TA10 Fittings and Fixtures Form Explained

If you're selling a house in England or Wales, your conveyancer will ask you to complete a TA10 fittings and fixtures form early in the conveyancing process. This short but important document tells the buyer exactly what stays in the property when you move out and what you're taking with you. Getting it right at the start avoids arguments on completion day, when disputes over a missing light fitting or an included dishwasher can hold up the handover of keys.

The TA10 is a standard form published by the Law Society and used across almost every residential sale in England and Wales. It sits alongside the TA6 property information form, and together the two documents give the buyer's solicitor a full picture of the property before contracts are exchanged. You complete the TA10, not your conveyancer, because only you know what you're planning to take with you.

Key facts about the TA10

• Who completes it: The seller, usually with input from their conveyancing solicitor.
• When: Early in the sale, alongside the TA6 property information form.
• Sections: 11 categories covering everything from door furniture to garden sheds.
• Legal status: Not binding until exchange of contracts, then it becomes part of the contract.

This guide walks through every section of the form, explains the grey areas that most often cause disputes, and covers how fittings can genuinely reduce your stamp duty bill if valued correctly.

The legal test for whether something is a fixture or a fitting comes down to one question: would removing it cause damage to the property? A fixture is anything permanently attached to the building, wall-mounted, plumbed in, or wired in, so that taking it away would leave a mark, a hole, or a disconnected pipe. A fitting, sometimes called a chattel, is anything freestanding or easily removed without tools or damage, such as a lamp you can simply unplug and carry out the front door.

Common examples of fixtures

• Fitted kitchen units: Cabinets, worktops, and integrated shelving screwed to the wall.
• Bathroom suite: The bath, toilet, and basin plumbed into the water supply.
• Boiler and radiators: Part of the central heating system, wired and plumbed in.
• Fitted wardrobes: Built into an alcove or fixed to the wall.

Common examples of fittings

• Freestanding appliances: A fridge, freezer, or washing machine that simply plugs in.
• Curtains and rugs: Soft furnishings not fixed to the structure.
• Mirrors and pictures: Unless built into a wall recess.
• Freestanding furniture: Bookcases, tables, and lamps.

Grey-area items that cause disputes

Some items sit awkwardly between the two categories and cause more disputes than any other part of the TA10. Integrated appliances, such as a dishwasher built behind a matching cabinet door, look like fixtures but can often be unplugged and removed. Fitted wardrobes that slot into an alcove without fixings might be fittings in the strict legal sense, even though they look permanent. Garden sheds, TV wall mounts, and smart home devices such as video doorbells or smart thermostats raise the same problem: they're attached, but not always structurally. The safest approach is to mark every borderline item clearly as included, excluded, or offered for sale, rather than leaving it open to interpretation.

The TA10 form is divided into 11 sections, each listing specific items found in a typical home. For every item, you tick one of three boxes: Included (it stays and is part of the sale), Excluded (you're taking it with you), or Not applicable (the property doesn't have this item). Filling in every box, rather than leaving gaps, is the single best way to avoid a dispute later.

1. Basic fittings: Door furniture, electric sockets, switches, and fitted shelving.
2. Kitchen: Built-in appliances, cupboards, and worktops.
3. Bathroom(s): Suites, shower screens, and heated towel rails.
4. Carpets: Fitted carpets throughout the property, room by room.
5. Curtains and curtain rails: Tracks, poles, blinds, and the curtains themselves.
6. Light fittings: Pendant lights, wall lights, and outdoor lighting.
7. Fitted units: Wardrobes, cupboards, and shelving built into the structure.
8. Outdoor area: Garden ornaments, plants, sheds, and fencing.
9. Television and telephone: Aerials, satellite dishes, and points.
10. Stock of fuel: Oil or gas remaining in the tank, usually paid for separately.
11. Other items: Anything not covered above that you want to formally record.

Some sections also have space to note if an item is "offered for sale separately", which is different from being included in the purchase price. If you tick this box, the buyer can choose whether to pay an agreed additional sum for the item, such as a garden trampoline or a set of curtains you no longer want. This is negotiated outside the main contract price and confirmed in writing between the two conveyancers before exchange.

Completing the TA10 properly takes 20 to 30 minutes if you work through it systematically. Rushing this form, or leaving sections blank, is one of the most common causes of a breakdown in trust between buyer and seller later in the transaction.

• Walk through room by room: Start at the front door and work through every room, including the loft, garage, and garden, rather than trying to remember items from memory.
• Tick every box: Avoid leaving items blank. If something doesn't apply, mark it "not applicable" rather than skipping it.
• Mark items for separate sale carefully: If you want to sell an item like a shed or a set of curtains rather than include or remove it, tick "offered for sale separately" and agree a price with the buyer through your conveyancers.
• Photograph items before completion: Take dated photographs of anything likely to be disputed, such as integrated appliances or garden features, as evidence of condition and presence.
• Update the form if you change your mind: If your plans change before exchange, such as deciding to take the dining light fitting after all, tell your conveyancer immediately so the form and contract are amended.

Once you've exchanged contracts, the form is fixed. Any changes after that point need the buyer's agreement in writing, so it pays to be certain before that stage of the conveyancing process is reached.

One of the most overlooked money-saving opportunities in a house sale is that HMRC allows the value of fittings to be excluded from the purchase price used to calculate Stamp Duty Land Tax. Since stamp duty is charged on the property price, not on furniture or appliances, correctly valuing fittings separately can genuinely reduce what the buyer pays.

The rules are strict: the valuation must be genuine and reflect what the items are actually worth secondhand, not their original retail price. HMRC expects the buyer and seller to agree a realistic figure and record it separately in the contract, distinct from the property price. For example, if a buyer agrees to pay £320,000 for a house and £5,000 for fittings such as integrated appliances, curtains, and carpets that are genuinely worth that much, only £320,000 is used for the stamp duty calculation.

Overvaluing fittings to artificially shrink the taxable property price is a red flag for HMRC and can trigger a challenge, additional tax, interest, and penalties if the valuation isn't defensible. Keep receipts, photographs, and a written breakdown of how the fittings figure was reached. Your conveyancer will factor this into your conveyancing fees and the wider stamp duty and disbursements due at completion, so raise it with them early rather than after contracts are drafted.

The TA10 itself is not legally binding while you're still viewing the property or negotiating the sale. It only becomes part of the contract once contracts are formally exchanged between the buyer's and seller's conveyancers. From that moment, whatever you've marked as "Included" is a contractual promise: it must be left in the property at completion, in the condition it was in when the contract was signed.

If a seller removes an included item after exchange, this is a breach of contract. The buyer has legal remedies, ranging from a price reduction to a formal claim, which the next section covers in detail.

Completion day is when keys are handed over and the final balance of money changes hands, so it's the moment any missing fittings become obvious. If you're a buyer collecting keys and find the boiler manual, integrated dishwasher, or bathroom fittings marked "Included" on the TA10 are missing, act immediately rather than waiting to see if it resolves itself.

• Check the TA10 on the spot: Compare the property against the form before you sign anything or release final funds if you're managing the final walkthrough yourself.
• Notify your conveyancer straight away: Call or email the same day, ideally before the money is released, so they can raise it with the seller's solicitor immediately.
• Claim for breach of contract: Since the TA10 forms part of the contract after exchange and completion, a missing included item is a breach the seller is liable for.
• Negotiate a price reduction: Often the quickest fix is agreeing a deduction from the completion monies to cover the cost of replacing the missing item.
• Small claims court as a last resort: For amounts under £10,000, this is a realistic and low-cost option if the seller refuses to cooperate after completion.

Acting quickly matters because leverage drops sharply once the sale has fully completed and funds have cleared to the seller.

As a buyer, the TA10 is one of the most useful documents you'll receive during the purchase, yet it's often skimmed rather than checked properly. Reviewing it carefully before exchange, rather than after, is the only point at which you have real leverage to query anything that looks wrong.

• Cross-reference against viewing notes: Compare the form to photographs or notes you made when you viewed the property, especially for integrated appliances and light fittings.
• Raise queries before exchange: Send any questions to your conveyancer as soon as you spot a discrepancy. Once contracts are exchanged, it's far harder to renegotiate.
• Check integrated appliances match: Confirm the make and model of anything integrated matches what you saw during viewings, not a cheaper replacement.
• Ask for a price list: If items are marked "offered for sale separately", request a written breakdown of prices before you agree to buy them.