Tennessee is one of the few states whose residential disclosure statute specifically requires sellers to disclose known neighborhood noise or other nuisances — a provision that, combined with separate case law clarifying aircraft noise as a qualifying condition, creates real disclosure obligations for Tennessee realtors. With Nashville’s rapid growth, Memphis’s major cargo hub status, and active military installations across the state, this is an increasingly relevant area of practice.
The Law: Tennessee Code Annotated § 66-5-207 and § 66-5-210
Tennessee’s Residential Property Disclosure Act requires sellers to complete a disclosure form covering the property’s known conditions. The statute at T.C.A. § 66-5-207 requires disclosure of known neighborhood noise or other nuisances, and whether there are any authorized changes in road, drainage, or utilities affecting the property.
T.C.A. § 66-5-210 extends the framework to airport-specific disclosures, requiring sellers to disclose relevant airport-related information when it constitutes a known condition affecting the property.
Important caveat: Tennessee’s statute contains language that relieves sellers from liability for failing to disclose conditions that could only be discovered through inspection or conditions not within the seller’s personal knowledge. This creates a narrower, knowledge-based obligation — but it does not protect sellers or agents who knowingly fail to disclose aircraft noise they are aware of.
Key law references:
- T.C.A. § 66-5-207 — Neighborhood noise and nuisance disclosure
- T.C.A. § 66-5-210 — Airport-related disclosure provisions
- Tennessee Real Estate Commission licensing and disclosure rules
Nashville’s Growth and the NextGen Problem
Nashville International Airport (BNA) is one of the fastest-growing major airports in the country. Passenger volume has roughly doubled over the past decade, and flight path concentration has intensified as a result. The FAA’s NextGen PBN implementation has concentrated flight corridors over specific Nashville-area neighborhoods in ways that historical noise maps do not reflect.
The research shows that this kind of operational change — more concentrated routes over the same neighborhoods — carries measurable property value impacts even when total flight counts remain stable. The 2025 MIT/Tufts study documented that Boston’s average residential DNL increased by 3.4 decibels purely from route concentration changes during NextGen implementation, with corresponding 2%+ home value impacts. Nashville buyers purchasing near BNA deserve current flight path information, not historical contour maps.
Memphis International (MEM) presents a different profile: it is the second-busiest cargo airport in the world (FedEx’s global SuperHub), operating with heavy freight traffic concentrated in overnight hours. The DNL metric applies a 10 dB nighttime penalty to noise events occurring between 10 PM and 7 AM. At MEM, this means properties near the airport experience significantly higher DNL than daytime observation suggests — a material fact that Tennessee’s noise nuisance disclosure provision captures.
Major Tennessee Airports and Military Installations
| Airport / Installation | Market | Key Consideration |
|---|---|---|
| BNA (Nashville International) | Greater Nashville | Fast-growing hub; NextGen route concentration affecting new neighborhoods |
| MEM (Memphis International) | Memphis metro | World’s 2nd busiest cargo airport (FedEx); overnight operations dominate DNL |
| CHA (Chattanooga Metropolitan) | Chattanooga | Mixed commercial/military; Tennessee Air National Guard |
| TYS (McGhee Tyson) | Knoxville | Regional hub; Tennessee Air National Guard base |
| Arnold AFB | Coffee/Franklin counties | Major aeronautical testing facility; specialized operations |
| NAS Memphis | Millington | Naval Air Station; active operations north of Memphis metro |
Practical Checklist for Tennessee Realtors
Before listing or making an offer within 15 miles of any Tennessee airport:
- Apply the T.C.A. § 66-5-207 neighborhood noise standard. If you know a property is exposed to aircraft noise that a reasonable buyer would consider a nuisance — not just a minor inconvenience — that knowledge triggers disclosure.
- Nashville-area NextGen check: For BNA-adjacent properties, use SkyVector or FlightAware to verify current flight path density over the specific property. Route concentration from NextGen PBN may have shifted corridors since existing noise contour maps were prepared.
- Memphis cargo operations disclosure: For MEM-adjacent properties, specifically disclose the overnight freight operations profile. FedEx’s SuperHub operations run throughout the night — buyers accustomed to commercial airports that quiet down after midnight will be surprised.
- Pull FAA Noise Exposure Maps for BNA, MEM, CHA, and TYS at faa.gov/airports/environmental/airport_noise. Document the property’s estimated DNL level in your transaction file.
- Military installations: Verify active military air operations at Arnold AFB and NAS Memphis. These generate specialized aircraft noise that falls outside standard commercial aviation disclosure frameworks.
- Tennessee’s knowledge-based standard: The liability relief provision means you’re protected if you genuinely didn’t know about a noise condition — but not if you did know and didn’t disclose. Document your knowledge and your disclosures.
- Use aircraftnoisereport.com to generate property-level noise data. For MEM’s complex overnight cargo environment and BNA’s rapidly changing flight paths, property-specific data is essential.
- Transaction file: Record your noise research — airports within relevant distance, data reviewed, what you communicated.
The Memphis Cargo Hub — A Unique Disclosure Situation
Memphis International is unlike almost any other airport in the U.S. from a residential disclosure standpoint. Because FedEx’s SuperHub conducts the majority of its sorting operations between midnight and 4 AM, the flight activity that most affects nearby residential properties happens when daytime buyers touring homes would never observe it.
A buyer who visits a Memphis-area property on a Sunday afternoon has no direct sensory experience of what that home sounds like at 1 AM on a Tuesday. Tennessee’s noise nuisance disclosure obligation exists precisely for this kind of known but non-observable condition. Agents representing buyers near MEM have an especially strong professional case for proactive, documented noise disclosure.
Get a Property-Level Aircraft Noise Report
Before your next Tennessee transaction near an airport, run a report at aircraftnoisereport.com. Particularly critical near Memphis, where overnight operations create noise profiles that on-site visits simply cannot reveal.
This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed Tennessee real estate attorney for guidance on specific disclosure obligations.