The Law Society Conveyancing and Land Law Committee has revealed details of the sixth edition of the TA6, which will be mandated for use on 30th March 2026. Government proposals for home buying reform and any changes to requirements for material information will be monitored, the committee said, with a second ‘TA6 MI’ form not being ruled out.
Speaking at the Law Society Property Conference last week, co-chairs of the committee Sarah Dwight (owner of Sarah Dwight Solicitors) and Mark Sellers (partner at Pennington Manches Cooper LLP) encouraged conveyancers to start using the new TA6 as soon as possible.
In a panel discussion chaired by Louise Hanson, executive director of membership and external affairs at the Law Society, the co-chairs explained the detailed process of updating the TA6 to ensure it works for a modern conveyancing process, remains fit for purpose in a rapidly changing home buying environment, and incorporates the significant amount of feedback received following last year’s consultation, which attracted 1200 responses.
A working group of 15 members was established to update the TA6, drawn from sole practitioners, city firms, large-scale national law firms, contributors to the Conveyancing Handbook, and members of the Law Society, including new president and licensed conveyancer Mark Evans.
At least 30 drafts of the TA6 were produced before it underwent extensive user feedback from practising conveyancers and home sellers and buyers to ensure the content and design achieved the desired aims. ‘Some of the criticisms in the feedback were that the people drafting forms weren’t coalface conveyancers, so we very keen to make sure we addressed that’, said Dwight.
The sellers in the user groups confirmed they understood and were able to comfortably complete much of the TA6 themselves, with the redesign and inclusion of more examples also proving popular.
Key updates include changes to the style and tone of the language used within the form, questions amended and expanded to offer more clarity and make it easier for sellers to respond accurately, and a substantial re-write of explanatory notes to make them more readable and provide a useful aid for conveyancers, sellers and buyers.
‘The notes make it clear both the seller and buyer need to read them, and it’s key that they need to do that’, said Sellers. ‘We would like conveyancers to advise clients to read the notes before completing the form, and are hoping that they act as an aid memoire for everyone – seller, buyer, solicitor. For the conveyancer, the advice they give can be consistent with the notes.’
With technology advancing at pace, the committee was also keen to ensure that changes wouldn’t quickly become obsolete. Rather than attempting to incorporate all variations of heating types, solar panels and EV charging, for example, the questions focus on themes and put the onus on the seller to provide the prescient information.
Sellers explained:
“Take heating as an example. The fourth edition had one enquiry related to a central heating system, which most people take to mean a gas boiler system. Now there are mains gas, oil, heat pumps, electricity, wood burning, solar – some properties with more than one.
“As we were writing the guidance, the government announced a change in planning permission so it was no longer needed for heat pumps, but of course there’s always an exception – listed buildings or conservation areas, for example. So we avoid too many references to statutes and instead concentrate on themes: When was the heating system installed, provide the latest inspection report, is the system working… all with extensive explanatory notes.
“The onus will be on the conveyancer to advise the client to go away and find the stated condition and whether it complies with the current rules.”
Changes to wording include offering sellers more options to respond to questions to which they may not have a definitive answer: ‘Have there been any disputes or complaints?’ has been replaced by ‘Are you aware of any disputes or complaints?’, with detailed explanatory notes advising sellers to consult their solicitor in case of doubt.
Phrases that may not be familiar to sellers have also been reworded: for example, questions and explanatory notes related to vacant possession have been expanded to specify the meaning of the phrase: ‘Is your property going to be empty of people, rubbish and items?’
The sixth edition of the TA6 has been carefully designed to avoid becoming obsolete. But, with the government’s recently announced consultations on home buying reform resparking the debate on upfront material information, the committee hasn’t ruled out introducing what the Law Society calls a ‘twin form approach’, with a TA6 material information form, or TA6 MI, produced at a later date.
‘The government has launched consultations and we will monitor that’, said Dwight. ‘If it reappears, the Law Society will develop TA6 MI – which is not necessarily the final name – and it will be another form.’
The new TA6 has been sent to all suppliers, and practitioners are encouraged to adopt the new form as soon as possible.
