New Pennsylvania Law Will Make Home Sellers Disclose Flood History, Fema Zone And Past Flood Claims

Pennsylvania home sellers will have to tell buyers how many times a property has flooded, whether it sits in a federal flood zone and whether they have filed flood insurance claims, under a law Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Oct. 22, according to the General Assembly's bill records, WHYY and Insurance Journal.

House Bill 1704, now Act 74 of 2026, passed the House 203 to 0 and the Senate 50 to 0, the legislature's records show. Sellers will have to use the new disclosures once the State Real Estate Commission updates its form, which is expected by summer 2028, WHYY and Insurance Journal reported.

What sellers will have to disclose

Sellers already must say, to the best of their knowledge, whether a home is in a flood zone or has had flooding problems, WHYY reported. The new law adds five items, according to WHYY, Insurance Journal and the bill text:

The law also directs the Pennsylvania Insurance Department to publish information on flood zones, flood insurance and ways to reduce flood damage, according to the bill text and Insurance Journal.

"A few inches of water on your first floor can be tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage," Steven Koller, insurance research and policy engagement manager at Insurance for Good, told WHYY. Mark Kibbe, who chairs the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors' legislative committee, told WHYY the law "fills in the gaps."

Why it matters in the Northeast

The Philadelphia Water Department's flood guide lists the Far Northeast and the Lower Northeast among the city's areas with reported flooding. The guide warns that "even if your home or property is outside of an identified floodplain, you can still be at risk for flooding."

Standard homeowners policies do not cover flood damage, Insurance Journal reported. Only a small share of Pennsylvania homes carry flood coverage: about 1% of households, according to state figures cited by Insurance Journal, or about 2% of insured homes, according to WHYY.

"We can't say it enough – where it rains, it can flood," Insurance Commissioner Michael Humphreys said, according to Insurance Journal. "All consumers, even those not living in high-risk areas, should consider purchasing flood insurance."

Buyers who want to check a Northeast address now can look it up on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center.

Renters are left out for now

The law covers home sales only. A companion bill from the same sponsor, Rep. Perry Warren, a Bucks County Democrat, would require landlords to disclose flood history, flood zone status and whether insurance covers tenants' belongings, WHYY reported. That bill, House Bill 1705, has not moved since it was sent to a House committee in July 2025, according to the legislature's records.

The disclosure requirement was one of the recommendations of the state's 2024 Flood Insurance Premium Assistance Task Force, Insurance Journal reported.

Sources

Photo: Belongings dry outside a flooded home in Andalusia, Bucks County, across the Poquessing Creek from the Far Northeast, in July 2021. Governor Tom Wolf / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

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