WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY ABOUT DEATH DISCLOSURES?
It defers from country to country.
In Singapore, there is no specific law that requires the disclosure of deaths that have occurred in a property during the buying process. As part of the Code of Ethics and Professional Client Care for real estate agents, if the agents were asked, they are expected to disclose all facts that they know are material to the transaction, including “recent death from unnatural causes in the property”.
In Japan, disclosure about unnatural deaths is mandatory in the property transaction process. Under an “Important Matters” document, all significant points related to the property are declared by sellers: Infrastructure works, planning permissions, applicable laws, zoning as well as negative events. Buyers need to sign off and acknowledge before they can move on to signing the sales and purchase agreement.
Due to the strict disclosure rules, Japanese property agents tend to disclose unnatural deaths when they advertise on stigmatised properties for sale or rent. To simplify information search, a Japanese investor created the Oshima Teru website to document stigmatised properties. Initially created for Japan, the website now maps properties around the globe, including Singapore.
In the United States, some states have laws that require sellers to disclose information about deaths that have occurred on the property. This information may be included in the property listing, or the seller may be required to disclose it during the early stages of the contracting process, where buyers can still walk away without financial losses.
Some states do not have laws requiring sellers to disclose deaths that have occurred in the home, or that declaration is only required if deaths happened within say, three years, of the property being offered for sale. Additionally, some sellers may not disclose this information voluntarily, so it is important for buyers and their agents to research as much as possible and to ask the right questions when before purchasing a property.