Replies to Requisitions on Title TA13 Form

Replies to requisitions on title are replies given by your solicitor, when you are selling a property, to standard questions asked in Form TA13, also known as Completion Information and Undertakings (2nd edition), by your buyer's solicitor.

The form asks questions - known as requisitions on title - which are essential for your sale to complete, ranging from, for example, how are the keys going to be handed over to what documents are going to be passed across to what is the exact sum which has to be transferred.

Form TA13 is also notable because its questions involve imposing undertakings on the seller's solicitor.

The buyer's solicitor sends the Requisitions on Title Form TA13 across to the seller's solicitor at the raising enquiries stage.

The seller's solicitor sends their replies to requisitions before exchange of contracts. 

This is the point when our property lawyers, when acting for a buyer, would carry out a Lawyer Checker search on any solicitor on the selling side if they haven't had dealings with that particular solicitor firm before.

They do this to check out the bona fides of that solicitor firm to eliminate any chance that the firm you're sending money to is fraudulent or even has no established track record of receiving conveyancing monies into its client account. 

It's worth noting the warning which appears just after the form's title and before asking any questions or even for details of the property's address and of the seller and buyer.

This warning reads:

"Replies to Requisitions 3.2 and 5.2 are treated as a solicitor's undertaking"

which indicates in advance what the most important questions on the form and more importantly gives notice that if the solicitor does not comply with these actions and in a timely fashion, this can be regarded as professional misconduct leading to disciplinary action by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

This question is split into two.

The first part asks the seller's solicitor whether they hold all of the title deeds or not and to give details if not.

The second asks the solicitor confirm that they've enclosed a list of all relevant deeds and documents to be handed over/remitted to the buyer's solicitor on completion.

The first part asks if completion will take place at the seller's solicitor's offices or not and if not, where it will take place.

Before the second part is a repeated warning of the seriousness of the matter to come, being an undertaking and asks that, in the event of the buyer wishing to complete through the post, the seller's solicitor confirms to undertake to adopt the Law Society's Code for Completion by Post and additionally that the mortgage and charges listed in reply to question 5.1 (see below) are those specified for the purpose of paragraph 6 of the code.

The first part of the question asks the solicitor to state the exact amount payable on completion and, if it is not just the balance purchase money, to provide copy receipts for any rent or service charge or other payments being apportioned. (Possible answers are 'Enclosed' or 'Not applicable').

The second part asks for details of:

The first part asks for a list of the mortgages or charges secured on the property which they agree to redeem or discharge to the extent that they relate to the property on or before completion (including repayment of any discount under the Housing Acts).

The second part is prefaced, as before, with a warning that the answer to the question is treated as an undertaking. It asks if the solicitor is prepared to undertake to redeem or discharge the mortgage and charges listed in reply to the first part of the question on completion and send Form DS1, DS3, the receipted charge(s) or confirmation that notice of release or discharge in electronic form has been given to the Land Registry as soon as they've been received to the buyer's solicitor.

The third part refers back to the matter of the Law Society's code for Completion by Post and asks to confirm that the solicitor is the duly authorised agent of the proprietor of every mortgage or charge on the property which they have undertaken, in reply to the second part, to redeem or discharge.

The form concludes with spaces for both sides of solicitors to sign and date, prefaced with another warning that they should only be signed by people with authority to give undertakings on behalf of their respective solicitor firms.

Most conveyancing firms have a standard response: these are set out below (although not on a standard Law Society form). Also there are certain details individual to a particular conveyancing matter – they need to be amended as appropriate.

1. 1 (a) and (b) Otherwise than may be apparent from correspondence we suggest that the buyers liaise direct with the sellers. Where applicable we will authorise the release of the keys upon receipt of all monies due under the contract.

[This question might also be answered 'Via the Estate Agents' and the second sub-part with 'As per the contract' which means the property will be vacated by the completion time stated in the contract].

1. 2 Where applicable this will be provided.
[This question might also be answered 'N/A' or 'Confirmed'].

2. 1 Please either refer to the Epitome in the case of unregistered title or in the case of registered title, unless otherwise advised in correspondence or if the Register indicates that the certificate is retained at the Land Registry under section 63 LRA 1925, the title certificate relating to the charge(s) referred to in the reply to 6. 1 will be handed over upon completion, or an undertaking to forward it/them when received from the relevant mortgagees or their separate solicitors when held by them.

2. 2 A schedule of deeds and documents will be provided on completion.

[Another standard response is often 'All in our possession'. At a minimum, this will state that a transfer deed will be handed over.]

2. 3 Where applicable a deposit number will be given in correspondence.

3. 1 Yes, unless otherwise notified in correspondence.

3. 2 We are happy to adopt the current Law Society’s Code for Completion by post, and the mortgages and charges (if any) listed in reply to 6. 1 are those specified for the purpose of paragraph 3 of the Code, provided that, for the avoidance of doubt, despatch by post or DX of the title deeds is sufficient discharge of our obligation as to the delivery of the deeds and further that any agency obligations are subject to receipt of all monies due under the contract save as provided for in standard condition 6. 3. 5.

4.1 Balance as per contract.

[This is the answer if it is the amount stated in the contract. If it is not, then either the exact amount (including for example apportionments of ground rent and/or service charge to pay] is stated or the answer can be 'As per the attached completion statement' (with the completion statement attached).]

4.2 [Seller's solicitor's bank details are added here].

[IMPORTANT: A reply to this requisition is treated as an undertaking as discussed previously, therefore the seller's solicitor must take great care when answering this requisition.]

5. 1 We are currently awaiting redemption figures and will revert to you in due course.

5. 2 In consideration of receipt of all monies due under the contract we undertake to forward the monies notified to us prior to completion by any mortgagee listed above to the mortgagee(s) and to forward the Form(s) DS1/receipted charges/copy notice of confirmation that an END1 has been sent to HMLR to you forthwith upon receipt.

[Sometimes, the words here will refer to 'the usual form of undertaking, which will be in the Law Society's recommended form, which will be given on completion in respect of the Charge dated [x] in favour of [y]' or similar.]

Given the increasing number of conveyancing scams occurring (click to find out how you can protect yourself generally against cyber crime), which cost private individuals and solicitors in the industry many millions every year, solicitors who truly care about their clients - and their reputations - should take special care regarding client funds.

Therefore, given that a residential buyer will normally have to transfer hundreds of £1,000s across to a seller to buy their intended property - and very often this involves borrowing most of this finance from a lender - our solicitors are always cautious when dealing with a solicitor they haven't dealt with before.

The replies to requisitions on title should clearly state the seller's solicitor's firm's bank account details and it is these which are put through Lawyer Checker (click to find out more), which confirms whether the solicitor firm is who they say they are, or if there is any doubt, in which case further checks will be applied and the transaction halted if necessary alongside notifying the Police.