The TA6 Property Information Form sixth edition formally becomes compulsory from today (Monday 30th March) for Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) accredited firms, bringing an end to a two-year saga after efforts to introduce an updated fifth edition resulted in uproar from the conveyancing community.
The furore erupted when the fifth edition of the TA6 was introduced in March 2024, incorporating additional questions designed to introduce material and up-front information into the conveyancing process, following the publication of guidance from the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) in December 2023. The updated document ran to 32 pages and appeared to introduce a range of new obligations for conveyancers.
Mobilised by the Property Lawyers Action Group, since renamed Property Lawyers Alliance, conveyancers hit back and forced a Special General Meeting of the Law Society in July 2024 calling for a vote of no confidence in CEO Ian Jeffery and then-president Nick Emmerson.
Both survived the vote but a consultation on an updated TA6 was launched in the aftermath, during which the fourth and fifth editions were both acceptable under the Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Around 1200 conveyancers took part in the consultation, which resulted in a ‘two form’ approach being announced by the Law Society in March 2025, with a pared-down TA6 and a separate optional ‘material information’ form to be introduced.
The summer of 2025 brought about another twist as NTSELAT unexpectedly withdrew its material and upfront information guidance when the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) superseded the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, replacing the legislation on which the original guidance was based. Responsibility for enforcement also transferred from Trading Standards to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
In response, the Law Society confirmed it had paused its work on the optional material information form.
An updated TA6 and TA7 were formally launched at the Law Society Property Conference in October 2025 without the material information element, although given government proposals for home buying reform, any changes to requirements for material information will be monitored and a second ‘TA6 MI’ form has not being ruled out.
Speaking on the Today’s Conveyancer Podcast at the time, Sarah Sargent, who joined the Law Society’s working group in late 2024 after the backlash to the 5th edition, explained the time and effort that had gone into the sixth edition, describing two hour meetings delving into the feedback from the consultation and from members, and drawing on the group’s collective conveyancing experience.
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. Alongside the removal of the much-maligned material information, key changes in the sixth edition include a reduction in length, now 15 sections, and the removal of questions on council tax, asking price, building safety, and accessibility. The form now includes more ‘not known’ options for when sellers don’t know the answer to certain questions.
Writing on LinkedIn, Law Society president Mark Evans said the new form has received positive feedback from conveyancers with many converting to its use since release in October 2025 and shared comments from conveyancers complimenting the simplicity and clarity of the new form.
Reminding firms of their obligations, Evans added:
“From Monday, if your firm is accredited under our Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS), you’ll need to use the 6th edition exclusively, along with the TA7 (5th edition). This applies to all new transactions where you are instructed on or after 30 March.
“If you were instructed before 30 March on a sale or purchase and you’ve already used an older version of the TA6 form, you can carry on using it for that transaction. Suppliers will be withdrawing all previous editions of the TA6 and TA7, so make sure your firm is ready.”
One Response
After two years of avoidable confusion, the TA6 saga finally closes. It should never have taken this long.
This episode is an important reminder of what happens when leadership becomes detached from the realities of day‑to‑day practice. When those charged with leadership lose sight of the profession they serve, confidence erodes, and disorder follows.
There is no value in recrimination, but there is value in learning. Governance must be closer to the ground. Decisions must be tested against the lived experience of legal practitioners. And professional bodies must remember that authority is not a given. It is earned through competence and connection with their members.