In short
Most UK sales do not fall through on price — they drift on paperwork. The buyer's solicitor raises enquiries, you hunt for a FENSA certificate from 2014, and four weeks disappear. This list groups every document by the point in the sale it is demanded, with where to get it and what it costs, so you can collect the lot before you have a buyer.
Last updated . Reviewed by FindYourAgent editorial.
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Needed before the property is marketed
Marketing a home without a valid EPC is an offence under the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations 2012. Everything else here stops the sale stalling in week three.
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
Check the free EPC register first — yours may still be valid
£0 if valid, £60–£120 new
Proof of identity and address
Passport or driving licence, plus a utility bill under 3 months old
£0
Title deeds / register of title
HM Land Registry, downloaded by you or your conveyancer
£3 per document
Current mortgage account details
Your lender's redemption statement
£0
Needed once you have a buyer
Your conveyancer sends these to the buyer's solicitor. Every missing item becomes an enquiry, and every enquiry adds days.
TA6 Property Information Form
Your conveyancer supplies it; you complete it
Included in conveyancing
TA10 Fittings and Contents Form
Same — list what stays and what goes, room by room
Included
TA7 Leasehold Information Form (leasehold only)
Your conveyancer supplies it
Included
Management pack (leasehold only)
Freeholder or managing agent — request it the day you list
£200–£500
Building regulations completion certificates
Local authority building control for any extension, loft or structural change
£0–£120 for copies
Planning permission documents
Council planning portal
£0
FENSA or CERTASS certificate
Installer, or the FENSA certificate lookup
£25 for a replacement
Gas Safe and electrical (EICR) certificates
Your installer or engineer
£0–£150
Boiler service records and warranty
Your service provider
£0
Guarantees: damp, timber, roofing, underpinning, NHBC
Original contractor or warranty provider
£0
Party wall agreement (if applicable)
Your surveyor or the neighbour's copy
£0
Septic tank or private drainage details
Environment Agency registration and service records
£0
Needed before exchange
These are the ones that surface late and hold everything up. Chase them in week one, not week ten.
Mortgage redemption statement
Your lender — quote the target completion date
£0–£60 admin fee
Indemnity policy (missing certificate, breach of covenant)
Arranged by your conveyancer if a document cannot be found
£30–£300
Grant of probate (probate sales)
HM Courts & Tribunals Service
£300 plus copies
Court order or consent (divorce sales)
Your family solicitor
Varies
Power of attorney (if signing for someone else)
Office of the Public Guardian registered copy
£0 if already registered
Hand over on completion day
Not legally required, but the fastest way to avoid a phone call from the buyer a week later.
All keys, including window and shed keys
Leave with the agent or in the property
£0
Alarm codes and instruction manuals
Kitchen drawer, clearly labelled
£0
Meter readings with photographs
Taken on the morning of completion
£0
Bin collection days and local notes
One sheet of paper on the counter
£0
If a document is missing
A lost certificate is rarely fatal. Three routes exist, in order of preference: get a replacement from the issuer, apply retrospectively (a regularisation certificate from building control, for example), or buy an indemnity policy that covers the buyer's lender against the risk. Indemnity is cheapest and quickest at £30–£300, but it must be bought before anyone contacts the council — an enquiry to building control voids most policies.
Tell your conveyancer about the gap at instruction, not when the enquiry lands. Handled early it costs a fortnight of nothing; handled late it costs a fortnight of the chain waiting.
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