'We're selling our home after we were burgled... do we have to tell prospective buyers?'
15 July 2026, 07:17 | Updated: 15 July 2026, 12:15
Every week, we help a reader with their consumer issue or personal finance dilemma in our Money Problem series. You can send yours to moneyblog@sky.uk. Today we're looking at this...
We have made the decision to sell our house after being burgled at the end of March, having initially thought time would lessen our anxiety. We're worried that telling prospective buyers will deter them. Do we need to declare it?
Matt and Jane
Reporter Katie Williams speaks to experts to answer this one...
I'm sorry to hear about the burglary - yours is an interesting question.
You haven't said where you live, but in England and Wales, when you sell a property you must complete a legally binding TA6 property information form.
This asks for a range of information that could be key for prospective buyers, including on the property's boundaries, whether any changes have been made and whether there have been any disputes or complaints about the property.
There is, however, no specific question that would require you to disclose whether a burglary had occurred.
Thom Wilkinson, property solicitor at law firm Bishop and Sewell, said that for this reason, it's one of the additional enquiries he would raise on behalf of the buyer.
In this case, you need to answer the questions honestly. Lying in response to solicitor's questions or on the TA6 form constitutes misrepresentation and can lead to a buyer pursuing legal action, even after the sale has completed. They would have up to six years from the date of the transaction to bring a claim.
Wilkinson notes the TA6 form also asks you to disclose if you have made any claims on your buildings insurance. If you have done so in the case of the burglary, it may be that the solicitors will ask further questions to flesh out the situation.
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Context is important
Wilkinson notes that context is key here.
"If a seller has been broken into repeatedly... that would really put most people off. But then on the other hand you could have left your front door open... someone came in and nicked the stereo very quickly, and that was it. So there's quite a variety of what it could lead to," he says.
Was the burglary a one-off crime by an opportunist that has never happened before? Or was it significant, affecting the structure or desirability of the home? These details will need to be factored into your decision.
Under consumer protection regulations, sellers are required to disclose all material information that will help a buyer make an informed decision and not mislead them on the purchase. It's a little murky as to what material information constitutes, however.
The 'buyer beware' dilemma
Aside from any legal considerations, Wilkinson says there's also the "moral dimension" of what you choose to disclose.
"There is the question about where caveat emptor (buyer beware) stops and where... non-disclosure comes in," he says.
"On a practical note, I always tell my clients that the person that can put this across best is yourself," Wilkinson adds.
He explains it's better for a buyer to find out about a situation such as a burglary from the sellers themselves who can explain the context and any security measures they may have taken, rather than from a neighbour or agent, which may cause more concern.
"It's always best with these sorts of things, if you're the individual that knows about it and you can explain things in context, to disclose it."
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'A tenant left me with a £3,500 council tax bill'
What can I do as a buyer?
Wilkinson says that if a buyer is concerned about a previous burglary, they should make relevant enquiries about this through their solicitor and ask for the full details.
If you're just house hunting, you can find out what crimes have occurred in the area where you're looking to buy on police.uk, which maps crime hotspots based on data from local forces.
Specific locations and crime details are kept anonymous, but it can give you an idea of whether there's a particularly high crime rate in that area.
Neighbourhood Watch also uses police recorded data for its crime map snapshot.
Speaking to neighbours and visiting at different times of the day can also be a good way to get an idea of the safety and overall vibe of the area.
What if a buyer brought legal action?
A buyer pursuing a misrepresentation claim against a seller would need to show that a false or misleading statement was made, that they relied on it and that they suffered a quantifiable loss as a result, say Patrick Ansell and Ruben Perin of Taylor Rose solicitors.
They note that a buyer may struggle to prove they suffered a loss through misrepresentation if the burglary was a one-off event, any necessary repairs were completed and there was no ongoing security issue.
But Perin and Ansell say the case would be stronger if they could show the burglary revealed a known vulnerability that was concealed, the seller falsely answered conveyancing enquiries, the property became harder or more expensive to insure or there was a pattern of criminal activity in the immediate area.
A successful misrepresentation claim is most likely to result in damages to compensate for the buyer's financial loss. These can include:
- A reduction in the property's value attributable to the issue
- The cost of any remedial security works
- Potential additional insurance costs if these flowed directly from the misrepresentation
This feature is not intended as specific legal advice - the aim is to give an overview of the things you should think about.
(c) Sky News 2026: 'We're selling our home after we were burgled... do we have to tell prospective buyers?'
