What's in an upfront sales pack

Updated 7 November 2026. Applies to England and Wales.

The 14 items at a glance

1. Tenure

Whether the property is freehold, leasehold, share of freehold or commonhold. Tenure appears at the top of the HM Land Registry title register, and it is already material information that must be stated on a listing. For leasehold homes the remaining lease term, ground rent and service charge are also material, and belong with item 7.

2. Council tax band

The band (A to H in England, A to I in Wales), which can be checked free of charge on GOV.UK by postcode. Any current exemption, discount or pending appeal is worth noting. This is also material information for the listing.

3. EPC rating

The energy rating (A to G) and the certificate behind it. Every EPC issued in England and Wales is on the public EPC register, and a certificate is valid for ten years. If the home has no valid EPC the seller must commission one before marketing; an accredited domestic energy assessor produces it, usually within a few days. The rating, the certificate number and its expiry date go in the pack.

4. Property type

House, flat, maisonette, bungalow, and whether detached, semi-detached, terraced or end of terrace. Construction type (standard brick, timber frame, system-built, non-standard) often sits alongside it, because lenders ask.

5. Title information and documents

For registered land, the official copy of the title register and the title plan from HM Land Registry, each £7 to download. The register shows the registered owner, the tenure, the price last paid in many cases, mortgages and other charges, and the covenants, easements and restrictions that bind the property. Any document referred to on the register (a conveyance containing covenants, a deed of easement) can be ordered too. For the small amount of unregistered land, the deeds themselves take the place of the register.

The title is the one document every conveyancer reads first; having it in the pack with its retrieval date lets the buyer's side begin on day one.

6. Seller identity verification

Proof that the person selling is the registered owner, carried out to a standard that conveyancers can rely on. Conveyancers are obliged to verify their clients' identity under the money laundering regulations, and HM Land Registry publishes a digital identity standard (its "safe harbour") that certified providers meet. A check done once at the start, to that standard, can be relied on later in the transaction, which is the point of including it in the pack.

7. Leasehold and estate terms

For leasehold homes: the length of the lease remaining, the ground rent and how it changes, the service charge for the current and previous years, any reserve fund, major works planned, and the landlord's and managing agent's details. For freehold homes on managed estates: any estate rent charge or management fee. The seller's side of this is the Law Society's TA7 form; the freeholder's or managing agent's side is the LPE1 (Leasehold Property Enquiries) form, which they charge for and which is the slowest item in most flat sales. See Selling a leasehold flat.

8. Building safety information

Whether the building is below, at or above 11 metres or 18 metres in height, whether it is a "relevant building" under the Building Safety Act 2022, whether a fire risk assessment or external wall assessment exists, and whether any remediation has been identified, funded or completed. For flats this usually comes through the LPE1 and any Leaseholder Deed of Certificate. For houses it is normally a short statement that the item does not apply.

9. Standard search results

The searches a buyer's conveyancer would otherwise order after the offer:

• Local authority search (LLC1 local land charges and CON29 enquiries): planning permissions and enforcement, building regulations, road adoption, tree preservation orders, conservation areas, proposed developments nearby.
• Drainage and water search (CON29DW) from the water company: whether the property is connected to mains water and sewerage, and whether a public sewer runs within the boundary.
• Environmental search: flood risk, contaminated land, ground stability, radon, energy and infrastructure.
• Locality searches where relevant: coal mining, tin, brine, chalk or other ground risks in affected areas.

Searches ordered by the seller are the same products a buyer's conveyancer orders; regulated providers that follow the Search Code are accepted by most lenders. Searches have a date, and a lender may want them refreshed if the sale is agreed long after they were made; the government has said it will issue guidance on refresh periods. The move of local land charges to HM Land Registry's central register by 2028 should shorten one part of the local search.

10. General property information

A questionnaire completed by the seller covering boundaries and who maintains them, disputes and complaints, notices received, alterations and whether they had planning and building regulation consent, guarantees and warranties, insurance claims, environmental matters such as flooding, rights of way and shared access, parking, utilities and services, broadband and mobile coverage, and occupiers. The industry's BASPI form (Buyer's and Seller's Property Information, maintained by the Home Buying and Selling Group) is designed for exactly this point in the sale and overlaps heavily with the Law Society's TA6 form that the seller's conveyancer later uses. A pack built on BASPI answers pre-fills the TA6.

11. Property condition report

A surveyor's assessment of the property's condition suited to its age and type. In the RICS system that means a Home Survey Level 1 (a condition rating for a conventional modern home), Level 2 (the common choice, with more detail and advice on repairs) or Level 3 (a full building survey for older, altered or unusual homes). The government has not yet said which level the legal minimum will be; its £310 cost estimate assumes a lighter report than many buyers commission today. Scotland's Home Report survey is the closest existing model.

12. Accessibility information

Step-free access to the entrance, level or ramped access inside, lift access for flats, width of doorways, wet room or adapted bathroom, and any other adaptations. It is a short section but it saves wasted viewings for buyers who need it.

13. Chain status

Whether the seller is buying another property, whether that purchase has been agreed, and whether the home is vacant or chain-free. It changes as the sale progresses, so it carries a date like every other item.

14. Floor plan

The layout and room measurements, with the total floor area. Most agents produce one as part of marketing; a measured plan from a specialist costs about £50. The EPC register also holds a floor area figure, which is useful as a cross-check.

How the pack relates to the forms used today

What is new compared with today

Most sellers already supply items 1 to 5, 10, 12, 13 and 14 in some form during a sale, and leasehold sellers supply 7 and 8 once asked. What the pack brings forward are the three items that a buyer, not the seller, usually pays for and orders in the middle of the transaction:

• Searches, which take between two and twenty working days depending on the council.
• The condition report, which needs a surveyor's visit.
• Identity verification to a standard other parties can rely on.

These are what make a pack worth relying on, and they are also what set its cost and timetable. See What a pack costs and how long it takes.

Related guides

• What is an upfront sales pack?
• What a pack costs and how long it takes
• Selling a leasehold flat
• Glossary of terms

Sources

1. Home Buying and Selling Reform Roadmap, Annex B, MHCLG, 19 June 2026
2. HM Land Registry information services fees, GOV.UK
3. Find an energy certificate, GOV.UK
4. Check your council tax band, GOV.UK
5. Property industry backs latest BASPI form, The Negotiator
6. TA6 Property Information Form, Law Society
7. Property Data Trust Framework version 2, Today's Conveyancer
8. Conveyancing search costs, HouseCheckup
9. How much does a house survey cost, HomeOwners Alliance