What is a TA6 form and why is it important for auction buyers?
The TA6 form is one of the most revealing documents in any residential property transaction. It is completed by the seller and provides factual information about the property that simply does not appear in the title register, the Land Registry plan, or any other legal document.
In a standard private sale, reviewing the TA6 form is a routine part of the conveyancing process. At auction, however, it is frequently absent from the auction legal pack — leaving buyers without a critical source of information about the property they are about to commit to legally and financially.
This article explains what the TA6 form covers, why it matters so much, what the risks are when it is missing, and what buyers can do to protect themselves when buying property at auction without one.
What is the TA6 form?
The TA6, also known as the Property Information Form, is a standard Law Society document used in residential property sales across England and Wales. It is completed by the seller — with input from their solicitor — and handed to the buyer’s solicitor as part of the pre-exchange information package.
The TA6 form is not a legal document in the same sense as a title deed or a contract. It is a disclosure document. Its purpose is to give the buyer accurate, first-hand information about the property that goes beyond what public registers and searches can reveal. Think of it as the seller’s formal account of the property’s history, condition, and practical circumstances.
Unlike the title register, which records legal ownership and charges, or searches, which reveal planning and environmental data, the TA6 property information form captures details that only someone who has lived in or managed the property would know. This is information that is almost impossible to obtain any other way — which is precisely why its absence from an auction legal pack is a significant concern for any buyer.
What information does the TA6 form contain?
The TA6 property information form covers a wide range of topics. Each section addresses a different aspect of the property’s background, use, and condition. Together, they build a picture that no amount of title investigation alone can produce.
Boundaries and responsibility
The form asks the seller to confirm which boundaries the property owns and who is responsible for maintaining fences, walls, and hedges. Boundary disputes are one of the most common sources of neighbour conflict after a property purchase. Knowing the position before you buy can prevent costly and stressful disputes further down the line.
Disputes and complaints
Sellers must disclose any existing or recent disputes with neighbours, the local authority, or any other party in relation to the property. This includes noise complaints, boundary disagreements, shared access conflicts, and formal legal proceedings. A property that comes with unresolved disputes is a very different proposition to one that does not — and this is information that will not appear anywhere in the title documentation.
Alterations and building works
The TA6 form requires the seller to declare any alterations or building works carried out at the property, and to confirm whether the relevant planning permission and Building Regulations approval were obtained. Unauthorised works — particularly structural changes, extensions, and loft conversions — can create significant legal and financial problems for a buyer, including difficulties with mortgage lenders and complications on any future resale.
Utilities and services
The form provides details of how the property is connected to mains water, drainage, gas, electricity, and other services. It may also disclose whether any shared or private drainage arrangements exist. These details are particularly relevant for rural properties or those with unusual service arrangements that a standard search might not capture in full.
Environmental matters
Sellers are asked to disclose known environmental issues affecting the property, including flooding history, the presence of radon gas, and Japanese knotweed. These are matters that searches may flag at a general level, but the seller’s direct knowledge — for example, whether the property flooded internally — can be far more specific and useful for a buyer’s decision-making.
Insurance and guarantees
The TA6 property information form also records any guarantees, warranties, or insurance policies relating to the property. This includes NHBC structural warranties for new builds, damp-proof course guarantees, timber treatment certificates, and similar documents. These can be transferred to a new owner and represent real value — but only if you know they exist.
Occupants and tenants
The form discloses whether anyone other than the seller occupies the property, including tenants, lodgers, or family members with any potential interest in the property. This is particularly important in the context of auction purchases, where properties are sometimes sold with occupants in situ whose legal position needs to be assessed before exchange.
Why the TA6 form is often missing from auction legal packs
The absence of a TA6 form from an auction legal pack is more common than many buyers realise — and it happens for several reasons.
Some sellers — particularly estate administrators, receivers, or institutional sellers who have never lived in the property — are genuinely unable to complete the form accurately. They may have no direct knowledge of the property’s history, maintenance record, or any disputes that occurred during previous ownership. In these cases, including a TA6 could create liability for inaccurate disclosures, so sellers and their solicitors choose to omit it.
In other cases, the omission is a deliberate commercial decision. The auction format is specifically designed to transfer risk to the buyer. By selling “as seen” without a property information form, the seller limits their obligations and places full responsibility on the buyer to investigate the property before bidding.
This is not unlawful, but it does mean that buyers need to be especially diligent. Understanding what is checked in an auction legal pack and identifying what is missing is just as important as understanding what is included.
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What are the risks of buying without a TA6 form?
The practical consequences of proceeding without a TA6 property information form can be significant. Because the seller has made no formal disclosures about the property, the buyer has no recourse after completion if issues come to light that the seller knew about but did not mention.
Consider a few realistic scenarios:
- Unauthorised extension: The property has a rear extension built without planning permission or Building Regulations sign-off. This is not visible in the title, not flagged by a search, and not disclosed because there is no TA6 form. The buyer discovers it post-completion when applying for a mortgage on a future sale.
- Active neighbour dispute: A long-running boundary dispute was in progress at the time of sale. The buyer inherits it with no prior knowledge, no context, and no legal advice on its significance.
- Environmental issue: The property flooded internally two years ago. The environmental search shows the area is at flood risk, but the search result is general. Only the TA6 form would have confirmed direct flood ingress.
- Missing guarantee: A damp-proof course was installed five years ago under a 20-year guarantee. Without the TA6, the buyer does not know the guarantee exists and cannot transfer it.
None of these issues will necessarily prevent a purchase from proceeding, but each represents a risk that a buyer should be able to price in before bidding — not discover after the gavel has fallen.
What should auction buyers do when the TA6 is absent?
The absence of a TA6 form does not mean you cannot or should not proceed. It means you need to adjust your approach and your risk tolerance accordingly. There are several practical steps worth taking.
Commission a full survey
A RICS homebuyer report or full structural survey will identify visible defects, signs of past works, and evidence of damp or structural movement. While a survey cannot reveal legal disputes or planning history, it reduces the unknowns on the physical condition of the property. For any auction purchase without a TA6, a pre-auction survey is strongly advisable.
Request additional enquiries
Your solicitor may be able to raise specific enquiries with the seller’s solicitor before the auction. In some cases, sellers will respond informally to questions about alterations, disputes, or service arrangements even when no TA6 has been prepared. These responses are not guaranteed, but they can help fill information gaps.
Check planning records
The local authority’s planning portal is publicly accessible and allows anyone to search the planning history of a property by address. If the property has had extensions, conversions, or outbuildings added, you can check whether the corresponding applications were approved. This does not replace a solicitor’s review, but it is a useful preliminary step.
Factor the risk into your bid
Without the disclosures that a TA6 form would provide, there is an element of unknown risk in any auction purchase. A prudent buyer will factor that uncertainty into their maximum bid — leaving sufficient headroom to absorb any issues that come to light post-purchase. Bidding without this buffer on a property with no property information form is a high-risk strategy.
Instruct a specialist solicitor before the auction
The most effective protection available to any auction buyer — with or without a TA6 form — is to instruct a specialist solicitor who can review the auction legal pack thoroughly before you bid. A solicitor experienced in auction conveyancing will identify missing documents, flag the implications, and give you a clear view of the risks you are accepting. The before you bid guide sets out the full preparation process in detail.
TA6 form at a glance: what it covers and why it matters
Here is a summary of the main sections of the TA6 property information form and the risk each one helps buyers avoid.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Auction legal pack | The full bundle of legal documents for the property, prepared by the seller’s solicitor |
| Exchange of contracts | The point at which buyer and seller are legally bound — happens automatically at auction when the hammer falls |
| Completion date | The day legal ownership transfers and the balance of the purchase price is paid (usually 14–28 days post-auction) |
| Special conditions of sale | Property-specific clauses that override standard auction conditions and can impose additional buyer obligations |
| Title register | Land Registry document showing ownership, charges, and rights affecting the property |
| Memorandum of sale | Short-form post-auction contract confirming price, buyer, seller, and exchange date |
| LPE1 form | Leasehold Property Enquiries form covering ground rent, service charges, and major works |
| Ground rent | Annual fee paid by a leaseholder to the freeholder under the terms of the lease |
| Notice to complete | Formal notice served when one party fails to complete on time, typically giving 10 working days to remedy |
| Indemnity insurance | A policy covering legal risks that cannot be resolved, such as missing planning permissions |
| Vacant possession | A legal promise that the property will be empty on completion |
| Flying freehold | A part of a building extending over land not owned by the property owner — often problematic for lenders |
| EWS1 form | Fire safety certificate for buildings with external cladding, required by many mortgage lenders |
Know what you’re buying before the hammer falls
The TA6 form exists because there are things about a property that only the seller knows. When it is included in an auction legal pack, buyers have access to a rich layer of information that title documents and searches cannot provide. When it is absent — as is often the case at auction — that information gap becomes a risk that buyers must manage actively. At AuctionSolicitor, we review auction legal packs in full before our clients bid. When the TA6 property information form is missing, we identify the implications, advise on what additional enquiries may be possible, and help you make a properly informed decision. For a transparent look at what that process involves and how our fees are structured, the auction pack review fees page sets out exactly what is included. For further background on how seller disclosure obligations work in England and Wales, the Law Society’s conveyancing protocol guidance explains the framework within which solicitors operate when preparing and reviewing property information forms.Missing documents in the legal pack? We'll tell you what it means.
The absence of a TA6 form is one of the most common gaps in auction legal packs — and one of the most significant. Our specialist solicitors identify what's missing from every pack we review, explain the implications clearly, and advise on what additional steps you can take before the auction.
