In California, home sellers are not legally required to make any repairs after the buyer's home inspection — your only obligation as a seller is to disclose known material defects in your Transfer Disclosure Statement before the contract was signed. When you receive a Request for Repair form (C.A.R. Form RR), you have four options: agree to some or all repairs, offer a closing credit instead, reduce the purchase price, or decline the request entirely and let the buyer decide whether to proceed. The right response depends on the size of the request, your market position, and the loan type involved — all factors your listing agent should be helping you read before you respond.

By Justin Short | September 2, 2026

The inspection is over. You've gotten a report — and now there's a form in your inbox from the buyer's agent called a Request for Repair. What you do next can mean the difference between a smooth closing and a negotiation that costs you thousands.

Here's what catches a lot of Temecula sellers off guard: California law does not require you to fix anything.

That doesn't mean you should refuse everything. It means you have choices — and knowing what they are before you respond is how you protect your deal.

THE INSPECTION CONTINGENCY: HOW IT WORKS IN CALIFORNIA

Under the standard California residential purchase agreement (C.A.R. Form RPA), the buyer typically has 17 days from acceptance to complete their inspections and act on their findings. This 17-day window is the inspection contingency period.

During this time, the buyer can hire a general inspector, a pest inspector, a roof inspector, a structural engineer, or any other specialist they choose. All of that happens on their side, at their cost.

Once inspections are done, the buyer has two choices: remove the inspection contingency and proceed with the purchase, or submit a Request for Repair — which opens a negotiation. If the buyer doesn't act before the contingency deadline, that contingency is automatically removed under the C.A.R. contract and the deal moves forward as written.

WHAT A REQUEST FOR REPAIR IS — AND WHAT IT ISN'T

A Request for Repair (C.A.R. Form RR) is a written list of items the buyer is asking you to address before closing. It might ask you to fix a leaking pipe, replace a water heater, remediate mold, or offer a credit in lieu of repairs.

What it is not is a demand. The buyer cannot force you to make repairs. What they can do — if you decline their request and the inspection contingency is still active — is cancel the contract and recover their earnest money deposit in full.

This is the key dynamic: your answer to a repair request doesn't close the deal or kill it. The buyer's response to your answer does.

YOUR FOUR OPTIONS AS A CALIFORNIA SELLER

When a Request for Repair arrives, you have four moves.

Option one: Agree to some or all of the repairs. You hire licensed contractors, complete the work before closing, and provide receipts. This is the path of least resistance for the buyer — but the trade-off is cost, timeline, and the risk that the work doesn't meet the buyer's expectations. This path makes the most sense for items that would flag again on a re-inspection or that genuinely affect safety or habitability.

Option two: Offer a closing credit instead of repairs. Rather than doing the work yourself, you agree to give the buyer a cash credit at closing — applied toward their closing costs — and let them handle the repairs after they take possession. Credits have a ceiling based on loan type: conventional loans typically cap seller concessions at 3% of the purchase price, FHA loans at 6%, and VA loans at 4%. On a $750,000 Temecula home under a conventional loan, that's a $22,500 cap — usually plenty of room for reasonable repair requests. A credit is often cleaner than repairs because you're not managing contractors and the buyer gets to choose who does the work. For a full picture of what credits mean for your net proceeds, see the breakdown of what it costs to sell a house in Temecula. [LINK — see Section 3]

Option three: Reduce the purchase price. A price reduction accomplishes something similar to a credit — the buyer nets less on the purchase and applies some of those savings to repairs after closing. The practical difference: a lower purchase price also lowers the appraised value target, which can create appraisal complications if the deal is already tight. Credits don't affect the contract purchase price. For modest repair asks, a credit is usually the better tool.

Option four: Decline the request. You can say no. California law does not require sellers to make repairs as a result of a home inspection — your obligation was fulfilled when you completed the Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) and Seller Property Questionnaire (SPQ) before going under contract. If you decline, the buyer must decide: remove the contingency and accept the home as-is, or cancel and recover their earnest money.

HOW TO TELL REASONABLE FROM UNREASONABLE REQUESTS

Not every line on a repair request deserves the same weight. Here's how to break them down.

Health and safety items — exposed electrical, non-functional HVAC, active leaks, fire hazards, structural concerns — are the highest-priority category. These are the items most likely to affect the appraisal, lender approval, and the buyer's homeowner's insurance. Refusing these creates real deal risk even in a strong Temecula market.

Code compliance items — unpermitted additions, missing smoke and CO detectors, non-compliant upgrades — often come up as lender requirements. Addressing these early is usually worth it to keep the timeline clean.

Cosmetic and maintenance items — minor caulking gaps, settling cracks, worn carpet, paint scuffs — are the most negotiable category. A buyer asking for a full repair allowance because the inspector flagged a sticky cabinet hinge is not operating in good faith. You have every right to decline these.

What you're looking for in any repair request is proportionality: does the ask match the severity of the issue?

YOUR NEGOTIATING POSITION IN TEMECULA'S CURRENT MARKET

In Temecula's current market, well-priced homes are selling in under two weeks and often generating competitive offers. Buyers in that environment tend to come in with lighter, more focused repair requests — they know the seller has leverage, and they don't want to lose the home over minor items.

But homes that have been sitting on market 30-plus days and took price reductions to get under contract tell a different story. Buyers who made the only offer after weeks of waiting know the dynamic has shifted, and repair requests tend to run longer in those deals. Understanding how your days on market affects your pricing and negotiating leverage is essential context before you respond to any repair request. [LINK — see Section 3]

Your negotiating position going into the repair discussion depends entirely on which of those situations you're in. The right response for a seller who accepted an offer in eight days after multiple bids is very different from the right response for a seller who needed six weeks and a $30,000 price cut to find a buyer.

Your listing agent should be giving you that read before you draft any response. If they're not, ask for it directly. It changes everything about how you should play this.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Am I legally required to make repairs after a home inspection in California?

No. California law does not require sellers to make repairs based on a buyer's inspection. Your legal obligation is to disclose all known material defects before the sale — typically through the Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) and Seller Property Questionnaire (SPQ). A Request for Repair is a negotiation, not a mandate.

Can a buyer cancel if I refuse to make repairs in California?

Yes, but only if the inspection contingency is still active. Under the standard C.A.R. purchase agreement, buyers have 17 days from acceptance to act on the inspection findings. If you decline their repair request and the contingency hasn't been removed, the buyer can cancel and recover their earnest money deposit in full. Once the contingency is removed, they cannot cancel for inspection reasons without risking their deposit.

Is it better to give a credit or make repairs when selling a home in California?

In most cases, a credit is simpler. You avoid managing contractors and the buyer chooses who does the work. The main limit is the lender's cap on seller concessions — 3% of purchase price for conventional loans, 6% for FHA, and 4% for VA. For most repair requests in Temecula's $600K–$1.2M price range, a credit stays well within those limits and keeps the process cleaner.

What is a Request for Repair form in California real estate?

The C.A.R. Request for Repair (Form RR) is the standard document buyers use to formally request that sellers address inspection findings before closing. The seller can agree to some or all items, propose an alternative such as a credit, or decline. The buyer then decides whether to remove their contingency and proceed or cancel within the contingency window.

How long does the inspection contingency last in California?

The default inspection contingency period under the C.A.R. residential purchase agreement is 17 days from the date of acceptance. Buyers must complete inspections and act on the findings — by submitting a repair request, removing the contingency, or canceling — within that window. If they take no action before the deadline, the contingency is automatically removed.

Knowing your options before a repair request lands in your inbox is what separates a confident seller from a reactive one. You don't have to give in to everything — and you don't have to risk your deal to hold your ground either. The right response depends on your specific situation: the size of the ask, how long your home was on market, what loan type the buyer is using, and what your alternatives look like if this deal falls apart.

If you're preparing to list your Temecula home and want to understand what to expect — or if you're already under contract and navigating this right now — I offer a private, no-pressure listing consultation where we can talk through your specific situation. No obligation. Just a real conversation about your home and your options. Reach out and let's talk it through.

About Justin Short

Justin Short is a local real estate agent who has lived in Temecula for over 25 years. A long-time top agent in the Temecula Valley, he has earned hundreds of 5-star reviews online helping buyers and sellers navigate the market with confidence.