C.A.R. Form RR — Request for Repair
The form a California buyer uses to ask for repairs after inspection. Its most important characteristic is how little it obliges anyone to do.
What it is and when it appears
It is the written list of what the buyer would like addressed, normally sent during the investigation period after inspection reports are in. It is a negotiating document rather than a contractual change: nothing about the deal moves until the seller agrees in writing.
Why shorter lists do better
A request listing every observation an inspector made invites a blanket refusal, because it reads as a renegotiation rather than a response to a discovery. Requests that name the few items that genuinely change the value or safety of the property are answered more often, and they leave the buyer with a clearer story if the deal ends.
The request becomes part of the record
A repair request and the inspection findings behind it do not disappear if the deal ends. California sellers generally have an obligation to disclose material facts they know about the property to later buyers, and a seller who has read an inspection report now knows what is in it. A deal that falls apart over a foundation finding tends to be followed by a listing that has to mention the foundation.
That is worth understanding before a request is sent, because it changes the seller’s incentives in a way that is not obvious. A seller weighing a repair request is not only deciding what this buyer is worth — they are deciding what the next set of disclosures will say. It is one reason a narrow, well-evidenced request sometimes succeeds where a long list fails: the long list reads as an attempt to renegotiate, and refusing it costs the seller nothing they were not already going to carry.
Forms this touches
Named so you know which document the conversation ends in. Their text is not reproduced here.
- RR — Request for Repair
- RRRR — Seller Response and Buyer Reply
Questions that come up
Is a request for repair binding?
No. It is a request. What binds is a signed agreement on the response.
How long does the seller have to reply?
The purchase agreement does not require a reply at all. What runs on a clock is the buyer’s investigation contingency, which defaults to 17 days from acceptance.
Describe the change in plain English
Amendly drafts the California amendment or addendum for your deal from a sentence. You review every line before it goes anywhere.
Draft your first amendmentRelated in this guide
- C.A.R. Form RRRR — the seller responseHow a California seller answers a repair request, why a partial agreement is not an agreement, and what turns a response into a change to the contract.
- Repair credits after a California inspectionWhat a California seller must do after a repair request, what they can ignore, and which document actually changes the contract.
- When a California seller refuses to repair anythingA California seller can decline a repair request, or ignore it. What that leaves the buyer, and what the seller still owes regardless.
Where this comes from
This page describes how California residential transactions typically work. It is general information, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for an attorney on a specific deal. Amendly is not a law firm. Forms are named and described here; their text is not reproduced. Amendly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the California Association of REALTORS® or any state agency.