TA6 Common Mistakes Sellers Make (And How to Avoid Them)

The TA6 Property Information Form is one of the most important documents you will complete when selling a property in England or Wales. Published by the Law Society, it covers 14 sections spanning boundaries, disputes, building work, insurance, environmental matters, and more. Your answers become part of the legal transaction and can be relied upon by the buyer.

Despite its importance, sellers routinely make avoidable errors on the TA6 that cause delays, generate additional enquiries, and sometimes lead to post-completion legal claims. According to the Law Society's Conveyancing Protocol, the seller is expected to provide a fully completed TA6 at the outset of the transaction. Yet many forms arrive at the buyer's solicitor's desk riddled with gaps, vague answers, and contradictions.

This guide examines the eight most common TA6 mistakes, explains why each one causes problems in conveyancing, and provides practical advice on how to avoid them. If you want broader guidance on completing the form, see our property information form tips guide.

Note: The TA6 6th edition becomes mandatory on 30 March 2026 with restructured sections and new material information questions. See our comparison of the 5th and 6th editions for what has changed.

Overview of the most common TA6 errors

Before examining each mistake in detail, here is a summary of the eight errors that cause the most problems:

Mistake 1: Answering "not known" when you do know

The "not known" option on the TA6 exists for situations where you genuinely lack the information. It is a legitimate and legally safe response when used honestly. The problem arises when sellers use it as a shortcut to avoid giving detailed answers about things they clearly should know about.

For example, if you commissioned a loft conversion in 2018, answering "not known" to whether building regulations approval was obtained is not credible. You arranged the work, you paid for it, and a reasonable person in your position would be expected to know whether the correct consents were in place. Under the Misrepresentation Act 1967, the buyer could argue that your "not known" answer was a negligent or even fraudulent misrepresentation.

How to avoid this: Before answering "not known," ask yourself whether a court would accept that a reasonable homeowner in your situation genuinely would not know the answer. If you commissioned or were directly involved in the matter, you need to provide a substantive answer. If you genuinely do not know because the work was done by a previous owner before your purchase, say so explicitly: "Not known — the work was carried out by a previous owner prior to our purchase in 2014." For more on what you are legally required to disclose, see our guide on seller duty of disclosure.

Mistake 2: Inconsistency between sections

The TA6 has 14 sections, and the buyer's solicitor reads them as a single document. Contradictions between sections are a reliable trigger for additional enquiries and can seriously undermine your credibility.

Common inconsistencies include:

• Mentioning an extension in Section 4 (alterations and building control) but failing to reference it in Section 5 (guarantees) when a structural warranty was obtained for the work
• Disclosing a subsidence issue in Section 7 (environmental matters) but not mentioning the related insurance claim in Section 6 (insurance)
• Answering "no disputes" in Section 2 but then referencing a boundary disagreement in Section 1 (boundaries)
• Stating in Section 12 (services) that the property has mains drainage but mentioning a septic tank elsewhere

How to avoid this: After completing the entire form, read it through from start to finish and cross-reference your answers between related sections. Building work should be consistent across the alterations, guarantees, and insurance sections. Disputes should be reflected in both the disputes section and any related boundary or environmental sections. If a co-owner or partner helped with part of the form, make sure both sets of answers align.

Mistake 3: Failing to update the TA6 after changes

The TA6 is not a one-off document that you complete and forget about. Your answers need to remain accurate up to the point of exchange of contracts. If circumstances change between completing the form and exchanging — for example, you receive a notice from the local authority, a new dispute arises with a neighbour, or you discover a leak that leads to an insurance claim — the form must be updated.

Failing to update is particularly dangerous because the buyer relies on the accuracy of the TA6 at the point of exchange, not at the point you originally completed it. If a material fact has changed and you did not disclose it, the buyer could bring a misrepresentation claim even if your original answers were entirely truthful at the time.

How to avoid this: Treat the TA6 as a living document until exchange. If anything changes — a new notice, a new dispute, a new insurance claim, building work starting or completing — notify your solicitor immediately. They will issue an amended response to the buyer's solicitor. This is straightforward and costs nothing, but failing to do it can be extremely expensive after completion.

Mistake 4: Not mentioning resolved disputes

Many sellers assume that if a dispute has been resolved, it no longer needs to be mentioned on the TA6. This is incorrect. Section 2 of the TA6 asks about any disputes or complaints relating to the property, whether current or historic. A boundary dispute settled three years ago, a noise complaint resolved through the council, or a Party Wall Act notice that led to an agreed outcome all need to be disclosed.

The risk of concealing a resolved dispute is significant. The buyer could discover the dispute through:

• Title records at HM Land Registry that reference boundary agreements or court orders
• Local authority searches that reveal enforcement action or planning objections
• Conversations with neighbours after moving in
• The surveyor's report, which may note evidence of a past dispute such as a newly repositioned fence line

How to avoid this: Disclose every dispute, no matter how long ago it was resolved and regardless of the outcome. Provide the date, a brief description of the issue, how it was resolved, and whether there is any written agreement. Over-disclosure is always safer than under-disclosure. A resolved dispute mentioned honestly rarely derails a sale, but a concealed one discovered later can lead to legal action. For further details on disclosure obligations, read our guide on what to disclose when selling your home.

Mistake 5: Underplaying building work

Undisclosed or poorly described building work is the single biggest source of TA6-related disputes. Section 4 of the TA6 asks about all alterations, extensions, and structural changes to the property, along with whether planning permission and building regulations approval were obtained for each piece of work.

Sellers commonly underplay building work in several ways:

• Describing a full kitchen extension as "minor improvements"
• Omitting work they consider too small to mention, such as replacing windows, removing a non-load-bearing wall, or installing a wood-burning stove
• Failing to mention that building regulations approval was never obtained for work that required it
• Not disclosing work done by a previous owner that they are aware of

The consequences can be severe. If the buyer discovers after completion that significant building work was done without proper consent, they may face enforcement action from the local authority, difficulty obtaining a mortgage on resale, or the cost of retrospective regularisation. They would then have strong grounds for a misrepresentation claim against you.

How to avoid this: Walk through the property before starting the TA6 and list every alteration, extension, and structural change you are aware of. For each one, note whether planning permission was granted, whether a building regulations completion certificate was issued, and whether any warranties or guarantees are in place. If consents were never obtained, disclose this honestly. Your solicitor can advise on options such as retrospective regularisation or indemnity insurance. For guidance on the consequences of lying or concealing information, see our guide on what happens if you lie on the TA6.

Mistake 6: Ignoring informal arrangements

Section 8 of the TA6 asks about rights and informal arrangements affecting the property. This includes formal easements and rights of way recorded on the title, but it also covers informal arrangements that exist between you and your neighbours — verbal agreements about shared access, allowing a neighbour to park on your driveway, granting access across your garden for maintenance, or sharing the cost of maintaining a boundary fence.

Many sellers dismiss these arrangements as trivial and fail to mention them on the TA6. This creates two problems. First, the buyer may be unaware of the arrangement and could inadvertently terminate it after moving in, causing a dispute with the neighbour. Second, a long-standing informal arrangement — particularly one involving access over land — could potentially ripen into a prescriptive easement under the Prescription Act 1832 if it has been exercised continuously for 20 or more years. Failing to disclose an arrangement that could have legal significance is a material omission.

How to avoid this: Think carefully about any arrangements, formal or informal, that give anyone else rights over your property or give you rights over theirs. Include verbal agreements, habitual access patterns, and shared maintenance arrangements. If an arrangement has been in place for many years, mention this and note how it has been exercised. Your solicitor can assess whether any informal arrangement has legal implications for the sale.

Mistake 7: Forgetting insurance claims

Section 6 of the TA6 asks about your buildings insurance, including any claims you have made, whether you have had a claim refused, had a policy cancelled, or had special terms imposed by your insurer. This section matters because the buyer needs to know that the property is insurable on standard terms. Their mortgage lender will require buildings insurance as a condition of lending.

The most common errors in this section are:

• Forgetting about a flood or escape-of-water claim made several years ago
• Not mentioning a subsidence investigation that did not result in a claim but did lead to monitoring or special policy conditions
• Failing to disclose that the property was previously declined for insurance or that the current policy has an unusually high excess
• Omitting a claim that was made by a previous owner if you are aware of it

If the buyer cannot obtain buildings insurance on standard terms after completion, or if their insurer discovers a claims history that was not disclosed, the buyer has grounds for complaint — and potentially a legal claim.

How to avoid this: Check your insurance records thoroughly before completing Section 6. Contact your insurer if you are unsure about past claims. Disclose every claim, including those that were settled, withdrawn, or made by a previous owner if you know about them. If special terms have been imposed on your policy, explain what they are and why.

Mistake 8: Leaving sections blank

Despite being the most avoidable error on this list, leaving questions blank remains one of the most common problems conveyancers encounter. Sellers skip questions they find confusing, leave out sections they consider irrelevant, or simply run out of patience before reaching the end of the form.

Every blank answer on the TA6 will generate a formal additional enquiry from the buyer's solicitor. A single round of enquiries typically takes one to two weeks to resolve, and it is not uncommon for a form with multiple blanks to trigger two or three rounds. In a conveyancing process that already averages 12 to 16 weeks in England and Wales, this can add a month or more to the timeline —time during which the buyer may lose patience, find another property, or have their mortgage offer expire.

How to avoid this: Answer every single question. Set aside enough time — typically two to four hours — to work through the form methodically with your documents to hand. If a question genuinely does not apply to your property, write "not applicable" and briefly explain why. If you do not know the answer, write "not known" with an explanation. Never leave a question unanswered.

What your solicitor should check

While the factual answers on the TA6 must come from you, your solicitor has an important role in reviewing the completed form before it is sent to the buyer's solicitor. A good solicitor will:

• Check for blank answers and ask you to complete any missing sections
• Flag inconsistencies between sections and ask you to clarify or correct them
• Cross-reference your answers with the title register to ensure that boundary information, rights, and restrictions align with the official records at HM Land Registry
• Advise on sensitive disclosures — for example, how to describe a resolved dispute or unauthorised building work in a way that is honest but does not create unnecessary alarm
• Identify answers likely to trigger enquiries and suggest providing additional detail or supporting documents to preempt follow-up questions
• Remind you of your ongoing duty to update the TA6 if circumstances change before exchange of contracts

If your solicitor sends the TA6 to the buyer's side without reviewing it first, that is a concern. The Law Society's Conveyancing Protocol expects the seller's solicitor to check the form and raise any obvious issues before submission. Ask your solicitor to confirm that they have reviewed your completed form and that they are satisfied it is ready to send.

Practical tips for completing the TA6 correctly

Beyond avoiding the eight mistakes above, the following practices will help you produce a thorough, accurate TA6 that minimises enquiries and keeps your sale moving:

1. Gather your documents first. Before touching the TA6, collect your title register and title plan from HM Land Registry, planning permissions, building regulations completion certificates, FENSA certificates, warranties, guarantees, and insurance policy details. Having these in front of you prevents guesswork.
2. Walk the property before you start. Physically inspect boundaries, note every alteration you can see, and think about any informal arrangements with neighbours. This jogs your memory about details you might otherwise forget.
3. Be specific in every answer. Include dates, reference numbers, contractor names, and outcomes. "Kitchen extended in June 2019 by ABC Builders Ltd; building regulations completion certificate issued by Manchester City Council, ref 19/04567" is far better than "kitchen extended a few years ago."
4. Complete the TA6 before listing your property. Having the form ready when an offer comes in means your solicitor can issue the contract pack immediately, removing one of the biggest bottlenecks in the conveyancing process.
5. Ask your solicitor to review the form. Do not assume they will check it automatically. Explicitly ask for a review and incorporate any feedback before the form is sent to the buyer's solicitor.
6. Keep a complete copy. Retain copies of the completed form and all supporting documents. If a dispute arises after completion, you will need evidence of exactly what you disclosed and when you disclosed it.

How common TA6 mistakes affect the conveyancing timeline

To put these mistakes in perspective, consider the typical impact on the conveyancing timeline:

In aggregate, a poorly completed TA6 can easily add four to eight weeks to a transaction that already averages 12 to 16 weeks. In the worst case, the buyer loses confidence and withdraws. According to RICS, approximately 30% of property transactions in England and Wales fall through before exchange of contracts, and unresolved conveyancing enquiries are a significant contributing factor.

Sources

• Law Society of England and Wales — Property Information Form (TA6), 6th edition, 2026 (mandatory from 30 March 2026)
• Law Society Conveyancing Protocol, 5th edition — lawsociety.org.uk
• Misrepresentation Act 1967 — legislation.gov.uk
• Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 — legislation.gov.uk
• HM Land Registry — Search for property information service: gov.uk/search-property-information-service
• Prescription Act 1832 — legislation.gov.uk
• RICS — UK Residential Market Survey, data on transaction fall-through rates — rics.org
• Gov.uk — Planning Permission guidance: gov.uk/planning-permission-england-wales

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