CHAPTER 709
DISCLOSURES BY OWNERS OF RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE
709.01 Requirements for transfer.
709.035 Amendments to report.
709.04 Indication of compliance.
709.07 Liability precluded.
709.01
709.01
Requirements for transfer. 709.01(1)
(1) Except as provided in
sub. (2), all persons who transfer real property located in this state, including a condominium unit, as defined in
s. 703.02 (15), and time-share property, as defined in
s. 707.02 (32), but excluding property that has not been inhabited, that includes 1 to 4 dwelling units, as defined in
s. 101.61 (1), by sale, exchange or land contract, unless the transfer is exempt from the real estate transfer fee under
s. 77.25, shall comply with
ss. 709.02 to
709.04 and
709.06.
709.01(2)
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to any of the following persons, if those persons have never occupied the property transferred:
709.01(2)(d)
(d) Fiduciaries who are appointed by, or subject to the supervision of, a court.
709.01 History
History: 1991 a. 162;
1995 a. 180.
709.01 Annotation
Truth or Consequences? Residential Seller Disclosure Law. Conrad. Wis. Law. August 1992.
709.01 Annotation
Protecting the Residential Seller. Young. Wis. Law. May 1993.
709.02(1)(1) In regard to transfers described in
s. 709.01, the owner of the property shall furnish, not later than 10 days after acceptance of a contract of sale or option contract, to the prospective buyer of the property a completed copy of the report under
s. 709.03, subject to
s. 709.035, except that the owner may substitute for any entry information supplied by a licensed engineer, land surveyor or structural pest control operator or by an individual who is a qualified 3rd party, as defined in
s. 452.23 (2) (b), or by a contractor about matters within the scope of the contractor's occupation if the information is in writing and is furnished on time and if the entry to which it relates is identified and except that the owner may substitute for any entry information supplied by a public agency, as defined in
s. 66.0825 (3) (h). Information that substitutes for an entry on the report under
s. 709.03 and that is supplied by a person specified in this section may be submitted and certified on a supplemental report prepared by the person, as long as the information otherwise satisfies the requirements under this section. A prospective buyer who does not receive a report within the 10 days may, within 2 business days after the end of that 10-day period, rescind the contract of sale or option contract by delivering a written notice of recision to the owner or to the owner's agent.
709.02(2)
(2) In regard to a transfer of a condominium unit, as defined in
s. 703.02 (15), the owner shall furnish, in addition to and at the same time as the information required under
sub. (1), all the following information as an addendum to the real estate condition report under
s. 709.03:
709.02(2)(a)
(a) The name of the condominium and the date the condominium was created by recording condominium instruments with the register of deeds under
s. 703.07; the unit number of the property offered for sale; and the name, address, and telephone number of the seller or the seller's agent.
709.02(2)(b)
(b) The name and address of the condominium association; a statement specifying whether the association is self-managed or has hired or retained management; and the name, address, and telephone number of the individual who may be contacted as a representative of the association regarding the sale, in particular, or the condominium, in general.
709.02(2)(c)
(c) The amount of current condominium assessments, fees, special assessments, or other charges for which a unit owner is responsible and whether the current charges for the unit have been paid.
709.02 Note
Note: 2003 Wis. Act 283, which affected this section, contains extensive explanatory notes.
709.02 Annotation
There is nothing in s. 709.02 or 709.03 that requires a seller to provide details of specific safety and health hazards associated with any property defect. Sellers of real estate are required to disclose general descriptions of potential defects in the property. In the case of a natural gas pipeline, ch. 709 does not require a seller to disclose all potential problems that could foreseeably arise as a result of the pipeline's presence. Hoekstra v. Guardian Pipeline, LLC, 2006 WI App 245,
298 Wis. 2d 165,
726 N.W.2d 648,
03-2809.
709.02 Annotation
Residential Real Property Disclosure Duties. Hinkston. Wis. Law. May, 2002.
709.03
709.03
Report form. The report required under
s. 709.02 shall be in substantially the following form and shall include at least all of the following information:
REAL ESTATE CONDITION REPORT
DISCLAIMER
A. THIS CONDITION REPORT CONCERNS THE REAL PROPERTY LOCATED AT .... IN THE .... (CITY) (VILLAGE) (TOWN) OF ...., COUNTY OF ...., STATE OF WISCONSIN. THIS REPORT IS A DISCLOSURE OF THE CONDITION OF THAT PROPERTY IN COMPLIANCE WITH SECTION 709.02 OF THE WISCONSIN STATUTES AS OF .... (MONTH), .... (DAY), .... (YEAR). IT IS NOT A WARRANTY OF ANY KIND BY THE OWNER OR ANY AGENTS REPRESENTING ANY PRINCIPAL IN THIS TRANSACTION AND IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR ANY INSPECTIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT THE PRINCIPALS MAY WISH TO OBTAIN.
OWNER'S INFORMATION
B. 1. In this form, "am aware" means have notice or knowledge. In this form, "defect" means a condition that would have a significant adverse effect on the value of the property; that would significantly impair the health or safety of future occupants of the property; or that if not repaired, removed or replaced would significantly shorten or adversely affect the expected normal life of the premises.
B. 2. The owner discloses the following information with the knowledge that, even though this is not a warranty, prospective buyers may rely on this information in deciding whether and on what terms to purchase the property. The owner hereby authorizes any agent representing any principal in this transaction to provide a copy of this statement, and to disclose any information in the statement, to any person in connection with any actual or anticipated sale of the property.
B. 3. The owner represents that to the best of his or her knowledge the responses to the following statements have been accurately noted as "yes", "no" or "not applicable" to the property being sold. If the owner responds to any statement with "yes", the owner shall provide, in the additional information area of this form, an explanation of the reason why the response to the statement is "yes".
B. 4. If the transfer is of a condominium unit, the property to which this form applies is the condominium unit, the common elements of the condominium and any limited common elements that may be used only by the owner of the condominium unit being transferred.
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See PDF for table 
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See PDF for table
OWNER'S CERTIFICATION
E. The owner certifies that the information in this report is true and correct to the best of the owner's knowledge as of the date on which the owner signs this report.
Owner .... Date ....
Owner .... Date ....
CERTIFICATION BY PERSON SUPPLYING
INFORMATION
F. A person other than the owner certifies that he or she has supplied information on which the owner relied for this report and that that information is true and correct to the best of that person's knowledge as of the date on which the person signs this report.
Person .... Items .... Date ....
Person .... Items .... Date ....
Person .... Items .... Date ....
NOTICE REGARDING ADVICE OR INSPECTIONS
G. THE PROSPECTIVE BUYER AND THE OWNER MAY WISH TO OBTAIN PROFESSIONAL ADVICE OR INSPECTIONS OF THE PROPERTY AND TO PROVIDE FOR APPROPRIATE PROVISIONS IN A CONTRACT BETWEEN THEM WITH RESPECT TO ANY ADVICE, INSPECTIONS, DEFECTS OR WARRANTIES.
BUYER'S ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
H. 1. The prospective buyer acknowledges that technical knowledge such as that acquired by professional inspectors may be required to detect certain defects such as the presence of asbestos, building code violations and floodplain status.
H. 2. I acknowledge receipt of a copy of this statement.
Prospective buyer .... Date ....
Prospective buyer .... Date ....
Prospective buyer .... Date ....
709.03 Annotation
There is nothing in s. 709.02 or 709.03 that requires a seller to provide details of specific safety and health hazards associated with any property defect. Sellers of real estate are required to disclose general descriptions of potential defects in the property. In the case of a natural gas pipeline, ch. 709 does not require a seller to disclose all potential problems that could foreseeably arise as a result of the pipeline's presence. Hoekstra v. Guardian Pipeline, LLC, 2006 WI App 245,
298 Wis. 2d 165,
295 Wis. 2d 298,
03-2809.
709.035
709.035
Amendments to report. If at any time after completing a report, whether the original or an amended report, but before acceptance of a contract of sale or option contract an owner obtains information or becomes aware of any condition that would change a response on the completed report, the owner shall submit to a prospective buyer, within the time required under
s. 709.02, a complete amended report or an amendment to the previously completed report, along with a copy of the previously completed report if not already submitted to the prospective buyer, that states all of the following:
709.035(3)
(3) The date of the report being amended.
709.035(4)
(4) The number of any statement on the report that is affected by the new information.
709.035(5)
(5) How the owner's original response to the statement is changed and, if the response is changed to "yes", an explanation of the reason why the response to the statement is "yes".
709.035 History
History: 1995 a. 180.
709.04
709.04
Indication of compliance. An owner shall indicate compliance with this chapter on the contract of sale or option contract, on the closing statement or in an addendum to one of those documents.
709.04 History
History: 1991 a. 162;
1995 a. 180.
709.05
709.05
Right to rescind. 709.05(1)(1) Except as provided in
sub. (2) (b), if a buyer receives a report after submission of a contract of sale or option contract to the owner or the owner's agent, the buyer may, after receipt of that report by the prospective buyer and before the applicable deadline, rescind in writing a contract of sale or option contract if a defect, as defined in the report, is disclosed, without any liability on his or her part, and a buyer is entitled to the return of any deposits or option fees paid in the transaction. A prospective buyer who receives a report that is incomplete or that contains an inaccurate assertion that an item is not applicable and who is not aware of the defects that the owner failed to disclose may, within 2 business days after receipt of that report, rescind in writing a contract of sale or option contract without any liability on his or her part and is entitled to the return of any deposits or option fees paid in the transaction.
