TA6 property information form: what sellers disclose

The TA6 property information form is the standard questionnaire a seller in England and Wales fills in about the home they are selling. It asks about boundaries, disputes, alterations, guarantees and known problems, and your answers go to the buyer's solicitor as part of the sale pack. Accuracy matters more than speed, because what you write can be relied on long after completion.

What does the TA6 property information form cover?

The TA6 covers the condition and legal position of the property rather than its price. It is a long list of questions about what you own, what has happened at the address and what you know about it.

The main groups of questions are:

• boundaries, and who is responsible for fences and walls
• access, and rights of way across the land
• disputes and complaints involving neighbours or the property
• alterations and extensions, and any planning or building control approvals
• guarantees and warranties for work such as damp treatment or a new roof
• services: drainage, water, gas and electricity, and whether any are shared
• flooding, radon and other environmental questions
• parking arrangements and any permitted rights
• other occupiers, and whether anyone else has a claim on the property
• notices or correspondence from the local authority

Most questions are tick boxes with a space for details. The detail is where the value lies: writing that there was a dispute and it was resolved tells a buyer far more than a bare tick.

Do you have to disclose problems you know about?

Yes, for anything you know about. The form asks for answers to the best of your knowledge, and your solicitor will expect you to say what you know rather than what sounds best.

This does not mean you must inspect the house on the buyer's behalf. It means you should not stay quiet about a dispute you have had, a repair you have paid for, or work done without the approval it needed. Leaving a known problem out rarely stays private: neighbours talk, local searches throw up notices, and a later survey can uncover work that was never signed off. If you are unsure how to phrase an answer, write the facts and let your solicitor decide how to present them.

What happens if an answer turns out to be wrong?

An inaccurate answer can come back to you after completion, and dealing with it usually costs more than the repair would have done.

Some mistakes are honest. You may genuinely not have known that a wall was shared, or that an old extension was built without approval. Others are avoidable, such as a confident no given without checking the deeds. Timing matters as well: a correction made before contracts are exchanged is straightforward, while the same point raised months after completion is not. If you discover something wrong with your answers, tell your solicitor straight away instead of waiting to see whether anyone notices.

How should you complete the TA6?

Complete the TA6 from your records, not from memory. Gather the title documents, planning decisions, certificates for work and any letters about disputes before you start, then answer in one pass.

A practical order:

1. Read the whole form once before writing anything.
2. Check the title register and plan for boundaries and rights.
3. Find certificates for alterations, extensions and guarantees.
4. Answer each question, using not known only where that is the honest answer.
5. Send your solicitor anything you are unsure about, in writing.
6. Keep a dated copy, and report any change before exchange.

If you are selling a flat, the leasehold questions are usually the slowest part, because you may need information from the freeholder or the managing agent. Ask for it early rather than at the last minute.

Where does the form fit in the sale?

The TA6 is one of the forms in the conveyancing pack that goes to the buyer's solicitor after an offer is accepted, together with the fixtures and fittings form and, for leasehold homes, a separate leasehold questionnaire.

Your answers travel with the title documents and the local searches. By the time contracts are exchanged they are expected to be complete and final, which is why anything that changes in between, such as a new dispute or a repair, should be reported rather than left for the buyer to discover later.

If you are still working out what to ask for your home, our page on house value explains what an estimate can and cannot tell you, and sold house prices shows how completed sales in your area are recorded by HM Land Registry. Our methodology explains where that data comes from. None of it replaces the legal answers on the TA6, which only you and your solicitor can give.

Does the TA6 affect tax or anything after completion?

The TA6 deals with the property, not with your tax position, so capital gains questions sit outside it. What it does affect is what you can be asked about later, because the buyer keeps your answers on file.

If the home you are selling has not always been your only home, records of the purchase cost, improvement work and key dates matter. The guide to capital gains tax on property covers what to keep. Store your own copy of the completed TA6 with those records.

Frequently asked questions

Is the TA6 legally binding?

The TA6 is not a contract on its own, but the answers become part of the information the buyer relies on, and an inaccurate answer can lead to a claim after completion.

Can you answer not known on the TA6?

Yes, where you genuinely do not know, but it should not be used to avoid checking your deeds, certificates and correspondence first.

Does the TA6 apply in Scotland?

No. The form is used for sales in England and Wales, and other parts of the UK have their own conveyancing forms and practice.