All Change: new TA6 Property Information Form launches next week

The Law Society has announced that there will be a new TA6 Property Information Form launching next week, on Friday February 7.

The revised form will include updates on Japanese Knotweed and flood risk.

The new form comes just a few days after the latest update about a document which is intended to replace TA6 eventually – possibly some years from now.

That document has the working title of BASPI – Buying and Selling Property Information – and it’s the brainchild of a group of property professionals called the Home Buying and Selling Group.

The HBSG consists of agents, property lawyers, mortgage lenders and trade bodies including the NAEA, ARLA, the Law Society and others, as well as PropTech firms including Rightmove, Zoopla and Reapit.

The HBSG has already been meeting for 18 months and is in turn putting its recommendations to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

However, in a statement to Estate Agent Today, the president of the Law Society of England and Wales – Simon Davis – says:

“We are deeply committed to improving the conveyancing process for home buyers and sellers. While the proposed Buying and Selling Property Information has potential, we must first ensure it is an effective tool. The TA6 form will remain active. A new version, launching next week, will include important updates on Japanese knotweed and flood risk.”

Earlier this week Beth Rudolph, a participant in the HBSG, told a conveyancers’ conference:

“We are going to pilot it [the BASPI] and are hoping to have 500 transactions through large estate agents to establish the impact on the chain … We have tried to produce something that can be done for free and encourage people to add more information.”

It is likely that when the BASPI is introduced, some of its content will accompany property details on major portals – thus allowing prospective purchasers a chance to view the content ahead of arranging a viewing.

At the same conference Simon Wilkinson, from the National Association of Estate Agents, told delegates that a separate pilot project of 200 transactions had been conducted with yet another property information questionnaire and point of sale protocol.

He claimed completion times had reduced from around 13 weeks to eight weeks.

Kindly shared by Estate Agent Today