Certificates needed to sell a house in England

To sell a house in England, the only certificate the law requires is a valid Energy Performance Certificate, ordered before you market the property (Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations 2012). Everything else is what the buyer's solicitor asks for through the Law Society's TA6 form: electrical, boiler and window certificates, building control approvals and guarantees. Checked October 2026.

The difference matters. Missing an EPC is a breach. Missing a window certificate is a question the buyer's solicitor raises, and it can slow the sale. This checklist separates the two. It is practical information, not legal advice; your conveyancer advises on your sale. We are EliteShires Property Services, based on Kenton Lane in Harrow. We provide EPCs, EICRs and gas safety checks across Harrow, Kenton, Stanmore and Edgware.

Which certificates are legally required to sell a house?

Only the EPC. GOV.UK says you must order an EPC for potential buyers before you market the property, and it is valid for 10 years. Regulation 6 of the 2012 regulations requires the seller to make it available free of charge at the earliest opportunity. That means no later than when you first give written details to an interested buyer, or when they view. The buyer must also be given one. Trading Standards can issue a £200 penalty for a home that is marketed without one (regulation 38).

If you have had an EPC in the last 10 years, you may not need a new one. Check the GOV.UK Find an energy certificate register first. Our guide to how long an EPC lasts explains why a new certificate replaces the old one, even if it scores worse. What changes the price of an assessment is covered in EPC cost explained.

What else will the buyer's solicitor ask for?

Certificates for work done to the property, through the TA6 property information form. The Law Society's 6th edition replaced the 4th and 5th editions on 30 March 2026. It is mandatory for firms in its Conveyancing Quality Scheme on new instructions from that date. It has 15 sections, and the ones that ask for certificates are alterations, guarantees and services.

Certificates for a house sale in England, legal duty or buyer's request (checked October 2026)

The TA6 asks sellers to answer from their own knowledge. Many questions now allow "not known", but a "yes" or "no" is a statement the buyer may rely on. So it pays to find the paperwork rather than guess.

What does the TA6 ask about electrics?

Whether electrical work has been done, and whether you have the certificate. The Law Society's notes explain that, since 1 January 2005, electrical installation work has had to follow Building Regulations. Most work needs one of three documents: a building control completion certificate, the installer's Building Regulations Compliance Certificate, or the BS 7671 Electrical Installation Certificate. If you have one, you attach it to question 11.2.

Question 11.3 asks about an EICR. The notes say plainly that an EICR "is not a legal requirement for the sale of property in England and Wales". If the house is sold with a tenant in place, or to a buyer who intends to let, "they will want to check that there is a current EICR and it has been supplied to the tenant". Our guide to the difference between an EIC and an EICR explains which document covers which job.

Should you get an EICR before selling?

It is a choice, not a duty. Electrical Safety First recommends an inspection before selling or buying a previously occupied home, and every 10 years in an owner-occupied home. A report tells you what a buyer's surveyor or electrician is likely to find. It can also become a document the buyer asks to see. Ask your conveyancer how they would handle it before you commission one. Our guide to how long an EICR lasts covers the intervals.

What about the boiler and gas?

The TA6 asks about the heating system, and the certificate that matters is for its installation. The Law Society's notes say a gas-fired boiler installed on or after 1 April 2005 will have required a Building Control Completion Certificate or the installer's Building Regulations Compliance Certificate. A Gas Safe registered engineer notifies the installation for you, so look for the compliance certificate that followed it.

A gas safety record is not a legal requirement for a sale, according to the same notes. It is a landlord's annual duty, and a buyer who plans to let will want a current one. Service records are useful evidence of how the boiler has been looked after, but we do not service boilers; your boiler engineer or installer holds those.

What about windows, doors and extensions?

Replacement windows and doors can need Building Regulations approval, unless the installer is in a competent person scheme. GOV.UK lists replacing windows and doors among the work that may need approval, and warns that without it "you will not have the certificates of compliance you may need when you want to sell your home". FENSA and CERTASS are two of the schemes GOV.UK lists for replacement windows in existing homes. Their installers self-certify and give you a certificate.

Extensions, loft conversions and structural alterations need building control approval and, often, planning permission. The TA6 asks about both in questions 5.1 and 5.2, and asks you to attach the completion certificates. If you cannot find one, the building control team at the council for your address may hold the record. In our area that is Harrow, Brent or Barnet. Harrow covers Harrow and Stanmore, Kenton is split between Harrow and Brent, and Edgware is mostly Harrow or Barnet.

What if you are a landlord selling with tenants in place?

The buyer becomes the landlord, so they want a landlord's paperwork as well as a seller's. In practice that means:

1. A current gas safety record, and proof the tenant received it.
2. A current EICR, any remedial certificates, and proof the tenant received the report.
3. The EPC. It must be E or better for the let to continue lawfully, unless a valid exemption is registered.
4. Licence details, if the property is licensed. A licence cannot be transferred (Housing Act 2004, sections 68(6) and 91(6)), so the buyer applies for their own.

Licensing is a live question locally. Harrow's selective licensing covers six wards, phased in from 2 May to 1 September 2026. Brent's selective licensing covers Brent's Kenton ward. Barnet runs borough-wide additional HMO licensing until 27 October 2027. Our licensing guide for Harrow, Brent and Barnet shows which scheme covers your address. To list the certificates and duties that apply to the let itself, answer six questions in our certificate checker for landlords.

If you want vacant possession instead, the rules changed on 1 May 2026. Section 21 is gone, and possession to sell is a section 8 ground. That ground cannot be used in the first 12 months of a tenancy and needs four months' notice (Housing Act 1988, section 8, as amended by the Renters' Rights Act 2025). Our guide to the Renters' Rights Act for landlords covers the changes. Take legal advice before serving any notice.

If the EICR or gas record runs out during the sale, renew it anyway. The duty stays with you until completion. An EPC rated F or G is a bigger problem for a buyer who wants to let; our guide to EPCs for listed and conservation-area homes covers one of the common exemption routes.

How do you get the certificates ready?

Start before you list. The EPC must exist before marketing, and the Law Society says the TA6 can be completed before a buyer is found. Check the national register first, so you don't pay for an EPC you already have. If you need one, we assess across our area and lodge the certificate within 24 hours. For a let property, the EICR report follows within 48 hours and the gas record is issued on the day. Each is a fixed price confirmed before we attend.

Book locally: EPC in Harrow, EPC in Kenton, EPC in Stanmore, EPC in Edgware, EICR in Harrow and gas safety certificate in Harrow. If work needs certifying before a sale, our electricians issue the EIC or Minor Works Certificate and notify building control where the work is notifiable.