Law Society pilots plans for crucial property information to be available up front

The Law Society is set to pilot plans to make key information for home buyers and sellers available at a much earlier stage in the conveyancing process.

The TA6 is a form which contains crucial information relating to the sale of a property covering areas including compliance with building and planning applications, the supply of services, flooding, and common parts shared with neighbours as well as information relating to Japanese Knotweed and septic tanks.

Until now the information was only collated post-offer, after a solicitor has been instructed, but the Law Society, working with its conveyancing and land law committee, InfoTrack and Perfect Portal, has identified key early marketing questions that can be completed, up front, in a transaction in what will be known as the TA6 Part 1.

Law Society of England and Wales president Stephanie Boyce said: “Technological change in the conveyancing market has accelerated as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. This project will continue that technological advancement and innovation, helping consumers, estate agents and solicitors to seamlessly collect key marketing information using the familiar, but wholly digitised TA6 workflow.

“The answers to the questions in the new TA6 Part 1 will help to inform a buyer’s decision to purchase and will support industry-wide initiatives to begin the systemic collection of up-front information about a property.

“We look forward to making the TA6 Part 1 available to our network of forms’ licensees and solicitors following the conclusion of the pilot and are hopeful it can assist in reducing the time it takes to achieve completion from the point of instruction, as well as supporting earlier instruction of a solicitor.”

The Law Society will provide more updates on this project, including more detailed information about the pilot, in the coming days and weeks.