Selling your home: What documents and disclosures do you need?

When looking to sell your home, there are some documents you’ll need to provide and some disclosures you’ll need to make about the property.

In her latest article, Chartered Legal Executive Natalie Neil outlines what these documents and disclosures are and answers any other questions you may have.

What documents do I need to sell my house?

As well as proving you own your home, you will also need to clarify its condition before selling.

Both of these can be done with the following documents:

• The Land Registry title register and plan – this can be obtained from the Land Registry here
• An in-date Energy Performance Certificate
• Lease (if applicable)
• New build warranty (if applicable)
• Any guarantees, gas safe check documents, electrical and window certificates

How do I find my deeds to my house?

Under current law, every property in England and Wales needs to be registered at the Land Registry. This means its relatively easy to obtain the deeds for your house.

For registered land, your conveyancer will download an Official Copy of the Register and Title Plan from Land Registry together with any documents that are referred in the Register.

This could be an old Conveyance or Transfer that grants rights over the property or contains covenants.

How do I prove ownership of unregistered land?

For any property that is unregistered, the original deeds would have been provided to you when you purchased the property. If you purchased the property with a mortgage, then your lender may hold the original deeds so you may wish to check with your lender.

Note: If your land is not registered with the land registry, you may be more at risk of property fraud. Read our sperate article on how you can protect yourself here.

Can I sell house without deeds?

Yes, it is possible to sell your house without your deeds if you are able to prove that you are the legal owner of your home without them.

Assuming your property is unregistered and neither your lenders, mortgage provider nor solicitor hold the deeds; you can prove ownership through other means.

You should look to register your ownership with the Land Registry. This can be done by instructing a solicitor and gathering evidence of:

• How your deeds were lost (if known)
• Your ownership of the property, using mortgage payment records, bills, insurance details, estate agent and solicitor records etc.

Do you need building regs to sell a house?

The short answer to this is not always. There will be some cases where you will need building regulations.

New properties

If the property you are selling has been built within the last 10 years, your buyer’s solicitor is likely to ask for the Building Regulation Completion Certificate.

This certificate will be the final one after the property is building showing that it complied with the building regulations.

Altered homes

If you have done any alterations to the property which required sign off from the council with regard to building regulations, then you will be expected to provide this document when you sell the property.

Common adaptions to a property which will need building regulations include:

• Installing a bathroom that involves plumbing
• Replacing a fuse box and associated electrics
• Replacing windows and doors
• Installing or replacing a heating system (boiler)

This is not an exhaustive list and further information can be found on the Government website and also Council websites as to when building regulations is required.

Do I need planning permission to sell my house?

You only need planning permission to sell your house if works have been carried out on your property where it was required. Otherwise, you don’t need it.

However, if you own a larger plot of land, having planning permission is more desirable, can increase the value of your home and potentially lead to your home selling quicker.

If you have a smaller plot of land, or live in a more densely populated city, having planning permission won’t be that beneficial when it comes to selling.

What do you legally have to disclose when selling a house UK?

When selling your home, you will need to complete the Property Information Form which will give any potential buyer more information on the property.

The form contains questions on boundaries, any works and alterations carried out to the property, any disputes, insurance claims and any flooding at the property.

Do I have to sell my house before making an offer for another?

No, you don’t have to sell your house before you make an offer on another house; but it may be in your benefit to.

If you make an offer with your property already sold, the seller is often more likely to consider your offer. If your home is not already sold, they may not take your offer seriously and you could lose out.

Of course, you might not always be able to sell your home first; but if you’re able to it could be the difference between you getting the property and not missing out.

What else do I need to know when selling my house?