Flood Disclosure For All

Transparency & Accountability Policy Proposal

Flood Disclosure for All
January 2021

Overview

Hurricane Harvey produced the most devastating residential flooding event ever recorded in Harris County.  

According to the Harris County Flood Control District’s Final Immediate Report on Hurricane Harvey released on June 4, 2018, 154,170 homes flooded in Harris County, and estimates on flood damage to multi-family structures are unclear. [1] 

That is between 9% - 12% of the total number of buildings in the county.

From the report, the structures that flooded included:

• 48,850 were within the 100-year floodplain

• 34,970 were within the 500-year floodplain 

• 70,370 were outside both the 100-year and 500-year floodplains [1]

Of these, only 36% had flood insurance policies in effect just prior to the onset of Hurricane Harvey. [1]

Before any home is sold in the state of Texas, the seller’s disclosure must be accurately completed, to include past foundation issues, termites, mold, flood events, and even previous meth lab use in the home.  Someone leasing a home has the right to know at the very least if the property has previously flooded or lies in a, in order to make the best decision.

Real estate professionals also have an ethical duty to disclose risks and relevant information to clients before buying or selling a home, yet the law in Texas does not require flood history to be disclosed for rental properties. This seems both arbitrary and fundamentally unfair.

Renters should have the same right to information as homebuyers, so that they can determine whether or not they should buy flood insurance to cover their personal property. The number of flood insurance policies purchased might have been higher prior to Hurricane Harvey had tenants known their proper level of risk before signing a lease. Renters are a vital and substantial segment of our economy—these are our teachers, nurses, service and retail industry, and those just entering the workforce. In most Texas cities and towns, renters make up nearly 50% of residents.

Not arming renter households with adequate information about the hazards and history associated with their homes puts them at health risks and undermines their fundamental economic opportunities. These consequences reverberate throughout the broader Houston area economy. Out of the tens of thousands of people who sought shelter and relief following Harvey, the vast majority were renters who, by virtue of not owning a property, have less of a nest egg. We put them at continued and severe economic disadvantage by not allowing them to make informed choices about where they choose to live.

Currently one of the consequences of not having these disclosures in place is a predatory and unsustainable system by which post-flood speculators buy up damaged properties, make quick repairs, often unpermitted and uninspected, and rent them out. Because this activity is entirely unregulated, these marginal properties become profitable for a minimum investment. They are unsafe and very likely to flood again. Speculators have the right to buy properties intending to rent them. At the same time, renters have the right to know the history of the property. Given the probability of repeated flooding in this area, it is unconscionable and reprehensible to allow this unethical business practice to continue. 

Policy Proposal

Your Houston calls on the city of Houston and Harris County to establish notification requirements for tenants that inform them the property they are about to rent lies in a mapped floodplain or has previously flooded in the past 5 years. 

It is understood that there will be opposition from some industry groups. There is a cost and mindset shift associated with any regulatory change. This is simply the right thing to do. Houston and Harris County flood, we know that, we’ve seen it happen time and time again. A lease agreement is a contract; and the law already states that we enter contracts in good faith. That is at the heart of this policy proposal: protection and safety for all residents. 

At the end of the day for much of coastal Texas, flooding is an ongoing reality and a known environmental hazard. We must ensure we have laws in place to protect all Texans, their property, their health, family, and their sense of wellbeing.

[1] https://www.hcfcd.org/media/2678/immediate-flood-report-final-hurricane-harvey-2017.pdf

[2] https://smartasset.com/mortgage/the-true-cost-of-living-in-houston