You decide to sell in 2026, the estate agent’s board goes up, and within a fortnight a buyer’s solicitor sends over a list of questions you can’t answer. This is where most UK sales stall — not on price, but on paperwork. The documents for selling a house in the UK are mostly things you already own; you just have to find them before the chain forms, not after.
Get these eleven documents together before you accept an offer and you can shave weeks off your completion date. The average UK sale now takes around five months from offer to keys, and missing paperwork is one of the biggest reasons that figure keeps creeping up. Below is the list your conveyancer will ask for, in roughly the order it matters.
- Proof of identity and funds
Before anything else, your conveyancer is legally required to verify who you are under anti-money-laundering rules. You will need photo ID (passport or driving licence) and a recent proof of address such as a council tax or utility bill. If you are using sale proceeds to fund an onward purchase, expect to evidence that too.
- Proof of ownership (the title)
For almost every property sold today, ownership is proved by the digital title register held at HM Land Registry, which your solicitor downloads for a few pounds. If your home has never been registered — more common with older homes that haven’t changed hands since the 1990s — you will need the physical title deeds, so start hunting for them early. They are often held by a mortgage lender or a previous solicitor.
- Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
You must have a valid EPC, or have commissioned one, before you market the property — it’s a legal requirement, not a nicety. An EPC lasts ten years, so check whether your existing one is still in date at gov.uk’s EPC register. If it has lapsed, book an assessment now; buyers increasingly use the rating to estimate running costs and the cost of getting to band C.
- The Property Information Form (TA6)
This is the big one. The TA6 is a detailed questionnaire covering boundaries, disputes, alterations, guarantees, services, and more. You complete it honestly — and that word matters, because a buyer can sue for misrepresentation if you don’t. Filling it in is far quicker when the supporting certificates below are already in front of you.
- The Fittings and Contents Form (TA10)
The TA10 sets out exactly what stays and what goes — from the kitchen extractor to the garden shed. It prevents the depressingly common completion-day argument about whether the curtains were included. Walk the house room by room and decide before you fill it in.
- FENSA or CERTASS certificates for windows
Any replacement windows or external doors fitted since April 2002 need a building regulations sign-off, usually a FENSA or CERTASS certificate. Buyers’ solicitors almost always ask. If you’ve lost yours, FENSA can issue a replacement online for a small fee — but that takes time you may not have once a buyer is waiting.
- Building regulations completion certificates
Extensions, loft conversions, removed chimney breasts, new structural openings — anything that touched the structure should have a building regulations completion certificate from your local authority or an approved inspector. Its absence is one of the most common reasons a sale gets bogged down in extra enquiries or a retrospective indemnity policy.
- Planning permission documents
If you carried out work that needed planning permission — or built under permitted development and obtained a Lawful Development Certificate — keep the paperwork together with the building regs certificates. Where work was done by a previous owner and you have nothing, your conveyancer will ask you to fill the gap, often with an indemnity policy.
- Gas and electrical safety records
A Gas Safe certificate for any boiler or gas appliance installed in your time, plus the building regulations notification for a new boiler, reassures a buyer the work was done properly. For electrics, an EICR or the Part P certificate for any notifiable electrical work (a new consumer unit, a rewire, an outdoor circuit) does the same job. These are exactly the records buyers’ solicitors probe hardest.
- Guarantees and warranties
Damp-proofing, timber treatment, a new roof, underpinning, double glazing, cavity wall insulation, a recent boiler, solar panels — many come with transferable guarantees that add real value in a buyer’s eyes. Gather every warranty you hold and note which are transferable, because a live damp guarantee can be the difference between a clean survey and a renegotiation.
- Leasehold or estate documents (if they apply)
If your home is leasehold, you’ll need the lease itself plus a management pack from the freeholder or managing agent covering service charges, ground rent and any major-works plans — and that pack can take weeks to arrive, so order it the moment you list. If you’re on a managed freehold estate with a service charge, gather the equivalent paperwork.
The blunt truth about sale paperwork
Here is the part nobody at the estate agent will tell you: the seller who has every document ready on day one almost always completes faster, negotiates from a stronger position, and loses fewer buyers than the one who scrambles for paperwork after the offer. A missing FENSA certificate or an unaccounted-for extension hands the buyer a reason to chip the price or walk. Paperwork isn’t admin you do at the end — it’s leverage you build at the start.
What to do in the next 30 minutes
• Pull up your property’s title and EPC status on gov.uk to confirm both exist and the EPC is in date.
• Find the folder, drawer or loft box where your guarantees and certificates live, and lay them all out on the table.
• List every change you’ve made to the house — windows, boiler, extension, rewire — and tick off which ones you have a certificate for.
• Flag the gaps now, while you have months, not days, to chase replacements from FENSA, your installer or the council.
• Scan or photograph each document so you have a digital copy ready to send the second your conveyancer asks.
Frequently asked questions
Do I legally need an EPC to sell my house?
Yes. You must have a valid EPC, or have ordered one, before the property is marketed. Selling without one can lead to a penalty, and your agent shouldn’t advertise the home until it’s in hand.
What happens if I’ve lost a FENSA or building regs certificate?
You can usually order a replacement FENSA certificate online, and your local authority can confirm building regulations records. Where no record exists, your conveyancer may suggest an indemnity insurance policy to satisfy the buyer’s solicitor.
Can I sell a house with no building regulations certificate for past work?
Often yes, but expect extra enquiries. The buyer’s solicitor will typically ask for a building regs certificate, a retrospective application, or an indemnity policy before they’re comfortable recommending completion.
How early should I gather my selling documents?
Before you accept an offer, ideally before you even list. Some documents — leasehold management packs especially — take weeks to arrive, and having everything ready upfront is the single cheapest way to speed up your sale.
Going through this list weeks before you sell, rather than the day a solicitor emails, is what keeps a sale moving. Pre-pack your sale documents in Home+ so your EPC, guarantees, FENSA and building regs certificates are all in one place and ready to send the moment a buyer asks.
