ as answering “what’s happened around the house.” Sellers who mentally separate these two categories fill out both forms faster and with fewer contradictions between them.

The full California disclosure packet usually includes several other pieces beyond these two forms: the Natural Hazard Disclosure report identifying flood, fire, and earthquake zones, the preliminary title report showing liens and easements, and the Request for Repairs (RFR) documentation tracking any known issues and their resolution. Reviewing a natural hazard disclosure alongside the SPQ gives buyers a fuller picture, since hazard zoning and seller-reported history often intersect, particularly around fire risk and flood claims.

What the SPQ Actually Asks: Categories and Sample Questions

The SPQ follows a consistent structure across its multiple pages: a statement beginning “Are you (Seller) aware of…” followed by a yes/no checkbox, and if the answer is yes, a line requiring an explanation. Some versions run over 50 individual questions across a dozen or more categories, and sellers who skim through it in ten minutes almost always miss something they later regret leaving blank.

The categories break down roughly like this:

1. Reports and documents on file — prior inspection reports, pest control reports, engineering studies, or environmental assessments the seller has ever commissioned or received.
2. Statutory disclosure items — deaths on the property within the legally relevant window, and any known material facts affecting the property’s desirability.
3. Insurance claims — any claims filed for the property, regardless of whether the damage was fully repaired or the claim was denied.
4. Structural and system issues — settling, cracks, drainage problems, or system failures the TDS didn’t already capture in detail.
5. Leased or financed equipment — solar panel leases or power purchase agreements, water softener rentals, and similar arrangements that transfer with the property or don’t.
6. Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) — permit status, legal versus unpermitted construction, and rental history if applicable.
7. Pools, spas, and related safety features — fencing compliance, equipment age, and any past incidents.
8. HOA and CC&R matters — pending litigation, special assessments, rule violations, or architectural approval disputes.
9. Government actions — code enforcement notices, zoning changes, or contamination orders, including methamphetamine lab designations under state health and safety statutes.
10. Elevated element inspections — decks, balconies, and stairways, an area California has scrutinized more closely following building-safety legislation tied to elevated structures.

Certain categories almost always require attachments, not just a checked box, especially for health and safety disclosures like lead paint, as explained in lead paint disclosure rentals: what landlords must provide. If you answer yes to a past insurance claim, attach the claim summary or adjuster’s report. If you disclose a prior pest inspection, attach the actual report rather than summarizing it from memory. If solar panels are leased, attach the lease agreement or power purchase contract so the buyer’s lender and title company can review the transfer terms before close.

Buyers reviewing an SPQ should treat every “yes” answer as a research assignment. A single sentence explaining a roof repair from 2019 is not enough information on its own. Ask the listing agent for the invoice, the contractor’s name, and whether a permit was pulled. The form gives you the lead. Following up is your job.

Who Must Complete the SPQ, and Common Exemptions

Most sellers of 1-to-4-unit residential property completing a standard California sale through C.A.R. forms will fill out an SPQ, because it travels bundled with the RPA as a matter of local practice rather than legal mandate.

Certain transfer types fall outside the standard TDS and SPQ requirement, mirroring the exemptions carved out under Civil Code §1102.2:

• Court-ordered sales, including certain divorce or partition proceedings
• Trustee’s sales or transfers during foreclosure
• Transfers by operation of law, such as eminent domain or bankruptcy proceedings
• Certain transfers between co-owners or to a spouse
• Some transfers involving trusts or probate estates, depending on the specific circumstances

If your transaction falls into one of these categories, don’t assume that means you can withhold known problems without consequence. California law still holds sellers to a baseline duty not to actively conceal material facts, exemption or not. A trustee selling a foreclosed property who knows about a documented mold problem and says nothing is still exposed to a fraud or concealment claim, even without a completed SPQ on file. The paperwork requirement disappears in these narrow categories. The underlying duty of honesty does not.

Legal Duties, Seller Liability, and the Actual Knowledge Standard

California disclosure law protects honest sellers, not perfect ones. The standard sellers are held to across the relevant Civil Code sections, including §§1102, 1102.2, 1102.4, and 1102.13, is actual knowledge, not omniscience.

Under Civil Code §1102.4, a seller is not liable for an error or omission that falls outside their personal knowledge if they exercised ordinary care in preparing the disclosure. Relying on a licensed professional’s inspection report satisfies that ordinary care standard.

That single provision does more heavy lifting in real disputes than any other part of the disclosure code. It means a seller does not need to hire a structural engineer before listing, nor does the seller need to guess at problems no inspector ever flagged. What it does require is honesty about what the seller already knows: past repairs, past complaints, past claims, past notices. A seller who received a letter from the HOA about an unresolved fence dispute and simply forgot to mention it on the SPQ has a different legal exposure than a seller who never received such a letter at all.

Civil Code §1102.13 adds that no transaction can be invalidated solely because a required disclosure statement was not delivered, though the injured party retains the right to pursue actual damages. In practice, this means a missed SPQ rarely unwinds a closed sale on its own, but it can absolutely support a damages claim if the buyer can show the seller knew about a defect and failed to disclose it.

The consequences for getting this wrong range from mildly annoying to genuinely expensive. Buyers who discover an undisclosed material defect after closing can pursue:

• Actual damages equal to the cost of repair or the diminished value of the property
• Rescission of the purchase agreement in more severe cases, particularly involving fraud
• Litigation costs and attorney’s fees, depending on contract terms and outcome

None of this requires proving the seller lied maliciously. Negligent nondisclosure, simply failing to mention something the seller reasonably should have known, can support a claim just as readily as intentional concealment, depending on the facts.

How to Complete the SPQ: A Seller’s Checklist and Workflow

Sellers who treat the SPQ as a fifteen-minute form to rush through before a listing goes live are the ones who end up fielding calls from their agent’s transaction coordinator, or worse, their attorney, months after closing. A better approach starts weeks before the property hits the market.

1. Pull every prior report you have. Inspection reports, pest control certifications, roofing invoices, permit records, and HOA correspondence. If you had work done and don’t remember whether it was permitted, check with your city’s building department before you list.
2. Gather insurance claim history. Contact your carrier for a claims summary covering your ownership period. Even minor claims, like a small water damage payout from a burst pipe five years ago, belong on the form.
3. Collect HOA and CC&R documents. Request current financials, meeting minutes referencing disputes, and any notice of violation you’ve received, even if resolved.
4. Locate solar or leased equipment paperwork. Lease agreements, power purchase agreements, and transfer requirements from the solar company should be ready before escrow opens, since transfer approval can take weeks.
5. Draft your answers with specifics, not summaries. Instead of “some water damage once,” write “kitchen sink pipe burst in March 2022; repaired by licensed plumber; insurance claim filed and closed; receipt attached.”
6. Attach every supporting document you reference. A “yes” answer with no attachment invites the buyer’s agent to ask why, which slows escrow and raises suspicion that wasn’t there before.
7. Deliver copies to the buyer and keep your own record. California disclosure timelines matter, and proof of delivery protects you if a dispute arises later.
8. Update the SPQ if anything changes during escrow. A new roof leak discovered during a buyer’s inspection period, or an HOA notice received after you signed the initial form, requires an amended disclosure, not silence.

Pro Tip: Keep a running “disclosure folder” the moment you decide to sell, even before you interview agents. Every repair receipt, every HOA email, every insurance letter goes in that folder. By the time you sit down to complete the SPQ, you’re transcribing, not remembering.

Sellers doing an as-is sale sometimes assume “as-is” language removes the disclosure obligation entirely. It does not. “As-is” affects who pays for repairs, not whether you have to tell the truth about what you know.

Common Mistakes That Lead to Post-Closing Disputes

Three patterns show up again and again in California disclosure disputes, and every one of them is preventable.

The first is the unattached “yes.” A seller checks yes to a past insurance claim, writes one vague sentence, and attaches nothing. Buyers’ agents flag this immediately, and it often triggers a formal request for documentation that delays closing by days the seller didn’t need to lose.

The second is the stale SPQ. A seller completes the form at listing, something changes three weeks later, a new roof leak, a fresh HOA assessment, and nobody updates the paperwork before close. That gap is exactly where litigation grows. A timely amendment costs an afternoon. A stale disclosure can cost a lawsuit.

The third is underreported insurance history. Sellers sometimes assume a claim doesn’t “count” if the repair was cosmetic or the payout was small. Every claim counts. Insurance companies keep records buyers’ title and insurance providers can access, and a mismatch between what a seller disclosed and what the claims database shows looks a lot like concealment, even when it wasn’t intentional.

• Buyers should treat every disclosed item as a starting point for their inspector, directing attention to the specific systems or areas the SPQ flags rather than a generic walk-through.
• Buyers should request the Request for Repairs (RFR) documentation for any item the seller says was already fixed, confirming the scope and date of the work.
• Buyers should ask escrow to clarify vague SPQ language in writing before removing inspection contingencies, since ambiguity resolved after closing is much harder to fix.

Pro Tip: If an SPQ answer raises more questions than it answers, don’t let the transaction move forward on assumptions. A short, direct email to the listing agent asking for clarification, kept in writing, protects everyone involved if a dispute ever surfaces.

A California REALTOR’s Notes on Getting the SPQ Right

The agent has experience closing many transactions throughout Santa Clara County, and disclosure accuracy is a recurring theme across many of them. Sellers rarely lie on purpose. They forget, they assume something doesn’t matter, or they never connected an old repair to a form they’re filling out years later.

The workflow that consistently produces clean SPQs starts before a home ever hits the market. A pre-listing inspection, arranged through the listing process, surfaces issues while there’s still time to either fix them or disclose them clearly, rather than discovering them mid-escrow when a buyer’s inspector finds them first. Pairing that with a completed Request for Repairs and professional documentation, staging and pre-sale prep included, means the SPQ gets drafted from actual paperwork instead of memory.

For sample phrasing, sellers working through difficult “yes” answers tend to do best when they follow a simple pattern: state the fact, give the date, name who handled it, and note whether documentation is attached. “Foundation crack noted in 2021 inspection; repaired by [licensed contractor] in June 2021; permit pulled; inspection report and permit attached” resolves in one sentence what a vague answer would leave open to dispute.

• Pre-inspection before listing, not after an offer arrives
• RFR documentation compiled alongside the SPQ, not separately
• SPQ drafted from paperwork, then reviewed line by line with the agent
• Updates delivered in writing the moment anything material changes

The Playbook Most Sellers Never Get

Most guidance on the SPQ treats it like paperwork triage: fill in the boxes, sign, move on. That advice undersells what the form actually does. The SPQ is where sellers either get ahead of a problem or plant the seed of a lawsuit eighteen months later, and the difference almost never comes down to what happened on the property. It comes down to whether the seller wrote it down clearly when it mattered.

The overrated piece of conventional advice is “when in doubt, say no.” That instinct feels safer in the moment and is often the opposite. Vague or omitted answers create far more legal exposure than a well-documented “yes” ever does, because ordinary care under §1102.4 protects sellers who disclose honestly with supporting documents, not sellers who guess wrong about what counts as material.

What actually protects sellers is starting the disclosure conversation before a listing photo is ever taken, pulling paperwork early, and writing specific, dated, documented answers instead of one-line summaries. That single habit prevents more disputes than any amount of legal caution applied after the fact.

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Let a Local Expert Guide Your Disclosure Process

Filling out the SPQ correctly takes more than good intentions. It takes organized paperwork, a clear sense of what buyers and their agents will scrutinize, and someone who has walked hundreds of Santa Clara County sellers through this exact process before. Concierge seller services that build disclosure preparation into the listing timeline from day one, pairing pre-sale inspections with document collection help ensure the SPQ reflects real records instead of guesswork under deadline pressure.

If you’re preparing to sell in Cupertino, Sunnyvale, San Jose, Saratoga, Fremont, Milpitas, or anywhere else across the South Bay, a free CMA and seller consultation is the first practical step. You’ll get a clear read on your property’s value alongside guidance on exactly what documentation to gather before your listing goes live, so the disclosure process supports your sale instead of slowing it down.

Where to Find the Original Forms and Statutes

For readers who want to review the primary documents rather than a summary of them, these sources are worth bookmarking:

• The official C.A.R. SPQ form and product page, which reflects the current published revision brokers use statewide.
• A sample SPQ PDF showing the full multi-page question format and explanation fields.
• An MLS-hosted SPQ example illustrating how the form is actually delivered and signed in a real transaction file.
• California’s preliminary title report guide for cross-referencing title matters that often overlap with SPQ disclosures.

This article is general information, not a substitute for advice from a qualified lawyer. Consult a qualified legal professional about your own circumstances before acting on anything here.

Sources

• SPQ – Seller Property Questionnaire – C.A.R. Business Products AOR Store
• California Seller Property Questionnaire (SPQ PDF)
• What Is a Seller Property Questionnaire (SPQ)? – LegalClarity
• SELLER PROPERTY QUESTIONNAIRE (SPQ PDF example)

FAQ

What Does SPQ Mean in Real Estate?

SPQ stands for Seller Property Questionnaire, a C.A.R. supplemental disclosure form used in most California residential sales to cover items the Transfer Disclosure Statement doesn’t address, like insurance claims, HOA disputes, and deaths on the property.

Who Is Not Exempt From Completing a Transfer Disclosure Statement?

Sellers of standard 1-to-4-unit residential properties sold through a typical purchase transaction are not exempt and must complete a TDS under Civil Code §1102; exemptions are limited to specific categories like court-ordered sales, foreclosures, and certain trust or probate transfers.

What Is a Seller Property Questionnaire?

It’s a multi-page California form where sellers answer “Are you aware of…” questions with a yes or no, explain any “yes” response, and attach supporting documents like inspection reports or insurance claim records.

What Happens if a Home Seller Doesn’t Disclose Problems?

Buyers who discover an undisclosed material defect after closing can pursue actual damages for repair costs or diminished value, and in serious cases involving fraud, rescission of the sale, though sellers who exercised ordinary care and relied on professional reports have some protection under Civil Code §1102.4.

Do Buyers Need to Do Anything With the SPQ Besides Read It?

Yes. Buyers should use disclosed items to direct their inspector toward specific concerns and request documentation for anything marked “yes” rather than treating the form as a substitute for a full inspection.

Recommended

• California Listing Agreement for Sellers: What to Check First
• Avoid the 3 or 5 Day Disclosure Trap When Selling As Is in California
• Seller Closing Costs in California: What They Are and What They Run – Laxmi Penupothula
• Questions to Ask Agent Before Selling | San Jose 2026

Laxmi Penupothula

RealTrends Verified Top 1% REALTOR® Nationwide (2021–2025) • CA DRE #02047105

SCCAOR Top 1% Santa Clara County • Intero Chairman Circle 2023–2025 • \$650M+ Closed • 570+ Transactions

Silicon Valley & Bay Area Specialist — Cupertino, San Jose, Fremont, Milpitas, Sunnyvale & surrounding cities.

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