What documents do I need to sell my house?
The contract pack is built from documents you hold and documents we obtain. What we obtain is the title from HM Land Registry, which for registered land is the definitive record, so the paper deeds are rarely needed. What you hold is everything about the building itself: planning permissions, building regulations completion certificates, FENSA or CERTASS certificates for windows, gas and electrical certificates, and any guarantees for damp-proofing, roofing or timber treatment.
For a leasehold flat add the lease, the last three years of service charge accounts, the most recent ground rent and service charge demands, and the buildings insurance schedule for the block. The freeholder or managing agent supplies the rest through the management pack, which we order on day one because there is no statutory deadline for them to produce it.
| Document | Who provides it | Why the buyer needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Title register and plan | We obtain from HM Land Registry | Proves what you own and what binds it |
| TA6 property information form | You, with our help | Disclosure of disputes, alterations, boundaries and services |
| TA10 fittings and contents form | You | Fixes what stays and what goes, and stops completion-day arguments |
| Building regulations and planning documents | You, or the council's records | Shows alterations were lawful; missing ones are usually insured |
| FENSA, gas and electrical certificates | You | The buyer's lender expects them for recent work |
| Energy performance certificate | You arrange it through your agent or an accredited energy assessor | Required by law before marketing |
| Lease, accounts and management pack | You and the freeholder or agent | Leasehold only: rent, charges, works and consents |
What happens on completion day when selling?
The buyer's conveyancer sends the balance of the purchase price to our client account. Once it arrives we telephone the estate agent to release the keys, pay your lender the redemption figure, pay the agent's commission from the proceeds if you have asked us to, and send you the balance by bank transfer the same day. You must have moved out by the completion time in the contract, leaving only what the TA10 says is included. Under the Standard Conditions of Sale, fifth edition 2018 revision, that time is 2pm unless a special condition changes it, and if the buyer is ready to pay but is held up because you have not left, the late completion counts against you rather than them.
In a chain the money passes from the bottom upwards, so a seller at the top of a long chain may not be paid until mid-afternoon. We tell you the day before what time to expect and what the figure will be.
Do I pay Capital Gains Tax when I sell my home?
Not on your only or main home, which is covered by private residence relief for the period you lived in it plus the final nine months of ownership in any event, or thirty six months where the seller is a disabled person or a long-term resident of a care home and meets the statutory conditions (Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 sections 222 to 224 and 225E, checked 20 September 2026). Capital Gains Tax can apply to a second home, a buy-to-let or an inherited property, and where tax is actually due the gain must be reported to HMRC and the tax paid within sixty days of completion (Finance Act 2019 Schedule 2, checked 20 September 2026). Where the relief covers the whole gain and nothing is payable, a seller resident in the UK has no separate sixty day return to make at all, though a seller living abroad must report every disposal of UK property whether or not there is tax to pay. That is a tax matter rather than a conveyancing one, and we flag it early so you can take advice before exchange. Land tax, whether Stamp Duty Land Tax in England or Land Transaction Tax in Wales, is paid by the buyer, not by you.