Property Information Form TA6 (UK)

A Property Information Form TA6 in the United Kingdom is a legally binding written instrument.

The TA6 is not itself a statutory document, but completing it accurately is a legal obligation arising from several pieces of legislation. The Misrepresentation Act 1967 renders a seller liable in damages — and potentially allows a buyer to rescind the contract — if the seller makes a false statement of fact that induces the buyer to enter the contract. The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) impose obligations on property professionals (including estate agents and sellers' solicitors) not to engage in misleading actions or misleading omissions: withholding material information that a buyer needs to make an informed decision about the transaction can be a criminal offence under regulation 5. The Property Ombudsman Code of Practice requires member estate agents to disclose all material facts about a property.

The Law Society produces successive editions of the TA6 as part of the National Conveyancing Protocol. The current edition (5th edition, 2020) was significantly expanded from its predecessor to require disclosure of more detailed information, particularly on building regulations, Japanese knotweed, flooding, and environmental matters. The 5th edition introduced a new section requiring sellers to confirm compliance with the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008.

The TA6 is used in conjunction with the TA10 Fittings and Contents Form (which records which items are included and excluded from the sale) and, for leasehold properties, the TA7 Leasehold Information Form. Together these three forms comprise the core pre-contract disclosure pack in residential conveyancing in England and Wales. For new-build properties, builders and developers use equivalent forms produced by the National House Building Council (NHBC) or equivalent warranty providers.

The Trading Standards Institute and the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) published guidance in 2022 requiring that material information about a property be disclosed at the point of marketing, not just at the conveyancing stage — covering tenure, council tax band, and property-specific issues such as restrictive covenants, flood risk, and planning restrictions. This guidance, known as Part B and Part C Material Information, effectively brought forward many of the TA6 disclosures to the marketing stage.

A Property Information Form TA6 is needed in every residential freehold and leasehold sale in England and Wales where the seller's solicitor is following the Law Society's National Conveyancing Protocol. In practice, the TA6 is completed in virtually every residential conveyancing transaction because it is the standard mechanism for fulfilling the seller's pre-contractual disclosure obligations.

The TA6 is needed when a private individual sells their home — whether a freehold house, a leasehold flat, or a new-build property — and the buyer's solicitor raises property information enquiries as part of the conveyancing process. The seller's solicitor will send the TA6 to the buyer's solicitor at the outset of the transaction, together with draft contracts and office copy entries from HM Land Registry.

The TA6 is particularly important when the property has issues that could affect the buyer's decision — a recent flood, a planning enforcement notice, an ongoing boundary dispute with a neighbour, undisclosed alterations carried out without building regulations approval, or Japanese knotweed in the garden. These matters must be disclosed in the TA6: failure to disclose gives the buyer a potential claim under the Misrepresentation Act 1967 after completion, which can result in damages or rescission of the contract.

Buyers who raise specific enquiries based on the TA6 — for example, asking for copies of planning permissions for an extension, requesting details of a previously flooded basement, or asking for the guarantee for a new roof — rely on the TA6 answers as representations by the seller. A buyer who enters the contract on the basis of a false or misleading TA6 answer has a claim in misrepresentation even if the issue was not specifically asked about in pre-contract enquiries, provided the answer in the TA6 induced the buyer to proceed.

Where the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team material information requirements apply, the estate agent and seller's solicitor must confirm that the material information disclosed in the TA6 is consistent with the information disclosed in the property marketing particulars. Discrepancies between the marketing details and the TA6 answers create risk for both the seller and their solicitor.

For probate sales, where the personal representative (executor or administrator) is selling a property from a deceased person's estate, the TA6 must be completed to the best of the personal representative's knowledge. Personal representatives who have not lived in the property must answer honestly that information is 'not known' rather than guessing, and should seek any available information from family members, the deceased's solicitors, or the local planning authority.

A complete UK Property Information Form TA6 must address every category of material information that could affect a buyer's decision to purchase the property or their solicitor's ability to investigate title.

The boundaries section requires the seller to confirm responsibility for maintaining each boundary (walls, fences, hedges, and ditches) and to disclose any boundary disputes or uncertainty about the line of the boundary. Under English property law, ownership of a boundary feature is determined by the title deeds and Land Registry title plan. Boundary disputes are the most common source of property neighbour disputes and should be disclosed even if they are historical.

The disputes and complaints section requires the seller to disclose any disputes or complaints with neighbours, local authorities, or planning authorities within the last three years, including disputes about parking, access, noise, shared facilities, and party walls. A dispute that has been formally raised — for example, under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 — must be disclosed whether or not it has been resolved.

The notices and orders section requires disclosure of any notices, orders, or proposals received from a public or local authority, including planning enforcement notices, tree preservation orders, compulsory purchase orders, road or path adoption schemes, and housing improvement or prohibition notices under the Housing Act 2004. These notices can significantly affect the property's value and use.

The alterations section requires the seller to disclose any structural alterations, extensions, loft conversions, garage conversions, or other works carried out since the property was built, and to confirm whether planning permission and building regulations approval were obtained. Where approval was obtained, copies of the planning permission, building regulations completion certificate, and any FENSA or Competent Person certificates for windows, heating systems, or electrical works should be provided.

The guarantees and warranties section requires disclosure of any guarantees or warranties in existence for the property — NHBC Buildmark warranty (10 years from new), damp proofing guarantees, timber treatment guarantees, roof guarantees, double glazing guarantees, and specialist drainage or structural guarantees. These documents should be assigned to the buyer on completion.

The services section requires disclosure of the services connected to the property: gas, electricity, mains water, mains drainage, telephone, and broadband (with a note on achievable speeds). Where any services are shared with neighbouring properties, the arrangements for the shared service (including who pays for maintenance) must be disclosed.

The environmental section covers flooding history (whether the property has flooded in the last five years, whether it is in a flood risk zone according to Environment Agency mapping), Japanese knotweed (whether it is or has been present on the property or adjoining land), contaminated land, radon (in high-risk areas as identified by the UK Health Security Agency), and energy efficiency (Energy Performance Certificate rating).

The rights and informal arrangements section discloses any rights of way, easements, wayleaves, or informal access arrangements affecting the property — for example, a neighbour's right to cross the garden, a utility company's right to lay cables, or an informal parking arrangement with a neighbour that has continued for years and may have given rise to a prescriptive easement.

The occupiers section requires the seller to disclose whether anyone other than the seller currently occupies the property, what their legal status is (contractual licensee, assured shorthold tenant, family member), and what arrangements have been made for them to vacate before completion. Undisclosed occupiers can prevent vacant possession being given on the contractual completion date.

Under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and Housing Act 1988, disputes may be referred to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 sets repair obligations. The Land Registry maintains title records under the Land Registration Act 2002. Section 2 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 governs contracts for the sale of land. The Tenant Fees Act 2019 restricts permitted payments. The forms-legal.com Property Information Form TA6 (UK) template covers the mandatory elements under Law of Property Act 1925.