Draft Contract Pack Explained: What It Is and Why It Matters

When you sell a property in England and Wales, one of the first things your solicitor does after an offer is accepted is prepare and send the draft contract pack to the buyer's solicitor. This bundle of documents is the foundation of the entire legal transaction — it gives the buyer's side everything they need to begin their checks and move towards exchange of contracts.

How quickly this pack is assembled and sent has a direct impact on how long your conveyancing takes overall. A pack that is ready to go on day one can save three to five weeks compared with the typical timeline. A pack that takes six weeks to put together gives your buyer time to get cold feet, find another property, or lose patience.

This guide explains exactly what goes into a draft contract pack, who is responsible for each part, when it should be sent, and what you as a seller can do to make sure it is ready as fast as possible.

What is a draft contract pack?

A draft contract pack is the set of legal documents that the seller's solicitor sends to the buyer's solicitor at the start of the conveyancing process. It is called "draft" because the contract of sale it contains is an initial version — open to review, negotiation, and amendment before both sides agree on the final terms and exchange contracts.

The pack serves two purposes. First, it provides the buyer's solicitor with the legal information they need to carry out due diligence on the property — checking the title, reviewing the seller's disclosures, and raising pre-contract enquiries about anything unclear or concerning. Second, it provides the framework for the contract itself — the document that, once exchanged, makes the sale legally binding.

Under the Law Society Conveyancing Protocol, the seller's solicitor is expected to send the draft contract pack as quickly as possible after receiving instructions. The Protocol is followed by the vast majority of residential conveyancers in England and Wales and sets out a standard process for how the documents should be prepared and exchanged.

What documents are included in a draft contract pack?

A complete draft contract pack for a freehold property typically contains the following documents. Leasehold properties require additional items, which are covered in a separate section below.

Your solicitor may also include copies of any relevant correspondence — for example, completion letters from building control, consent letters for alterations, or documentation relating to rights of way or shared access.

Additional documents for leasehold properties

If you are selling a leasehold property (most commonly a flat), the draft contract pack must include additional documents on top of the standard freehold set:

• A copy of the lease. The buyer's solicitor needs to review the full lease to check the terms, length remaining, ground rent provisions, and any restrictions. If the lease is not already filed at Land Registry, your solicitor will need to obtain a copy from the freeholder or your own records.
• The TA7 Leasehold Information Form. This is the Law Society's standard form for leasehold sales, covering service charges, ground rent, management company details, planned major works, and any disputes with the freeholder or managing agent.
• The leasehold management pack (LPE1). This is a formal information pack supplied by the freeholder or managing agent, confirming the current service charge and ground rent position, any arrears, planned major works, building insurance details, and other management information. It typically costs £200 to £500 and can take three to six weeks to arrive. Ordering this early is critical for leasehold sales.

Leasehold sales are inherently more document-heavy than freehold sales. The leasehold management pack in particular is a common source of delay, because sellers often do not realise it needs to be ordered until their solicitor tells them — by which point several weeks have already been lost.

Who prepares the draft contract pack?

The draft contract pack is a joint effort between the seller and their solicitor, though the solicitor takes the lead on assembly and quality control:

• The seller's solicitor obtains the title documents from Land Registry, drafts the contract of sale, reviews everything for completeness and consistency, and sends the finished pack to the buyer's solicitor. They also check the title for any issues — such as an old mortgage charge that was never removed, a restriction that needs to be addressed, or a boundary discrepancy — and advise the seller on how to resolve them.
• The seller is responsible for completing the TA6 and TA10 forms honestly and thoroughly, and for providing all supporting documents — certificates, guarantees, planning permissions, and any other paperwork relating to work done on the property. The seller's answers on these forms become legally significant disclosures. Incomplete or inaccurate answers can lead to additional pre-contract enquiries and delays, or even claims after completion.

For a full walkthrough of how to fill in the most important form in the pack, see our TA6 Property Information Form tips.

When is the draft contract pack sent?

In a traditional conveyancing timeline, the draft contract pack is sent after an offer has been accepted. The typical sequence is:

1. The seller accepts an offer from a buyer.
2. Both parties instruct their solicitors (if not already done).
3. The seller's solicitor obtains title documents, sends the seller the TA6 and TA10 forms to complete, and begins drafting the contract.
4. The seller returns their completed forms and supporting documents.
5. The solicitor assembles everything into the draft contract pack and sends it to the buyer's solicitor.

In this traditional model, steps 2 through 5 typically take three to six weeks. The main bottlenecks are the seller taking time to complete forms, tracking down missing certificates, and (for leasehold properties) waiting for the management pack.

However, there is nothing stopping you from getting ahead. If you instruct your solicitor and complete your forms before an offer is even accepted, the draft contract pack can be sent within days of offer acceptance — or in some cases, on the same day.

How to speed up the draft contract pack

The draft contract pack is one of the biggest controllable factors in your conveyancing timeline. Here is what you can do to make sure it is ready as quickly as possible:

1. Instruct your solicitor before you list

Do not wait until you have an offer. Instructing a solicitor when you decide to sell — or even before you list the property — gives them time to obtain title documents, review them for problems, and begin drafting the contract. Most solicitors charge the same fee regardless of when you instruct. For guidance on early instruction, see our guide to instructing a solicitor.

2. Complete your TA6 and TA10 forms early

These two forms are almost always the biggest delay in assembling the pack. Sellers receive them from their solicitor and then leave them sitting on the kitchen table for weeks. If you complete them before you accept an offer, that delay disappears entirely. The forms are detailed but manageable — the TA6 takes most sellers one to two hours if they have their paperwork to hand, and the TA10 takes 30 to 60 minutes.

3. Gather your supporting documents now

Before you need them, pull together every certificate, guarantee, and planning document you have for the property. Common items include:

• Building regulations completion certificates for any extensions, conversions, or structural alterations
• Planning permission approvals and decision notices
• FENSA certificates for replacement windows and doors
• Electrical installation certificates (Part P compliance)
• Gas safety certificates
• Guarantees for damp proofing, timber treatment, roofing, or other specialist work
• NHBC or equivalent warranty for new-build properties (if within the warranty period)
• Party wall awards, if any work was done under the Party Wall Act

If you cannot find a document, tell your solicitor early. They can advise whether it can be obtained from the local authority or contractor, or whether indemnity insurance is an appropriate alternative.

4. Order the leasehold management pack immediately

If you are selling a leasehold property, order the management pack from your freeholder or managing agent as soon as you decide to sell. This single document is responsible for more leasehold sale delays than almost any other factor. Some managing agents take up to six weeks to supply it, and there is no way to speed them up once the order is placed. Getting it ordered on day one is essential.

5. Resolve title issues proactively

When your solicitor reviews the title documents, they may flag issues such as an old mortgage charge that was never removed after redemption, a restriction that requires additional documentation, or a discrepancy between the title plan and the actual boundaries. Resolving these issues takes time — sometimes weeks — so the earlier they are identified, the less impact they have on your timeline. If your title deeds are missing entirely, our guide on selling with missing title deeds explains your options.

What happens after the pack is sent?

Once the buyer's solicitor receives the draft contract pack, the conveyancing process moves into the enquiries and searches phase:

1. The buyer's solicitor reviews the pack. They check the title for issues, review the seller's answers on the TA6 and TA10, and examine all supporting documents.
2. They raise pre-contract enquiries. These are formal written questions about anything in the pack that is unclear, incomplete, or potentially problematic. Common enquiries relate to building work done without certificates, boundary discrepancies, service charge arrears (for leasehold), and rights of way.
3. Your solicitor responds to the enquiries. Some questions can be answered from the documents already on file. Others will be passed to you to answer. Responding quickly and thoroughly is critical — slow enquiry responses are one of the most common causes of conveyancing delays.
4. The buyer's solicitor carries out searches. Local authority searches, environmental searches, drainage searches, and others are ordered in parallel with the enquiry process. These typically take two to four weeks to return.
5. Both sides work towards exchange. Once all enquiries are answered, searches are clear, and the buyer's mortgage offer is in place, both solicitors prepare for exchange of contracts — the point at which the sale becomes legally binding.

The quality and completeness of your draft contract pack directly affects how many enquiries are raised and how long this phase takes. A thorough, well-prepared pack with complete forms and all supporting documents will generate fewer enquiries and move to exchange faster.

Common problems with the draft contract pack

Certain issues arise repeatedly in draft contract packs and cause predictable delays:

• Incomplete TA6 or TA10 forms. Leaving questions blank or answering "not known" when you could reasonably find out the answer will prompt additional enquiries from the buyer's solicitor. Take the time to answer every question fully.
• Missing building regulations certificates. If you have had work done — a loft conversion, an extension, a bathroom re-plumb — and cannot produce the completion certificate, the buyer's solicitor will raise it as an enquiry. Your options are to obtain a retrospective certificate from your local council (which can take weeks) or to arrange indemnity insurance.
• Title discrepancies. Errors or outdated information on the title register, such as an old charge from a mortgage you paid off years ago, will need to be resolved with Land Registry before exchange can take place.
• Late leasehold management pack. Freeholders and managing agents are not bound by any statutory deadline for supplying the management pack. Some take four to six weeks, and there is little your solicitor can do to force the pace.
• Contradictions between documents. If the information on your TA6 contradicts what the title register shows, or your TA10 does not match what the buyer saw at the viewing, the buyer's solicitor will want explanations. Consistency matters.

The draft contract pack and the Law Society Protocol

The Law Society Conveyancing Protocol (also known as the "TransAction Protocol") is the standard framework followed by most residential conveyancers in England and Wales. It sets out what the draft contract pack should contain and how it should be prepared.

Under the Protocol, the seller's solicitor must:

• Send the draft contract pack to the buyer's solicitor promptly after instruction
• Include official copies of the title register and title plan
• Use the standard Law Society forms (TA6, TA10, TA7 for leasehold)
• Include all supporting documents that relate to the seller's answers on the forms
• Use the Standard Conditions of Sale (5th edition) as the basis for the contract, with any special conditions clearly highlighted

For a deeper look at the standard forms used in the process, see our guide on Law Society Protocol forms.

How Pine helps you prepare early

Pine is designed to help sellers get their paperwork ready before they accept an offer — so the draft contract pack can be sent immediately rather than weeks after offer acceptance. With Pine, sellers can complete their TA6 and TA10 forms using guided, plain-English support, gather and organise their certificates and documents into a single digital pack, and hand everything to their solicitor in a format that is ready to use from day one. This removes the biggest source of delay in the draft contract pack process and puts you in control of your conveyancing timeline.

Sources and further reading

• Law Society Conveyancing Protocol — the standard framework for residential conveyancing in England and Wales, including what the draft contract pack should contain (lawsociety.org.uk)
• HM Land Registry — official title document services for properties in England and Wales (gov.uk)
• Search Property Information — Land Registry — how to obtain official copies of title registers and title plans (gov.uk)
• TA6 Property Information Form — the Law Society's standard property disclosure form used in residential sales (lawsociety.org.uk)
• TA10 Fittings and Contents Form — the Law Society's standard form for specifying what is included in a property sale (lawsociety.org.uk)
• SRA Transparency Rules — guidance on how solicitors must publish their fees and service information for conveyancing (sra.org.uk)
• Find an Energy Certificate — check or retrieve your property's current Energy Performance Certificate (gov.uk)
• HomeOwners Alliance — Selling Guides — independent consumer advice on selling a property in England and Wales (hoa.org.uk)
• Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) — free initial advice on leasehold property matters, including management packs and service charges (lease-advice.org)
• Law of Property Act 1925 — the primary legislation governing property transactions in England and Wales (legislation.gov.uk)

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