To fill out C.A.R. Form RR (Request for Repair), a California homebuyer lists the specific items the seller should fix, credit, or price-reduce after inspections, ties each item to a report finding, and delivers the signed form to the seller within the 17-day investigation contingency window set by the California Residential Purchase Agreement. The form has four request paragraphs, and you can use one, several, or all of them in the same submission. Getting the details right matters because the seller has no contractual duty to agree to the request or even respond to it.
What to Gather Before You Start
Pull the paperwork your requests will reference before you draft anything. You need:
- Buyer and seller names exactly as they appear on the executed RPA. No nicknames, no shortened versions.
- The full property address from the purchase agreement.
- The date of acceptance, which is when the RPA was fully executed and when your 17-day contingency clock started.
- The general home inspection report, any wood-destroying organism (pest) report, and any specialized reports such as roof, sewer, foundation, or chimney. Each report should note the inspector’s name, inspection date, and item or page numbers for the defects you plan to raise.
Your agent accesses the current version of Form RR through zipForm, the form platform provided to C.A.R. members. Buyers don’t typically fill out the form on their own; you work with your agent to decide which defects to raise and how to frame each one. The form itself is a single page, but the negotiation it sets off can run through several rounds and additional forms.
Filling Out Each Paragraph
Form RR is divided into four request categories, each labeled with a letter. Match the right category to the right problem.
Paragraph 1(a): Physical Repairs
List the specific items you want the seller to repair or replace before closing. For each one, name the inspection report, its date, and the exact page or item number where the defect appears. Vague language like “fix the plumbing” invites disagreement later about what was actually requested. Write something closer to “repair the leaking supply valve under the master bathroom sink, as identified on page 7, item 12 of the home inspection report dated March 15, 2026.” That level of detail makes it harder for the seller to claim work was done when it wasn’t.
Paragraph 1(b): Pest Control Work
If a wood-destroying organism report was prepared, use Paragraph 1(b) to ask the seller to pay for pest-related corrective work. The paragraph mirrors how pest reports are structured, splitting requests into Section 1 items (active infestations or infections already present) and Section 2 items (conditions likely to lead to future infestation, such as wood-to-earth contact or excessive moisture). Attach the pest report and identify its preparer and date. When the seller agrees to pest work here, the form requires the seller to deliver a written pest control certification showing the work is complete no later than five days before closing, or another number of days the parties specify.
Paragraph 1(c): Closing Cost Credit
Instead of asking the seller to swing a hammer, you can request a dollar credit applied at closing. Buyers often prefer a credit when they want to hire their own contractor after taking possession, or when the defect is cosmetic and the buyer plans to renovate anyway. The form has a blank for the specific dollar amount. One note printed on the form itself: any credit here is separate from other credits in the purchase agreement and does not reduce or replace them unless both parties agree in a written addendum. Credits also have to be disclosed to your lender, and total contractual credits may be capped.
Paragraph 1(d): Purchase Price Reduction
This paragraph asks for a lower purchase price rather than a credit or repair. A price reduction changes the contract price itself, which can reduce your loan amount and monthly payment. It fits best when the defect is significant enough to justify a different valuation of the property. Fill in the new proposed price. A price reduction may trigger a new appraisal or lender review, so talk it through with your loan officer before submitting.
Paragraph 2: Attaching Reports
Paragraph 2 provides a line to identify any inspection or other report you’re attaching. Always attach the reports you cite. The seller needs to see the same findings you’re referencing, and bundling them with the form prevents later confusion about which version of a report is being discussed.
Lender Limits on Seller Credits
Before requesting a large closing cost credit under Paragraph 1(c), check with your lender. Each loan type caps total seller concessions as a percentage of the purchase price or appraised value, whichever is lower. For conventional loans, the cap depends on your down payment: 3% if you put down less than 10%, 6% for down payments between 10% and 24.9%, and 9% for 25% or more down. Investment property purchases are capped at 2% regardless of down payment. FHA loans allow up to 6%. VA loans cap seller concessions at 4% of the home’s reasonable value. These limits apply to the total of all seller credits across the transaction, not just what appears on Form RR.
Seller credits also cannot be applied toward your down payment. They’re restricted to closing costs and prepaid items such as title insurance, loan origination fees, recording fees, and prepaid property taxes or homeowners insurance. If a requested credit would push the total above the cap, the lender will reject the excess, and you’ll need to renegotiate or shift the request to a price reduction instead.
Delivering the Form on Time
Under the standard RPA, the buyer has 17 days after acceptance to complete all investigations and either remove contingencies or cancel the agreement. Your repair request has to be delivered to the seller within that same window. Miss it, and the seller can issue a Notice to Buyer to Perform (C.A.R. Form NBP), which gives you a short additional window to act. After that, the seller gains the right to cancel.
Delivery usually happens electronically. California recognizes electronic signatures, so signing and sending the form through DocuSign or your agent’s transaction management system is standard practice and legally valid. Your agent delivers the signed form to the seller’s agent, and the platform generates a timestamped record of when the document was sent and opened. Keep that record. It’s your proof of timely delivery if the timeline is ever disputed.
One point that catches buyers off guard: delivering Form RR does not automatically extend your contingency period. The 17-day clock keeps running. If negotiations drag and you haven’t removed contingencies or canceled by the deadline, the seller can use the NBP process to force the issue. Build a realistic timeline with your agent that leaves room for back-and-forth.
What Happens After You Send It
The seller isn’t required to agree to anything or to respond at all. The RPA explicitly says the seller has no obligation to agree to or respond to the buyer’s repair requests. Most sellers do respond because they want the deal to close, but silence is a legal option.
When the seller responds, they use C.A.R. Form RRRR (Seller Response and Buyer Reply to Request for Repair). The seller can agree to everything, agree with exceptions, offer a different credit amount, propose a different price reduction, or reject the request outright. The RRRR mirrors the categories on Form RR.
Form RRRR carries a condition buyers should know about. The seller’s agreement to repairs or credits is typically contingent on the buyer removing the physical inspection contingency, removing any other contingencies identified on an attached Contingency Removal form (C.A.R. Form CR), and releasing the seller and brokers from liability regarding the disclosed condition of the property. The seller’s concession comes with strings: you’re trading your right to keep investigating for the seller’s agreement to fix things or pay up.
The bottom of Form RRRR contains the Buyer Reply. You have three options there: accept the seller’s response as written, accept it with a modification you propose, or withdraw your original request and submit a new Form RR with different terms. If you accept with a modification, the seller gets another turn. This continues until both sides sign off or the deal falls apart. Once both parties agree, the signed RR and RRRR become part of the purchase agreement, and the terms are binding.
Verifying the Work Before Closing
An agreement on paper doesn’t help if the work isn’t actually done, or is done poorly. Your main verification tool is the final walk-through, typically 24 to 72 hours before closing. You’re checking that agreed-upon repairs are complete, no new damage has appeared, and the property is in the expected condition.
For any significant repair, ask the seller to provide documentation before closing: detailed contractor invoices showing scope, labor, and materials that match what was agreed on the forms; copies of building permits and final inspection sign-offs where the work required them; the written pest control certification the form itself requires for Paragraph 1(b) work; any contractor warranties, which matter most for roofing, HVAC, and plumbing; and before-and-after photos to establish a baseline for future warranty claims.
If the walk-through reveals incomplete or substandard work, you can delay closing until it’s finished, renegotiate for a credit or price reduction, or, if you still have an active contingency, cancel the transaction. Once contingencies are removed, your leverage shrinks considerably, which is why verification before closing carries real weight.
If the Seller Doesn’t Perform
Sometimes a seller signs the RRRR and then doesn’t follow through. Caught before closing, one practical fix is an escrow holdback: a portion of the seller’s proceeds sits in escrow until the repairs are completed and verified. The holdback is typically 100% to 150% of the estimated repair cost, depending on lender requirements. Once the work passes inspection, escrow releases the funds to the seller; if the work is never completed, the held funds go to the buyer to cover the cost.
Escrow holdbacks need lender approval, and some loan programs have restrictions. FHA loans limit holdbacks to $5,000. VA loans typically require the holdback to equal 150% of the estimated repair cost. Raise holdback feasibility with your lender early if you think the seller may not get the work done in time.
If the seller flatly refuses and a holdback isn’t available, the buyer’s remaining options are refusing to close, renegotiating for a credit or price reduction, or pursuing legal action for breach of contract. Keep copies of all inspection reports, the signed RR and RRRR, communications with the seller or their agent, and repair estimates from licensed contractors showing what the work would cost.
Tips for a Stronger Request
Buyers who treat Form RR as a wish list tend to get less than buyers who treat it as a negotiation document. A few things move the needle:
- Focus on health, safety, and structural items. Sellers are more likely to agree to fix a cracked foundation or a faulty electrical panel than to repaint a bedroom. Lender-required repairs carry extra weight because the deal can’t close without them, especially on FHA and VA loans. Roof leaks, exposed wiring, missing handrails, and non-functional heating systems fall in this group.
- Tie every request to a specific report finding. Cite the inspector’s name, report date, and item number. Unsupported requests are easy to dismiss.
- Don’t mix repairs and credits on the same defect. If you’re asking for both a repair and a credit, make sure they cover different items. Overlapping requests create confusion and give the seller room to push back on both.
- Get contractor estimates before submitting. When you’re requesting a credit or price reduction, an estimate makes your number defensible instead of arbitrary.
- Keep the tone reasonable. A well-documented request is more likely to produce a cooperative response than an aggressive demand covering every minor cosmetic defect in the house.