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Louisiana provides a free official Residential Agreement to Buy or Sell. When a Louisiana real-estate licensee represents the buyer or seller in a covered one-to-four-unit residential sale, La. R.S. 37:1449.1 requires the licensee to complete the LREC-prescribed form. If neither party is represented by a licensee, that statute does not require the FSBO parties to use the LREC form; have a Louisiana real-estate attorney prepare or review the written agreement before signing. The Property Disclosure Document is generally due by the time the buyer makes an offer, and the later Act of Sale is a separate conveyance step. Choose your situation:
When a Louisiana licensee represents the buyer or seller in a covered residential transaction, the licensee must complete the current LREC-prescribed Residential Agreement to Buy or Sell. Use the free official form and the free Property Disclosure Document. Do not edit the preprinted agreement text itself—use properly prepared addenda or amendments.
Open LREC mandatory formsR.S. 37:1449.1 does not require unrepresented parties to use the LREC agreement. Have a Louisiana real-estate attorney prepare or review the written agreement before signing, and still complete any required Property Disclosure Document for covered transfers. The Act of Sale remains a separate closing step.
Find a Louisiana lawyerFor a covered transfer, for a nonexempt transfer, the seller must deliver the completed Property Disclosure Document no later than the time the purchaser makes an offer. If it arrives afterward, the purchaser may terminate the resulting real-estate contract or withdraw the offer no later than 72 hours after receipt, excluding weekends and federal and state holidays. A timely termination or withdrawal under the chapter is without penalty, and deposits must be promptly returned. That limited remedy is not a free cooling-off after a timely disclosure.
Read La. R.S. 9:3198PublicLegal does not sell, reproduce, alter, or imitate the LREC Residential Agreement to Buy or Sell. We link the current free official forms.
Louisiana law and forms reviewed August 2026 · Sources include La. R.S. 37:1449.1, La. R.S. 9:3196–3200, LREC 2026 mandatory forms, Civil Code arts. 1839 & 2440, and EPA lead guidance
Independent Louisiana self-help information—not legal advice or a substitute for the LREC mandatory forms.
An accepted Louisiana Agreement to Buy or Sell can be legally binding. The 72-hour rule in R.S. 9:3198 applies only when a required Property Disclosure Document is delivered after the purchaser makes an offer. It is not a general cooling-off period. The deadline excludes weekends and federal and state holidays, can end earlier at transfer of title or occupancy, and should not be calculated from this page. If a disclosure arrived late or a deadline may be running, obtain Louisiana legal advice immediately Covered residential wholesaling/assignment-for-profit contracts may have a separate seller cancellation right of at least five calendar days under La. R.S. 37:1448.5 (Act 807, effective August 1, 2026)—use the current LREC mandatory cancellation notice; that path is not the PDD 72-hour late-delivery remedy.
Editorial summary based on La. R.S. 37:1449.1 requiring a representing licensee to complete the LREC-prescribed Residential Agreement to Buy or Sell; the free LREC 2026 mandatory Agreement and Property Disclosure Document; La. R.S. 9:3196–3200 on known-defect disclosures, delivery by the time of offer, the 72-hour late-delivery termination or withdrawal remedy excluding weekends and holidays, deposit return, non-warranty character, and non-invalidation of transfers; Civil Code arts. 1833, 1839, and 2440 on authentic acts, private signature, and immovable sales; LREC’s federal/GSE proprietary-seller non-enforcement policy; agency-disclosure materials; and EPA lead-disclosure guidance. Current through August 2026; Act 708 expands Chapter 8 to certain vacant residential property beginning January 1, 2027. Confirm the current statute text and current LREC form edition before use. PublicLegal does not sell a Louisiana purchase-agreement substitute on this page.
The Agreement to Buy or Sell creates the parties’ contractual obligations. The Property Disclosure Document is a separate statutory process for covered residential transfers. Closing professionals prepare the Act of Sale and handle funds and recordation. Do not treat a deed form as a substitute for the purchase agreement or the Act of Sale.
For licensee-assisted covered residential sales, Louisiana’s free official Agreement to Buy or Sell is the mandated starting form. Named federal or GSE sellers sometimes require their own proprietary contracts; LREC has a limited non-enforcement policy for those seller-required forms. That policy is not a blanket exception merely because a buyer uses government-backed financing.
Louisiana closings commonly use an authentic Act of Sale before a notary and witnesses, though Louisiana law also recognizes transfers by act under private signature. A notary or settlement agent is not automatically either party’s personal lawyer.
When a Louisiana real-estate licensee represents the buyer or seller in making an offer to purchase or sell covered residential real property, La. R.S. 37:1449.1 requires the licensee to complete the purchase agreement form prescribed by the Louisiana Real Estate Commission. The current free form is the 2026 Louisiana Residential Agreement to Buy or Sell. PublicLegal does not host, sell, or reproduce that form.
Obtain the Agency Disclosure Pamphlet or the permitted substitute Agency Disclosure form, and use the Disclosure and Consent to Dual Agency form if dual representation is proposed. Confirm whom each licensee represents before exchanging confidential information or relying on advocacy.
Separately, for a covered residential transfer the seller must complete and deliver the Property Disclosure Document no later than the time the purchaser makes an offer. Review financing, inspection, appraisal, title, deposit, occupancy, default, and Louisiana warranty or “as is” provisions carefully before signing. The later Act of Sale is a separate conveyance step handled at closing.
The LREC Residential Agreement to Buy or Sell is free and public, but R.S. 37:1449.1’s mandatory-use rule is aimed at representing licensees. Unrepresented parties should not treat the form as an automatic FSBO kit. The safer path is a Louisiana real-estate attorney who prepares or reviews the written agreement before anyone signs.
A sale or promise of sale of an immovable generally must be evidenced by authentic act or act under private signature. The purchase agreement creates the obligation to buy and sell; ownership is conveyed later by the Act of Sale (recording gives effect against third persons). A generic deed form is not a substitute for those instruments.
Covered sellers still owe Property Disclosure Document duties under R.S. 9:3196–3200 unless an exemption applies. PublicLegal does not sell a Louisiana purchase-contract substitute on this page.
Under La. R.S. 9:3196–3200, the seller of covered residential real property generally must furnish a Property Disclosure Document in the form prescribed by the Louisiana Real Estate Commission or a form that contains at least the Commission’s minimum language. Residential real property means real property consisting of one or not more than four residential dwelling units occupied or intended for occupancy as single-family residences.
A “known defect” is a condition actually known by the seller that substantially adversely affects value, significantly impairs the health or safety of future occupants, or if not repaired, removed, or replaced, significantly shortens the expected normal life of the property. The seller must complete the document in good faith to the best of the seller’s belief and knowledge as of the date signed.
The seller shall deliver the completed and signed Property Disclosure Document to the purchaser no later than the time the purchaser makes an offer to purchase, exchange, or option the property, or exercises an option to purchase under a lease with option to purchase. If the document is delivered after the purchaser makes an offer, the purchaser may terminate any resulting real-estate contract or withdraw the offer no later than seventy-two hours after receipt, excluding federal and state holidays and weekends. A timely termination or withdrawal under the chapter is without penalty, and any deposit or earnest money must be promptly returned notwithstanding any other agreement.
Rights to terminate under this Chapter are waived if not exercised before transfer of title or occupancy, whichever is earlier, for a sale or exchange, or before transfer of title for a lease-option purchase. A transfer is not invalidated solely because of a failure to comply with the Chapter. The Property Disclosure Document is not a warranty, is not intended to be part of the contract, and is not a substitute for inspections or warranties the parties may obtain.
R.S. 9:3197 lists categories of exempt transfers. Do not assume every conveyance requires the statutory Property Disclosure Document. Other disclosure duties can still arise under other law. The current LREC Property Disclosure Document includes extensive flood and water-intrusion questions; flood-zone status does not mean zero flood risk. Most housing built before 1978 also triggers separate federal lead-based paint disclosures. Act 708 of 2026 expands Chapter 8 to certain vacant residential property beginning January 1, 2027—use the then-current LREC form for transactions on or after that date.
Key points to keep straight:
When in doubt about coverage, exemptions, late-delivery timing, redhibition or “as is” elections, or a running deadline, ask Louisiana counsel. Use the current statute text and the current LREC form edition.
We do not sell a Louisiana purchase-contract substitute. When you need a related PublicLegal product, these are optional and stage-specific—not replacements for the Agreement to Buy or Sell or the Act of Sale.
Use this as a practical sequence—not a substitute for advice on your facts.
Depending on the property and transaction, parties may also need to address:
Local practices differ across Louisiana parishes and property types. Use professionals and primary sources for your address—not a generic national packet.
The Agreement to Buy or Sell creates the parties’ purchase obligations. Ownership of the immovable is conveyed later through the Act of Sale (recording gives effect against third persons). Louisiana closings commonly use an authentic Act of Sale executed before a notary and two witnesses, but Louisiana law also recognizes a transfer by act under private signature. No statewide authority identified requires a lawyer to conduct every ordinary residential closing.
A Louisiana real-estate attorney can prepare or review the purchase agreement, advise on Property Disclosure Document timing and any 72-hour late-delivery termination window, redhibition or waiver language, title objections, successions, trusts, servitudes, mineral rights, and custom terms. Consider counsel early in FSBO deals and whenever deadlines or disclosure disputes appear.
A notary or settlement agent may handle execution, funds, and recordation according to the parties’ instructions and lender requirements. That provider is not automatically your personal lawyer. This page does not cross-sell Louisiana deed products from the purchase-guidance strip.
Independently verify wire instructions. Real-estate wire fraud is common.
That keeps this page honest: orientation and primary-source links, not a substitute for the free official LREC forms or Louisiana legal advice.
Yes. The Louisiana Real Estate Commission publishes a free Residential Agreement to Buy or Sell. When a Louisiana licensee represents the buyer or seller in a covered residential transaction, R.S. 37:1449.1 requires the licensee to complete that prescribed form. PublicLegal links the current free official form and does not sell a lookalike.
R.S. 37:1449.1’s mandatory-use rule is aimed at representing licensees. Unrepresented parties are not automatically required by that statute to use the LREC form. Have a Louisiana real-estate attorney prepare or review the written agreement before signing.
For a covered transfer, the seller must deliver the completed and signed Property Disclosure Document no later than the time the purchaser makes an offer to purchase, exchange, or option the property.
No. The 72-hour termination or withdrawal right applies when a required Property Disclosure Document is delivered after the purchaser makes an offer. It excludes weekends and federal and state holidays, is not a general cooling-off after a timely disclosure, and can end earlier at transfer of title or occupancy.
Chapter 8 does not automatically void the transfer solely for noncompliance. Other remedies and contract rights may still matter. Get Louisiana legal advice promptly if a required disclosure is missing or late.
No. The statute states that the document is not a warranty, is for disclosure purposes only, is not intended to be part of the contract, and is not a substitute for inspections or warranties the parties may obtain.
No. The Agreement to Buy or Sell creates the obligation to buy and sell. Ownership is typically transferred later by the Act of Sale (recording gives effect against third persons). A generic deed form is not a substitute for those instruments.
No statewide authority identified requires a lawyer to conduct every ordinary residential closing. Closings commonly involve a notary and an Act of Sale, but a notary is not automatically either party’s personal lawyer. Attorney preparation or review remains the safer path for FSBO deals and nonstandard terms.
PublicLegal provides self-help forms and information. This is not legal advice. Real estate purchase and disclosure rules vary by state and transaction. Confirm requirements for your property with a qualified professional when needed.