Do I have to tell buyers about problems with my house?

This is one of the quietest worries a seller carries. You know your home is not perfect, and you are not sure whether mentioning the old damp patch or the disagreement with next door will scare a buyer off or land you in trouble later. The rule is calmer and fairer than it feels, and once you understand it the anxiety usually settles.

What am I actually required to tell a buyer?

England and Wales run on a principle often summed up as buyer beware, which means a buyer is expected to inspect and survey the property and you do not have to narrate every flaw they could find. That does not give you a free pass. You must answer the seller's property information form honestly, and separate consumer law bans misleading a buyer, whether by saying something false or by hiding something important. The honesty is not optional; the volunteering of obvious defects is.

What is the TA6 property information form?

The TA6 is the standard form your conveyancer sends the buyer's side, in which you answer set questions about the property. The current version, the sixth edition, became the standard on 30 March 2026 (The Law Society, 2026). It asks about disputes and complaints, alterations and building work, boundaries, notices affecting the property, services and guarantees, flooding, and specific issues such as Japanese knotweed. Your answers become part of the record the buyer relies on.

What happens if I don't disclose something?

If an answer on the TA6 is inaccurate or misleading, the buyer can bring a claim for misrepresentation under the Misrepresentation Act 1967, and this can apply even where you made an honest mistake (HomeOwners Alliance, 2026). A court can order you to pay the buyer damages, which have run into tens of thousands of pounds, and in serious cases a sale can even be unwound after completion. Separately, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 prohibit misleading a buyer by action or by leaving out material information (legislation.gov.uk, 2008). The concealment is what creates the liability, not the problem itself.

Do I have to declare these specific things?

The steady way to handle it

The instinct to stay quiet is understandable, but it is the riskier path. Nearly every conveyancer gives the same advice: if in doubt, disclose. A declared problem is something a buyer accepts with their eyes open. A hidden one is something they can come back to you about for years. Being straight is not just the decent thing here, it is the cheaper thing.

If a question on the form is genuinely unclear, do not guess. Ask your conveyancer, whose job is to help you answer accurately and keep you protected.

ValuQ gives UK homeowners free, side-by-side property valuations from competing local estate agents, so you can start your sale with an agent you trust, on a footing where being straight with buyers is simply how it is done. Your sale, handled your way, stays yours to control.