What Do You Legally Have to Disclose When Selling a House?

Selling a house is a serious business – buyers want to be sure they’re aware of any quirks or potential challenges they could face when purchasing a house. But what do you legally have to disclose when selling a house?

We’ll run through everything you need to know to cover yourself and maximise your chances of a smooth property sale, along with the potential consequences of not making a buyer aware of the known defects.

How Property Disclosure Protects Buyers

Today, the UK has a complete legal framework in place to protect buyers from facing unexpected surprises when buying a house.

But things haven’t always been this way. Let’s take a quick look at how the legal framework has changed through history and where the law stands today.

Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008

Once upon a time, the buyer had full responsibility for uncovering issues associated with the property they wanted to buy, taking the principle of Caveat Emptor (or buyer beware) to the extreme.

The tide started to turn with the Misrepresentation Act 1967, which protected consumers from fraudulent claims made to encourage sales by allowing them to claim compensation

The Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 took this one step further by also legislating against exaggerated or misleading claims made during a property sale. However, at this point, sellers could still technically omit certain information.

This changed when the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations came into force in 2008, which finally made it the seller’s responsibility to disclose any defects related to the house.

Sellers can now face legal action for non-disclosure, which we’ll discuss in more detail later.

Relevant Law Society Forms

Most of sellers’ legal requirements in the sales process involve the Property Information Form (TA6). This is a document sellers send to the buyer’s solicitor containing crucial property information, including any flaws or potential challenges.

There is also, arguably less important, the Fittings and Content Form (TA10).  This requires sellers to provide answers to what physical items will be included in the sale.

These form therefore plays a critical role in the disclosure process. If you’re selling a property, your conveyancing solicitor will guide you through properly completing the relevant forms. However, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with it ahead of time. You can download a sample of all transaction forms from the Law Society website.

Which Issues Are Most Likely to Cause Problems?

When reading the list above, you may have noticed a couple of points that apply to the property you’re selling. In that case, you may be wondering whether sharing this information will deter a potential buyer.

If you’re dealing with a reasonably mild issue, you have a good chance of finding a buyer who is willing to put the work into solving the problem (or happy to look past it).

For instance, some buyers may think that dealing with an issue like Japanese knotweed is a worthwhile tradeoff to live in their dream house. In other cases, buyers might be totally fine with the fact you’ve had noise disputes with your neighbours in the past because they’re party animals themselves.

However, issues that aren’t easily fixable or a matter of preferences can pose a greater challenge. Structural issues are the perfect example of this case – most people don’t want to take the risk of living in a house where the walls could literally cave in on them. But ultimately, this is beyond your control.

To maximise your chances of a sale, ensure the price of your property reflects the issues brought up in the TA6 by working with professionals like solicitors and estate agents.

Also, make sure you do your best to put a prospective buyer’s mind at rest. Show them the measures you’ve taken to remedy a situation. For example, this could mean paying a professional to remove pests after an infestation issue or flood-proofing a home.

Other Misrepresentative (Undisclosed) Practices Made by Home Sellers

While the TA6 form is the most important thing for sellers to focus on, your responsibilities for disclosure go beyond this one document.

You should also make sure that you’re not misrepresenting the property. Examples of misrepresentation include:

• Covering cracks with paint
• Hiding damaged flooring with rugs or furniture 
• Painting over water stains, mould, or stains
• Concealing evidence of pest infestations 

Another area to be careful of is vagueness. Sometimes, sellers think they will cover themselves legally by answering questions elusively or giving half-truths. However, this is still misrepresentation and can lead to serious consequences.

Although a prospective buyer still has the responsibility of carrying out a property survey, you should aim to be as cautious and transparent as possible in your property listing.

The Role of the Solicitor and Estate Agent 

Estate agents play a crucial role in the disclosure and help to streamline communications between the buyer, seller and their solicitors.

However, it’s your responsibility to ensure you disclose all material information (anything that can affect the decision to buy or sell) to the estate agent and solicitor.

If you change your solicitor or estate agent during the house selling process, remember to tell them about any issues raised while trying to sell the property previously, or reasons other potential buyers didn’t want to continue with the sale.

Transparent communication between buyers and the seller or estate agent is essential.

Meanwhile, solicitors are a crucial resource when determining what information to disclose.

Conveyancing solicitors with Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation have a fixed protocol that involves urging sellers to complete the form, and are trained in how to fill it in accurately.

This is particularly useful when it comes to potential legal grey areas, such as:

• Fall-outs with neighbours that you’ve resolved since or don’t think are relevant 
• Building works that happened before you moved in
• Natural death in the house 
• Any questions you’re not sure of the answer to

Consequences of Non-Disclosure During a Property Sale

If you fail to disclose known or unknown defects or don’t fill in the property information form, it can lead to legal issues and financial repercussions.

It can be tempting not to mention information that seems trivial by convincing yourself it’s irrelevant or something the new owner will never find out about, such as a minor feud with a neighbour a few years ago. However, excluding this information isn’t worth the risk.

If any of these issues come to light after the exchange of contracts, the buyer can take legal action, such as suing you.

Because the burden of proof lies with the seller, you would then need to prove that you didn’t lie on the form. Otherwise, the court may find you guilty of negligence and fraud, meaning you could have to pay damages to the buyer – often thousands of pounds.

An even worse possibility is that you could have to buy back the property, as well as cover the buyer’s costs (like legal costs and mortgage interest). This is called an order of rescission, and it applies in the most severe cases.

A buyer can take legal action years after they purchase a house and seek compensation if they believe you misled them.

When in Doubt, Disclose

The moral of the story here is simple: When in doubt, disclose all potentially relevant in. Sellers are legally required to require detailed information about a property during the sales process, from denied planning permission to boundary disputes.

The information provided can sometimes affect a buyer’s decision about whether to go forward with a sale, but regardless of the impact, it’s crucial to be upfront throughout the conveyancing process.

If you’re already scratching your head over the complexity of disclosures, you may want to consider opting for a quick sale with a house buying company like Property Solvers instead. As an estate agent and seller all in one, we’ll help to walk you through the disclosure process so you don’t have to deal with the stress and hassle.