Practice and liability

Stigmatized property

Property some buyers find undesirable for reasons unrelated to its physical condition

A death on the premises, a crime, or a reputation attached to the building. Nothing about the structure has changed, which is why states treat these facts very differently from physical defects — many provide expressly that they are not material facts requiring disclosure.

Whether and how a stigmatized condition may be discussed is set by state law, and some states restrict answering even when asked directly. This is a subject to check locally rather than to answer from general principle.

How the exam asks about it

The rule is state-specific and the exam tests that you know it is. What is universal is the limit: any answer touching a protected characteristic is wrong under fair housing law regardless of state disclosure rules.

Related terms

Material factFair Housing ActMisrepresentation

Sitting the license exam? Find out what you actually know.

Free practice questions built to the published national content outline, with an explanation after every answer. No account, no paywall.

Start a practice test Back to all terms

Independent exam preparation. Real Estate Exam Bank is not a state-approved pre-licensing course and completing anything here does not satisfy any state education requirement. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by any state real estate commission, Pearson VUE, or PSI. Practice questions here are original study material, not the official exam.