If you’re advising a buyer, the new TA6 is less about what’s asked, and more about what isn’t.
The newly released 6th edition reduces seller disclosure, but it doesn’t reduce buyer risk. Knowing which gaps now need to be filled elsewhere is key.
For our latest Five Minutes On… article, we tackle the much discussed TA6 form. Lets get into it.
What the new TA6 no longer asks… and why that matters
The 6th edition strips out nine sections that appeared in the 5th edition. Several of them are directly relevant to search-based due diligence.
- Coalfield or mining area – sellers are no longer asked to disclose whether a property sits in a former coalfield or mining area. That risk doesn’t go away. A CON29M or specialist mining search remains the appropriate way to surface it.
- Coastal erosion – removed from the TA6 entirely. For properties in at-risk coastal zones, an environmental or specialist coastal erosion search is the only reliable source of this information.
- Building safety – questions around cladding, remediation and the Building Safety Act have been taken out of the standard form. For leasehold properties in scope, the TA7 5th edition (updated alongside the TA6) picks up some of this – but the position on leaseholder deed of certificate, service charges and remediation funding still needs careful handling.
- Restrictive covenants – sellers are no longer prompted to disclose these. Title investigation and, where appropriate, indemnity insurance remain the tools to address gaps here.
What hasn’t changed
The seller’s legal obligations haven’t moved. Misrepresentation and caveat emptor still apply. The form being shorter doesn’t reduce the buyer’s exposure to undisclosed risks – it just means fewer of those risks are being asked about upfront.
The Law Society has confirmed that solicitors’ professional liability position is unchanged. A shorter form doesn’t reduce the duty of care.
A well-constructed search pack was always the right approach. The TA6 6th edition makes the case for it even more clearly, with less being captured at the seller disclosure stage, searches are increasingly where the picture gets completed.
With less being asked of sellers upfront, it falls to structured due diligence to carry the weight of those missing disclosures. The TA6 has been streamlined, not the risks that sit behind it, and that distinction matters when you’re building a search pack that genuinely protects your buyer.
The OneSearch team can help you identify which searches fill the gaps for any transaction. Explore the full Five Minutes On… library here.
