Completing the TA6 for an Inherited Property

Selling an inherited property comes with a challenge most sellers do not face: you may know very little about the home you are selling. The TA6 Property Information Form asks detailed questions about boundaries, disputes, building work, services, and environmental matters — all of which are straightforward if you have lived in the property for years, and considerably harder if you have not.

Whether you are an executor selling from the estate or a beneficiary who has inherited the property outright, this guide explains how to complete the TA6 honestly and effectively when your personal knowledge of the property is limited.

Why the TA6 is harder for inherited property

The TA6 was designed with owner-occupiers in mind. It assumes the person completing it has lived in the property and can draw on first-hand experience to answer questions about disputes with neighbours, the history of building work, how the drainage connects, whether the property has ever flooded, and dozens of other details.

When you inherit a property, that assumption breaks down. You may never have visited more than a handful of times. The deceased may not have kept records of building work, insurance claims, or guarantees. You may not know the neighbours, the boundary arrangements, or whether the boiler was serviced regularly. This lack of information does not excuse you from completing the form — but it does change how you should approach it.

The key legal principle is this: you must answer honestly and make reasonable enquiries. You are not expected to know everything, but you are expected to take sensible steps to find out what you can. Guessing, assuming, or leaving sections blank without explanation are the behaviours that create legal risk.

Your legal position as an executor or beneficiary seller

Under English law, the seller of a property owes the buyer a duty of disclosure. The information you provide on the TA6 becomes part of the transaction, and inaccurate or misleading answers can give rise to a claim for misrepresentation under the Misrepresentation Act 1967 or the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

This duty applies to you regardless of how you acquired the property. However, courts and the legal profession recognise that a non-resident seller genuinely cannot provide the same level of detail as a long-standing owner-occupier. What matters is that your answers are:

• Honest — you do not state facts you know to be untrue
• Based on reasonable enquiry — you have taken sensible steps to gather information
• Clear about what you do not know — you distinguish between facts and uncertainty

An answer of “Not known — the property was inherited and I did not reside there. I have made enquiries with [source] but have been unable to establish this information” is a perfectly proper response. It is far safer than a confident but unfounded answer, and it demonstrates that you have made reasonable efforts. For more on the consequences of getting it wrong, see our guide on what happens if you lie on the TA6.

Step 1: Gather everything you can before you start

Before you put pen to paper (or open the digital form), collect every piece of information available to you. This preparation stage is the single most important step in completing the TA6 for an inherited property.

Documents to look for in the property

When clearing the deceased's home, set aside anything that could be relevant to the TA6. Documents commonly found in inherited properties include:

• Title deeds and any correspondence from solicitors about previous purchases
• Planning permission letters and building regulations completion certificates from the local authority
• Guarantee and warranty documents for damp-proofing, timber treatment, double glazing, roofing, electrical work, or central heating
• Insurance policy documents and any claims correspondence
• Correspondence with neighbours about boundaries, access, or disputes
• Utility bills and service contracts (these confirm which providers are connected)
• Any letters or notices from the local authority, Environment Agency, or other public bodies
• The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) — if it has expired, you will need to commission a new one before marketing

Documents to obtain from external sources

Information from neighbours and family

Do not underestimate the value of speaking to the deceased's neighbours, particularly any who have lived next door for many years. They may be able to tell you about:

• Any building work the deceased carried out and when
• Boundary arrangements — who maintains which fence or wall
• Whether the property has ever flooded
• Any past disputes or complaints
• Informal access arrangements, such as a shared driveway or pathway

Record what neighbours tell you. When you cite this information on the TA6, note that it was obtained from a neighbour rather than from personal knowledge. Other family members may also have useful information, particularly about work the deceased had done to the property.

Step 2: Section-by-section guidance for inherited properties

Below is practical guidance for the sections of the TA6 that cause the most difficulty when you have not lived in the property. For a full explanation of all 14 sections, see our comprehensive guide on what is a TA6 form.

Section 1: Boundaries

Start with the title register and title plan. Look for “T” marks on the plan, which indicate boundary ownership. If the plan does not show them — which is common for older titles — check whether the title register mentions any boundary covenants or obligations.

If neither the deeds nor the neighbours can confirm who owns which boundary, write: “Not known — the property was inherited. The title plan does not include T marks. I have maintained all boundaries since inheriting the property” (or “the property has been unoccupied since the deceased's death” if that is the case).

Section 2: Disputes and complaints

If you found correspondence suggesting a dispute, disclose it in full. If neighbours mentioned a past disagreement, disclose it and note the source. If you have no knowledge of any dispute, say so honestly: “Not known — I did not reside at the property. I am not aware of any disputes from the deceased's correspondence or from enquiries with neighbours.”

Section 4: Alterations, planning, and building control

This is often the most problematic section for inherited property sales. The deceased may have carried out building work decades ago without keeping records, or may have done work without obtaining the necessary consents.

Check the local authority's planning portal for the property address — this will show any planning applications made. Contact the building control department to check for completion certificates. If the property has clearly been extended or altered but you cannot find any documentation:

• Disclose the apparent work and state that you have been unable to locate planning permission or building regulations certificates
• Your solicitor can then discuss the options with the buyer's solicitor: retrospective regularisation from the local authority, or indemnity insurance
• Missing certificates are one of the most common TA6 issues, and experienced conveyancers deal with this regularly

Section 6: Insurance

Provide details of any unoccupied property insurance you have arranged since inheriting. If you found the deceased's insurance policy documents, include the insurer's name and any claims information you have. Where you have no knowledge of the deceased's claims history, state this clearly. The buyer's solicitor may accept this without further enquiry, or they may ask the property's current insurer for a claims history.

Section 7: Environmental matters

Use the Environment Agency's free flood risk tool at gov.uk/check-long-term-flood-risk to check whether the property is in a flood zone. Check the EPC Register for the current EPC status. If the property is in a radon-affected area, the environmental search ordered by the buyer's solicitor will reveal this.

For Japanese knotweed, inspect the garden and boundaries during the growing season (April to October) if possible. If you are uncertain about plant identification, a specialist knotweed survey typically costs £150 to £300 and gives you a definitive answer to put on the TA6.

Section 11: Occupiers

If the property has been empty since the death, confirm this. If anyone has been staying at the property — even temporarily, for example while clearing it — note the arrangement but clarify that no one has an interest in the property or a right to occupy.

Section 12: Services

Utility bills found in the property will confirm which providers supply gas, electricity, water, and broadband. For drainage, check whether the property is connected to mains sewerage or has a private system such as a septic tank or cesspit. If you are unsure, your conveyancer can order a drainage search to confirm.

The “Not known” approach: when and how to use it

“Not known” is your most important tool when completing the TA6 for an inherited property. Used properly, it protects you legally while being transparent with the buyer. Used carelessly or excessively, it can frustrate the buyer's solicitor and trigger a wave of additional enquiries.

The key is to qualify your “Not known” answers. A bare “Not known” with no explanation is unhelpful. A qualified answer demonstrates that you have thought about the question and made reasonable enquiries:

For detailed guidance on avoiding common pitfalls across all TA6 sections, see our guide on property information form tips.

Indemnity insurance: filling the gaps

Inherited property sales frequently involve gaps in documentation. Missing building regulations certificates, absent planning permissions, and undocumented alterations are all common. Where these gaps cannot be resolved by obtaining retrospective consent, indemnity insurance is the standard solution.

Indemnity insurance is a one-off policy that protects the buyer (and their mortgage lender) against the financial risk of enforcement action relating to the missing consent. It does not fix the underlying issue — it simply provides financial protection if the risk materialises.

Common scenarios where indemnity insurance is used:

• Building work carried out without building regulations approval (the most common scenario in inherited properties)
• An extension or alteration that may have needed planning permission but no application was made
• A missing FENSA certificate for replacement windows
• Restrictive covenant breaches where the benefiting party is unknown or unlikely to enforce

Policies typically cost between £20 and £300 for a one-off premium and last indefinitely. Your conveyancer will arrange the policy, and it is usually paid for by the seller as part of the conveyancing process. In inherited property sales, indemnity insurance is used so routinely that buyer solicitors rarely raise objections provided the policy wording is satisfactory.

Common mistakes when completing the TA6 for inherited property

Having reviewed the particular challenges of inherited property TA6 forms, here are the most frequent mistakes to avoid:

1. Guessing instead of saying “Not known”. A confident “No” to a question about disputes, flooding, or building work — when you actually have no idea — is the single most dangerous thing you can do on the TA6. If the buyer later discovers you were wrong, you have a potential misrepresentation claim on your hands.
2. Not searching the property for documents. Many executors clear the property quickly without carefully reviewing paperwork. Dedicate time to going through filing cabinets, drawers, and loft storage. Decades of planning permissions, insurance policies, and guarantee certificates may be stored there.
3. Failing to check the title register and title plan. These documents are available for £3 each from HM Land Registry and contain essential information about boundaries, easements, covenants, and restrictions. Completing the TA6 without reviewing them first is like filling in a tax return without checking your bank statements.
4. Not contacting neighbours. Neighbours are often the best source of information about an inherited property. A short conversation can reveal decades of history that no document search would uncover.
5. Delaying the TA6 until after an offer is accepted. Given the additional complexity of an inherited property TA6, you should start gathering information and completing what you can as early as possible — ideally while the probate application is in progress. Waiting until a buyer is in place puts you under time pressure and increases the risk of mistakes.
6. Assuming your solicitor will complete the form for you. Your solicitor will review the TA6 and advise on difficult questions, but the answers must come from you. Your solicitor has no more knowledge of the property than you do. They can help you frame your answers properly, but they cannot provide the underlying information.

Working with your solicitor on a difficult TA6

When you are selling an inherited property, your solicitor or conveyancer should be involved from the outset in the TA6 process. An experienced probate and conveyancing solicitor will be familiar with the challenges of inherited property TA6 forms and can help you in several ways:

• Advising on which “Not known” answers are likely to trigger additional enquiries and helping you frame them to minimise follow-up
• Identifying where indemnity insurance can resolve gaps in documentation
• Ordering searches from the local authority to verify building control and planning records
• Anticipating the buyer's solicitor's likely enquiries and preparing responses in advance
• Reviewing the completed form for any answers that could create unnecessary risk or delay

If your solicitor is handling both the probate and the conveyancing, they will already have the grant of probate, the death certificate, and the inheritance tax position — all of which they need for the sale. If you are using separate firms, make sure the conveyancer receives copies of these documents early.

Timeline: completing the TA6 for an inherited property

Completing the TA6 for an inherited property takes longer than for a property you have lived in. Plan accordingly:

This work should ideally be carried out in parallel with the probate application, so that the completed TA6 is ready to send to the buyer's solicitor as soon as an offer is accepted.

Sources

• Law Society of England and Wales — Property Information Form (TA6), 4th edition, 2020
• 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
• Environment Agency — Check your long-term flood risk: gov.uk/check-long-term-flood-risk
• GOV.UK — Planning Permission guidance: gov.uk/planning-permission-england-wales
• GOV.UK — Building regulations approval: gov.uk/building-regulations-approval
• The Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 — legislation.gov.uk
• Administration of Estates Act 1925 — legislation.gov.uk

Frequently asked questions