Do I have to tell buyers about a neighbour dispute?

This is one of the questions sellers most dread, and the anxiety is usually worse than the reality. Most declared disputes are small, historic and settled, and most buyers read them, ask one question and carry on. What follows is what the form actually asks and how to answer it without turning a minor matter into a problem.

What is the TA6 form and why does it ask about neighbours?

The TA6 is the Law Society's standard property information form. It is the questionnaire your conveyancer sends you early in the sale, and your answers are passed to the buyer's solicitor as part of the legal pack. One section covers disputes and complaints.

The sixth edition of the form runs to 15 sections, and conveyancing guidance published this year records that it became mandatory on 30 March 2026 for firms accredited under the Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme. The disputes section asks about existing disputes or complaints, past ones, and anything you are aware of that might lead to a dispute in future.

What counts as a neighbour dispute?

There is no statutory definition, which is why sellers get stuck. The practical test used across conveyancing guidance is whether a complaint was made in writing, by you or about you, to the neighbour or to an authority. Once something is on paper, treat it as declarable and let your conveyancer decide how to word it.

Misrepresentation is a false statement of fact that persuades someone to enter a contract. In a house sale, an inaccurate answer on the property information form is the usual route to it.

What happens if I do not declare one?

The exposure does not end at completion. Under the Misrepresentation Act 1967 a buyer who relied on an inaccurate answer can claim, and published conveyancing guidance describes outcomes ranging from damages into the tens of thousands to, in extreme cases, the sale being unwound with the seller taking the property back and covering the buyer's costs.

There is a simpler reason too. Neighbours talk. Buyers knock on doors, read planning portals and search street names. A matter that surfaces after exchange looks like concealment even when it was only forgetfulness.

How do I word it without frightening my buyer?

• Keep it factual. Dates, what happened, who was involved, how it ended.
• Give the resolution in the same breath as the problem. A dispute with an ending reads very differently from one without.
• Leave out opinions about the neighbour. Character commentary helps nobody and can be repeated back to you.
• Attach the paperwork if it helps, such as the letter that closed the matter or the council's confirmation that a case was shut.
• Send it early. A disclosure that arrives with the legal pack is information. The same disclosure arriving days before exchange feels like a discovery.

A settled dispute, written plainly and sent early, is a paragraph. The same dispute found by a buyer in week ten is a renegotiation.

What else do sellers ask about declaring a dispute?

Where does this leave you?

In control, which is the point. A dispute you disclose is a fact your buyer accepts before they spend money. A dispute they uncover is leverage. Tell your conveyancer everything you can remember, let them decide what belongs on the form, and get it into the legal pack early.

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