From only four states in 2017 to eleven by the end of 2025, the number of states with legislation mandating landlords to notify tenants of flood risk has nearly quadrupled in recent years, according to a new study from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.
More renters may soon have access to flood risk information before to signing a lease, as other states, including Massachusetts, are actively discussing measures requiring renters to disclose flood risks. According to recent estimates, over two-thirds of U.S. states require property sellers to notify buyers of the risk of flooding. This suggests that landlords are still subject to less flood disclosure laws than property sellers.
Nationwide, flooding is the most frequent and expensive calamity. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has designated 2.4 million occupied rental units as Special Flood Hazard Areas, indicating that many renter households are at high danger of flooding. The number of homes and families affected by flood damage is expected to rise as a result of climate change-induced increases in the frequency and severity of flood events and the ongoing construction of additional units in floodplains. Residential landlords are required by federal law to notify potential tenants of some risks, such as lead-based paint, but flooding is exempt from this need.
With considerably fewer financial resources to aid in recovery than property owners and a greater vulnerability to housing instability and displacement following storms, renters are especially susceptible to the negative effects of floods.
Renters are frequently disregarded in the context of flood disclosure despite these vulnerabilities; for instance, they are not included in FEMA’s State Flood Risk Disclosure Best Practices recommendations. Although there is evidence that flood disclosure laws are linked to a “flood zone discount” for purchasers, there is little to no evidence that these laws have an impact on the experiences of renter households.
Flood Risks Pose Even More Risks for Homeowners
One state that has enacted a flood risk disclosure requirement for homebuyers but not renters is North Carolina. The statute, which went into effect in 2024, amended the mandatory residential property disclosure form required by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission to include provisions pertaining to flood risk or knowledge of prior flood damage.
Landlords throughout the state are still exempt from telling potential tenants about the flood dangers associated with their houses, even though renters make up one-third of the population and Hurricane Helene in 2024 forced tens of thousands of renter households to relocate.
Major flood events, like the 2017 San Jose floods in California that caused 14,000 inhabitants to evacuate, have prompted some governments to enact flood disclosure laws. Furthermore, nearly half of all Americans currently reside in a state with a renter flood disclosure law, according to recent legislation approved in several of the most populous states in the union, including Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas.
The scope and severity of flood disclosure regulations for renters vary greatly among the eleven states that have them, much like flood disclosure requirements for property sellers.
First, the flood risk of a rental unit is represented by several criteria used by governments. Seven jurisdictions mandate the disclosure of a rental unit’s flood history, while eight states compel landlords to reveal a rental unit’s floodplain status in relation to official flood maps. Certain states, like Illinois, require disclosure of both floodplain status and flood damage history.
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