What must a seller disclose? Damp, a broken boiler, a death in the house and knotweed next door

In England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, a private house seller is not under a general duty to volunteer every defect or awkward fact, but must not give false answers when asked. Scotland is different because the Home Report and Property Questionnaire are part of the legal marketing process, so some answers that are voluntary in England and Wales become required if the Scottish form asks for them.

Does a seller have to disclose damp?

A seller in England and Wales does not have to volunteer damp, and the common claim that TA6 section 7 asks about damp is wrong because TA6 7.1 asks, “Has any part of the property (whether buildings or surrounding garden or land) ever been flooded?” GOV.UK’s selling guide says, “You are not required to answer questions on condition; questions which are outside your knowledge; or questions which the buyer can find out the answers to themselves,” but it also warns sellers not to mislead buyers by hiding defects: “you should not mislead potential buyers by covering up any defects; for example by painting over damp patches.” In Scotland, the answer is yes if asked through the Home Report process, because the Property Questionnaire asks, “As far as you are aware, has treatment of dry rot, wet rot, damp or any other specialist work ever been carried out to your property?” Northern Ireland follows the same practical position as England and Wales: no private-seller duty to volunteer damp, but false or misleading answers are dangerous.

Is it illegal to sell a house with a broken boiler?

It is not illegal in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland to sell a house with a broken boiler, but a seller who answers boiler or heating questions must answer honestly. GOV.UK’s England-and-Wales guide says, “You are not required to answer questions on condition; questions which are outside your knowledge; or questions which the buyer can find out the answers to themselves,” so a broken boiler is normally a price, survey and contract issue rather than a sale ban. Gas-safety law does not turn a sale into an offence: HSE describes the Gas Safety Regulations as dealing with “landlords' duties to make sure gas appliances, fittings and flues provided for tenants are safe.” In England and Wales, the legal sale obligation is to make an EPC available, not to provide working heating: “The relevant person shall make available free of charge a valid energy performance certificate to any prospective buyer or tenant—”, and the dwelling penalty for failing to do that is “£200.” In Scotland and Northern Ireland, no separate sale-fitness rule makes a broken boiler illegal.

Do you have to disclose that someone died in the house?

The claim, repeated on seller sites, that a violent death must be disclosed under the Consumer Protection Regulations 2008 cites a regulation that stopped having legal effect on 6 April 2025; courts still hold there is no duty to disclose a property’s history. In Sykes, the Court of Appeal recorded that “there was no legal obligation upon the vendors to disclose the history of the property,” even though the issue was a murder at the house. The 2008 misleading-omissions regulation is not a current private-seller disclosure rule, because legislation.gov.uk now states, “This version of this provision no longer has effect.” The replacement unfair-commercial-practices regime can matter where a business trader is selling, because “material information” means “information that the average consumer needs to take an informed transactional decision,” and a “trader” is someone “acting for purposes relating to P’s business.” Scotland has no Home Report death question and the Misrepresentation Act 1967 largely does not extend there: “This Act, except section 4(2), does not extend to Scotland.” Northern Ireland has no separate private-seller death-disclosure rule.

Can you sell a house when the neighbour has Japanese knotweed?

You can sell a house in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland when the neighbour has Japanese knotweed, but you should distinguish a sale disclosure issue from a spread, nuisance and lender-risk issue. In England and Wales, the criminal offence is not owning a house near knotweed; it is that if someone “plants or otherwise causes to grow in the wild any plant which is included in Part II of Schedule 9, he shall be guilty of an offence.” GOV.UK says, “You do not legally have to remove Japanese knotweed from your land unless it’s causing a nuisance,” and the Court of Appeal held that neighbour-only presence within seven metres was not automatically an actionable nuisance merely because lender caution reduced value. In Scotland, a Home Report is compulsory, but the statutory Property Questionnaire does not specifically ask about Japanese knotweed; Scottish missives may still include a contractual warranty where the seller answers from their awareness. Northern Ireland has the same broad sale answer, and official material states there is “no legal requirement for a landowner to control or remove existing established areas of Japanese Knotweed from their own land.”

Last reviewed August 2026.

Sources

• GOV.UK, How to sell a home — “You are not required to answer questions on condition; questions which are outside your knowledge; or questions which the buyer can find out the answers to themselves.” Source
• GOV.UK, How to sell a home — “While you want to present your home in the best possible light, you should not mislead potential buyers by covering up any defects; for example by painting over damp patches.” Source
• Law Society TA6 form, 4th edition — “7.1 Has any part of the property (whether buildings or surrounding garden or land) ever been flooded?” Source
• Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 s.99 — “A person who is responsible for marketing a house which is on the market must comply with any request by a potential buyer for a copy of any or all of the prescribed documents in relation to the house.” Source
• Single Survey, Energy Report and Property Questionnaire (Scotland) Regulations 2008, Property Questionnaire — “As far as you are aware, has treatment of dry rot, wet rot, damp or any other specialist work ever been carried out to your property?” Source
• HSE, Gas safety: landlords and letting agents — “The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 deal with landlords' duties to make sure gas appliances, fittings and flues provided for tenants are safe.” Source
• Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 reg.6 — “The relevant person shall make available free of charge a valid energy performance certificate to any prospective buyer or tenant—” Source
• Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 reg.38 — “(i)where the building is a dwelling, £200;” Source
• Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008 reg.35 — “(i)where the building is a dwelling, £200;” Source
• Sykes v Taylor-Rose [2004] EWCA Civ 299 — “It was accepted in this court that there was no legal obligation upon the vendors to disclose the history of the property.” Source
• Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 reg.6 — “This version of this provision no longer has effect.” Source
• Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 s.227 — “In subsection (1)(a), “material information” means information that the average consumer needs to take an informed transactional decision.” Source
• Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 s.225 — “(a) a person (“P”) acting for purposes relating to P’s business, or” Source
• Misrepresentation Act 1967 s.6 — “This Act, except section 4(2), does not extend to Scotland.” Source
• Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 s.14 — “Subject to the provisions of this Part, if any person plants or otherwise causes to grow in the wild any plant which is included in Part II of Schedule 9, he shall be guilty of an offence.” Source
• GOV.UK, Prevent Japanese knotweed from spreading — “You do not legally have to remove Japanese knotweed from your land unless it’s causing a nuisance, but you can be prosecuted for causing it to spread into the wild.” Source
• Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd v Williams and Waistell [2018] EWCA Civ 1514 — “The Recorder's conclusion that the presence of knotweed on NR's land within seven metres of the claimants' properties was an actionable nuisance simply because it diminished the market value of the claimants' respective properties, because of lender caution in such situations, was wrong in principle.” Source
• Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 s.98 — “A person who is responsible for marketing a house which is on the market must possess the prescribed documents in relation to the house.” Source
• Invasive Species Northern Ireland, Japanese knotweed code of practice paper — “It is a legal requirement to complete a Home Report including the Property Questionnaire in Scotland, however this questionnaire does not include a specific question on Japanese knotweed.” Source
• Northern Ireland Assembly briefing on Japanese knotweed — “In response to an Assembly Question, the Environment Minister (September 2014) stated that there is currently no legal requirement for a landowner to control or remove existing established areas of Japanese Knotweed from their own land.” Source