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In 1990, Assembly Member Cortese authored Assembly Bill 1812, the passage of which enacted wildfire Natural Hazard Disclosure (NHD) requirements for real estate transactions in all SRA areas, pursuant to Sections 4125 and 4136 of the Public Resources Code (PRC). This type of disclosure was already required for seismic hazards and earthquake fault zones, and after another 873 structures had been destroyed by wildfire in 1990, the legislature determined that wildfire was also a hazard worth disclosing prior to a real property sale. This standard applied only to the SRA wildlands. The existing map of SRA boundaries identified by CDF pursuant to PRC 4125 was all that would be required for identification of disclosure areas. These maps by county can be ordered from Teale Data Center, or anyone with internet access can view them in Adobe Acrobat PDF format or download them in digital ArcView format from a link athttp://www.ceres.ca.gov/planning/nhd. Links to information on disclosure for flood and seismic hazards can also be found at this site.
Wildland fire hazard disclosure would be required in all SRA areas, regardless of their hazard rating, for one or more of the following reasons:
NHD for wildfire in SRA wildlands may have been overlooked by real estate agents early on, because the regulations were written only into the PRC and not widely publicized. Not until the passage in 1997 of Assembly Member Torlakson’s sleeper bill, Assembly Bill 6X, did the NHD requirement for SRA wildlands enter into the Civil Code where the parties involved would take widespread notice of it. The passage of Assembly Bill AB 6X (Chapter 7, Statutes of 1997, First Extraordinary Session) required NHD pursuant to Civil Code Section 1102.6c for all Local Responsibility Area (LRA) VHFHSZ designated pursuant to Government Code Section 51179.
This legislation was repealed and replaced in 1998 with the passage of Assembly Bill 1195, effective June 1, 1998. According to this law, the same maps produced by local agencies as a result of CDF fire hazard zoning recommendations would be used for identification of disclosure areas. All of the same local rights that pertain to LRA fire hazard zoning would also apply to LRA NHD (Government Code Section 51179). If no map has been produced by the local agency, the maps that CDF developed are to be used as a default resource for parties involved in NHD. These maps are available in printed format through Teale Data Center, or in PDF viewable format and ArcView digital format for downloading from a link at http://ceres.ca.gov/planning/nhd. Any maps produced and adopted locally should be considered in addition to the maps published by Teale Data Center; the information provided at the web site is only a public service meant to assist those who are having difficulty obtaining the information they require. If any of the information obtained by a party wishing to disclose natural hazards is of insufficient scale to determine whether or not a property is located in a VHFHSZ, the party should mark "yes" on the NHD statement, according to this law.
During the 1999-2000 legislative session, Assembly Bill 248 (Torlakson) passed, which further clarifies NHD requirements. It gives specific descriptions as to when NHD is or is not required, and it designates the timing of disclosure prior to escrow while providing for buyers’ cancellation rights if disclosure is late or if the hazard situation is deemed unacceptable. NHD has always been and still is a private matter between sellers, their agents, and buyers. Any use of disclosure information by any other party, including but not limited to insurance companies, lenders or governmental agencies, is expressly prohibited by Civil Code Section 1103.2 (f).
The latest approved form for all NHD Statements can be found in Section 1103.2(a) of the California Civil Code. It is important that a potential buyer of a property located in one of these areas be notified of these circumstances prior to purchase of the property, especially when the nearest responding fire protection agency could be seasonal or strictly volunteer in nature. There is also the possibility that the nearest responding fire protection agency could be primarily responsible for and trained in natural resource rather than structure protection. Also, maintenance standards as required by PRC 4291 can be costly to a potential property owner, and violation of said standards is a misdemeanor punishable by citation and fine, and if unresolved can result in a property lien in some jurisdictions.
This file last modified on: Monday, November 17, 2003.