An auction legal pack is the bundle of documents your solicitor prepares so bidders can check the legal position of your land before they bid. For land in England and Wales it usually includes official copies of the register and title plan, the special conditions of sale, searches, replies to enquiries, and every tenancy, overage deed, easement, and scheme agreement that affects the land. The seller pays for it, and it should be ready when marketing starts.
The pack matters more at auction than in a private sale. Under the Common Auction Conditions, the buyer is treated as knowing everything in the documents, "whether or not the BUYER has read them". A buyer also can't raise objections to title documents that were available before the auction. A complete pack means bidders can price your land properly. A thin one means they price in the risk.
What is an auction legal pack for?
In a private sale, the buyer's solicitor raises enquiries after an offer is accepted, and contracts are only exchanged once they're satisfied. At an unconditional auction the contract is made on the fall of the hammer, so all of that work has to happen before bidding. The legal pack is how it happens.
The RICS consumer guide to property auctions says the pack "sets out what you are buying and the terms you are buying under". It's usually free to download from the auctioneer's website. Two clauses in the Common Auction Conditions explain why it carries so much weight:
- G1.8: the buyer buys "with full knowledge of" the documents, whether or not they've read them, and of what could reasonably be found by inspecting the land.
- G4.1: the buyer accepts your title as at the contract date and can't raise requisitions on any document made available before the auction.
For you as the seller, those clauses only protect you if the documents were actually in the pack. Anything missing has to be supplied within five business days of the contract under G4.2, and it doesn't carry the same protection.
The RICS professional standard for auctioneers also puts some of this on the auctioneer. They should ask you and your solicitor about public health notices, local land charges, financial charges, arrears, disputes, and "material matters relating to the property", and verify the catalogue as far as they can.
What should a land seller's legal pack contain?
The checklist below covers what a legal pack for agricultural land or rural property in England and Wales typically holds. Not every lot needs every item. The right-hand column shows when each one applies.
| Document | What it shows bidders | Needed when |
|---|---|---|
| Official copy of the register | Owner, price paid, restrictions, charges, rights benefiting and burdening the land | Registered land (every lot) |
| Official copy of the title plan | The general boundaries of the registered title | Registered land (every lot) |
| Filed copies of deeds referred to on the register | Covenants, easements, and reservations in older conveyances | Where the register refers to them |
| Special conditions of sale | The lot, tenancies, completion date, VAT, any extra payments, and variations to the general conditions | Every lot |
| General conditions and sale memorandum | The standard contract terms, usually the Common Auction Conditions | Every lot |
| Local authority search (LLC1 and CON29) | Local land charges, planning decisions, road adoption, and public rights of way | Every lot |
| Optional enquiries (CON29O), including question 22 | Registered common land and town or village greens on or next to the land | Rural land, especially near commons |
| Drainage and water search (CON29DW) | Public sewers, water mains, and connections | Where there are buildings, or services to the lot |
| Environmental and flood search | Contaminated land, landfill, and flood risk | Many rural lots, especially yards and former industrial sites |
| Chancel repair search | Whether the land lies in a parish where chancel repair liability may exist | Commonly ordered for rural land |
| Coal or mining search | Past and planned mining | Land in coalfield or mining areas |
| Replies to pre-contract enquiries | Boundaries, disputes, occupiers, services, and notices | Every lot |
| Tenancies, licences, and notices | AHA 1986 or FBT agreements, grazing licences, rent reviews, and notices served | Any let or occupied land |
| Overage or clawback deeds | Future payments owed on planning or sale | Where the title or an earlier purchase is subject to one |
| Easements, wayleaves, and rights of way | Access, pipes, cables, and shared tracks | Almost every rural lot |
| Planning history and building control | Consents, conditions, and enforcement | Buildings, yards, and changes of use |
| Scheme agreements | SFI, Countryside Stewardship, or woodland agreements covering the land | Land in a scheme |
| VAT option to tax evidence | Whether VAT is charged on the price | Where the land has been opted |
| EPC | Energy rating | Dwellings and heated non-agricultural buildings |
| Authority to sell | Grant of probate, power of attorney, trust or company documents | Where the seller isn't a sole individual owner |
A few of these need more explanation.
Official copies. These are the documents HM Land Registry issues as evidence of title. Under HM Land Registry's information services fees, an official copy of the register or title plan costs £7 through the portal or £11 by post, as of September 2026. Large holdings are often made up of several titles, and each one needs its own copies.
Local search. The LLC1 covers the local land charges register. The CON29 standard enquiries cover planning, roads, public rights of way, and notices. The optional CON29O enquiries are worth ordering for rural land. Question 22 asks whether the land, or land next to it, is registered common land or a town or village green under the Commons Registration Act 1965 or the Commons Act 2006.
Chancel repair. Chancel repair liability, the liability of some landowners to pay for repairs to a parish church chancel, lost its overriding status at midnight on 12 October 2013. HM Land Registry's practice guide 66 explains that a buyer of registered land takes free of it unless a notice is on the register. The liability wasn't abolished, though. Bidders' solicitors still ask about it, and a search or an indemnity policy answers the question upfront.
Replies to enquiries. Where the lot includes a dwelling, solicitors usually use the Law Society's Property Information Form (TA6). For bare land and farm lots, sellers' solicitors tend to use commercial-style enquiries and add farm-specific ones: drainage schemes, water supplies and abstraction licences, fencing responsibilities, shoots and fishing, cropping and holdover, scheme agreements, and anyone with a key to the gate. Under condition G1.9 of the Common Auction Conditions, the buyer can rely on your solicitor's written replies to the extent the replies say so.
EPC. A dwelling needs an EPC when it's sold. On gov.uk's EPC guidance for business premises, non-residential agricultural buildings with low energy demand are exempt, so a lot of bare land and open-fronted sheds needs none.
What goes in the special conditions for a land sale?
The special conditions are the part of the contract written for your lot. RICS says they must, at minimum, refer to a title number and say whether the sale is subject to any tenancies. For land, they usually also cover:
- The lot. A description and plan, including rights granted and reserved, such as access over retained land, and anything excluded, such as mineral or sporting rights you're keeping.
- Tenancies. Under Common Auction Conditions G1.2, the lot is sold with vacant possession unless the special conditions disclose a tenancy. Any tenancy, licence, or right of occupation has to be listed, or you're promising vacant possession.
- Completion date. The default is 20 business days after the contract. A later date can suit harvest, holdover, or a probate timetable.
- Deposit and payments. Any higher minimum deposit, and any sum the buyer pays on top of the price. Under condition A5.2(b) of the 5th edition, the buyer isn't obliged to pay anything else unless it's specifically stated in the special conditions.
- VAT. Whether the price excludes VAT and whether you've opted to tax. See HMRC's VAT Notice 742A on opting to tax.
- Overage. Any new overage you're imposing on the buyer, with triggers, percentage, period, and security.
- Holdover and crops. Rights to harvest growing crops, remove stored produce, or keep stock on after completion, and any payment for tillages.
- Insurance. From the contract date the buyer carries the risk, unless a tenancy or your special conditions keep insurance with you.
RICS's April 2025 practice alert is specific about extra payments. Buyer's premiums, administration fees, and contributions to your legal fees must be set out so buyers can calculate the full cost upfront. Using words instead of numbers "could be an attempt to conceal".
What if the land is unregistered?
More than 90% of the land area of England and Wales is registered, according to HM Land Registry's 2025 to 2026 annual report. The rest is often farmland that hasn't changed hands in decades. Unregistered land can be sold at auction, but the pack needs more work.
| Item | Why it's needed |
|---|---|
| Epitome (or abstract) of title | A schedule of the title deeds, with copies, starting from the root of title |
| Good root of title at least 15 years old | Condition G4.2(b) of the Common Auction Conditions and HM Land Registry practice guide 1 both work from a root more than 15 years old |
| Original deeds, or examined copies | HM Land Registry will need them for first registration |
| Land charges search (K15) | Registered charges and interests against past owners' names |
| Search of the index map (SIM) | Confirms whether any part of the land is already registered, and flags cautions against first registration. It costs £8 for up to five titles disclosed |
| Statutory declarations | Evidence of possession, boundaries, or rights of way that no deed records |
| Lost deeds evidence | Where deeds are missing, practice guide 2 sets out what HM Land Registry needs |
A sale of unregistered freehold triggers compulsory first registration. The buyer must apply within two months of completion under section 6 of the Land Registration Act 2002. If they don't, the transfer of the legal estate becomes void and the land goes back to you on a bare trust for the buyer.
Some sellers register voluntarily before the auction, so bidders see a clean register and title plan. That takes time, so it's a decision to make well before a date is set. See registering unregistered agricultural land and voluntary first registration of farmland.
Farm-specific documents bidders look for
These are the documents that separate a land legal pack from a house one.
Tenancies. Anything let under the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 needs the agreement, rent history, and any succession details, because AHA tenancies can carry lifetime security and succession rights. Farm Business Tenancies under the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 need the agreement, break and notice dates, and rent review history. Grazing licences and informal arrangements need writing down, even if only as a letter confirming when the stock will be off. See selling agricultural land with tenants.
Environmental scheme agreements. Under the SFI26 agreement terms, the Rural Payments Agency "will not usually allow" an agreement to transfer when land is sold. You must tell the RPA as soon as reasonably practicable if you lose management control, and you may have to repay some or all of the grant. Include the agreement, the land covered, and the end date, so bidders know what's attached and your accountant can model any clawback.
Payments. In England, delinked payments are no longer tied to land, so they don't pass to the buyer. In Scotland, Basic Payment Scheme entitlements can be transferred by sale, lease, or inheritance using the RPID process described in Rural Payments and Services guidance. In Wales, BPS entitlements can still be transferred with land during the transition to the Sustainable Farming Scheme, under Welsh Government guidance. If entitlements are included or excluded, the special conditions should say so.
Overage. If you bought the land subject to overage, the deed goes in the pack. The buyer inherits the obligation, and the covenantee may need to consent or receive a deed of covenant.
Rights and reservations. Sporting, mineral, and timber rights held by someone else, or kept by you. Wayleaves and easements for power lines, pipelines, and telecoms, with any payments. Private drainage and shared water supplies. See agricultural land easements and agricultural rights of way.
Disclosure. Consumer protection law applies to what bidders are told. Since 6 April 2025 the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has banned misleading actions and omissions in dealings with consumers. National Trading Standards' Part A, B and C material information guidance was withdrawn on 8 May 2025, when the Act replaced the old regulations. The duty itself didn't change. As of September 2026, the Government has said new non-statutory guidance for residential listings will follow later in 2026. Known problems such as flood risk, access disputes, restrictive covenants, and occupation belong in the pack, not in a surprise after the hammer falls.
Who prepares the legal pack and who pays?
Your solicitor prepares it, on your instructions and at your cost. The RICS consumer guide says to appoint a solicitor "as soon as possible to prepare the legal pack, including the special conditions of sale". The auctioneer's terms of appointment usually authorise them to instruct your solicitor to order searches and make the documents available to bidders.
| Cost | Who pays upfront | Can it be passed to the buyer? |
|---|---|---|
| Official copies and title documents | Seller | Yes, if stated in the special conditions |
| Searches | Seller | Yes, if stated in the special conditions |
| Solicitor's fees for the pack and special conditions | Seller | A contribution can be, if stated in the special conditions |
| Auctioneer's buyer's premium or administration fee | Buyer | Set by the auctioneer and disclosed with the guide price |
Ask your solicitor for a fixed fee for the pack, and your auctioneer how their fees and the buyer's fees are structured. The cost of selling land at auction covers the wider picture.
When does the legal pack need to be ready?
No statute sets a date. RICS says documents and plans "should be available for inspection online or at the offices of the auctioneer or the seller's solicitor for as long as possible prior to the sale". Bidders' solicitors need time to read the pack, and serious bidders won't commit without it.
The things that slow a land pack down:
| Item | Why it can take time |
|---|---|
| Official copies | Usually quick through the HM Land Registry portal |
| Local search | Turnaround varies by council |
| Unregistered title | Deeds have to be found, and the epitome prepared, before anything else |
| Tenancy paperwork | Informal lets may need an agreement or letter drawn up |
| Scheme and payment documents | Agreements and maps need pulling from the Rural Payments service |
| Probate | Without the grant, your solicitor can't prove the executors' title to the buyer |
Instruct your solicitor before you agree an auction date, not after. If you're selling as an executor, see selling inherited farmland and the guide to selling probate land at auction.
What is an addendum?
An addendum is the auctioneer's written update to the particulars or the legal pack after marketing has started. The Common Auction Conditions define it as an amendment or addition to the conditions or particulars, whether in a supplement to the catalogue, a written notice, or an oral announcement at the auction.
RICS expects material changes to be flagged "as soon as is reasonably possible". Late ones are read out from the rostrum, and the auctioneer should draw bidders' attention to any addendum before the lot is offered. RICS advises attaching the addendum to the buyer's sale memorandum. For a seller, the lesson is to get the pack right first time. An addendum the night before the sale gives bidders a reason to hold back.
How is a legal pack different in Scotland?
Scots property law is separate, and so is the paperwork.
- Conditions of sale. Scottish auctions run on articles of roup, and the auctioneer is the judge of the roup, as the RICS consumer guide explains. The Common Auction Conditions sale conditions apply only to England and Wales, so your Scottish solicitor drafts the articles.
- Title. Titles are held by Registers of Scotland, either on the map-based Land Register or on the older Register of Sasines. Leases, servitudes, and title conditions affecting the land go in the pack alongside the title. Recording a disposition in the Sasine Register has had no effect since 8 December 2014, so a sale of a Sasine title leads to registration in the Land Register. Older Sasine titles take longer to examine.
- Searches and reports. Scottish packs typically include a property enquiry certificate from the council (the equivalent of a local search) and legal reports over the Land Register or Sasine Register and the personal registers.
- Home report. A house marketed for sale in Scotland needs a home report under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. The 2008 Prescribed Documents Regulations set out exceptions, including a house sold with non-residential premises it forms part of or serves. A farmhouse sold with the farm may fall within that exception. Your solicitor will confirm whether it applies.
- Tax and tenancies. The buyer pays Land and Buildings Transaction Tax to Revenue Scotland. Agricultural tenancies run under Scottish legislation. See agricultural holdings in Scotland.
- Large holdings. The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 adds prior-notification and lotting rules for large landholdings. As of September 2026 they depend on further regulations, so check the position with your solicitor before setting a date.
In Wales the pack is the same as in England. The buyer pays Land Transaction Tax to the Welsh Revenue Authority instead of Stamp Duty Land Tax.
Next steps
- Pull together what you have. That means deeds, tenancy agreements, scheme agreements, overage deeds, planning consents, and anything about access or boundaries.
- Instruct a solicitor with auction and agricultural experience. Ask for a list of what's missing and a fixed fee for the pack. See choosing an agricultural land solicitor.
- Deal with gaps early. Unregistered land, informal lets, and missing plans take the longest to fix.
- Decide what bidders will pay. Any cost you pass on goes in the special conditions, in figures.
- Talk to your accountant about VAT, capital gains, and scheme clawback before the pack is finalised.
For how the whole sale fits together, see how a land auction works and how online land auctions work.