Chancery Lane to consult with property lawyers over controversial TA6 form
The Law Society has launched a consultation on its TA6 Property information form following complaints from property lawyers.
Chancery Lane postponed the compulsory use of the updated form in July after campaigners at the Property Lawyers Action Group (PLAG) triggered a vote of no confidence over the form.
The group challenged Chancery Lane's ability to represent members who undertake conveyancing, claiming that the changes would "unnecessarily impose substantially increased criminal and civil liability on solicitors, their staff and sellers, together with increased costs".
The group lost the vote, but the Law Society has since paused implementation to engage with members on the issue.
More than 1,200 conveyancing professionals have now signed up to take part in the consultation.
As part of the consultation, the Law Society has enlisted an independent research agency named 2CV to seek the views and needs of our large and diverse set of conveyancing members.
The research will also engage wider stakeholders, including government agencies, licensees and estate agents and will involve a series of interviews, group discussions, online webinars and consultation workshops as part of the engagement programme.
The updated TA6 form introduces the need for sellers to include material information (MI) before a property is listed for sale and is aimed at bringing the form in line with guidance on conveyancing from the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT).
Alongside PLAG's claim that the proposed changes would place criminal and civil liability on solicitors, the group suggested they would also discourage sellers from putting their property on the market.
In a statement published before the no-confidence vote in July, PLAG described the form as "badly drafted, ambiguous", adding that it "fails to provide critical protection to sellers, solicitors, and their staff".
Chancery Lane said the fears that revisions to TA6 might increase solicitors' liability were "unfounded".
Responding to the no-confidence vote in July, the Law Society said the requirement for 'MI' to be provided in the context of the buying and selling process was a statutory one and had been in place since the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 came into force.
It added: "The requirement has recently been given more prominence with the publication of guidance on MI by the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team in November 2023.
"We recognise that there are many differing views on that guidance, but we do not see the argument that its publication was outside the powers of NTSELAT, the legislation or case law."
Adam Carey
