What Do I Have To Declare When Selling My Home?

You’ve done all the hard work in making your property desirable and getting it to look as attractive as possible to catch the attention of any potential buyers.  But what about the things that they cannot see or those things that are not self-evident when they look around? 

We all want to give the best impression possible when selling our home, however, it is not simply a case of doing so with a “sold as seen” disclaimer.  Your potential buyer will want to know much more about the property and will expect certain disclosures from you to ensure they are fully aware of certain matters that could affect their decision. 

So, what do you need to disclose when selling your home?

Certain information is requested to be disclosed to any potential buyer. Some of this will be provided by you personally whereas other information will be gathered by their solicitor. These will include: 

• Information on boundaries including responsibilities and disputes 
• Any disputes and complaints involving neighbours 
• Planning permissions for nearby properties 
• Renovations or building work carried out on your property including details of any planning permissions or certificates where applicable 
• Issues highlighted from previous surveys such as flooding issues or subsidence and also now inclusive of any knowledge of Japanese knotweed presence 

• Property location, that will include elements that are not necessarily self-evident such as close by motorways or flight paths 
• Environmental issues 

How long do you have to declare subsidence?

Subsidence is one of the more common issues that arise when applicable. Not only can it impact on a buyer’s decision to purchase a property, it can also have a bearing on the ability to arrange the necessary property insurance. Due to the importance of subsidence, there is no time limit set to how long it occurred in relation to its disclosure. As such it must be declared regardless of when it happened. Whilst you must still personally disclose any information, it is likely that any historic or current subsidence will be discovered by the surveyor or via central lender and insurance records of the local area. 

When and how do I disclose my property information?

When and how do I disclose my property information? 

In our opinion it is best to disclose matters that you feel may be of interest to your prospective buyer as early as possible. This will ensure that any offers to buy your home are made in full knowledge and hopefully it will give less cause for the buyer to pull out further down the line. Remember, the further you are in the process, the more costs you will have incurred and the greater chance your own plans could be affected. 

If not disclosed at the early stages of your negotiations with the buyer, you will find that you will be asked to disclose these anyway during the legal process and be asked to complete a TA6 form. The completion of this form is not a legal requirement but refusing to do it will likely raise alarm bells to your prospective buyer. 

What happens if I don’t disclose certain facts on the TA6 form?

Whilst the TA6 form’s completion is not a legal requirement, when it is completed, if you omit to disclose a material fact that could affect the buyer’s decision to proceed you may find that they are able to take legal action against you post–completion and sue you under the Misrepresentation Act. 

We strongly recommend complete transparency with the information you provide and any prospective buyer can then proceed in the safe knowledge that they have been provided all the required facts. 

We are here to answer any other questions you may have, get in touch.