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Selling a House 'As Is' in the UK: 2026 Seller's Guide
Sell your home in its current condition without repairs, renovation or a single trip to B&Q. Here's what 'sold as seen' really means, how much it costs you, and who buys as-is.
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Yes, you can sell a house "as is" in the UK, and thousands of people do it every week. "As is" means you sell the property in its current condition without carrying out repairs, redecorating, or fixing defects. What it does not mean is that you can stay silent about problems you know exist. Since 6 April 2025, the law makes hiding a material fault a strict-liability offence, so "sold as seen" protects you far less than most sellers believe.
I've spent years helping homeowners get out of houses that felt like a millstone: probate properties full of a lifetime's clutter, damp Victorian terraces, homes with a cracked render and a buyer who ran a mile. Selling as is can be the smartest, calmest decision you make. It can also go badly wrong if you treat "as seen" as a licence to bury a leaking roof. This guide walks you through exactly how it works in 2026, what you're allowed to keep quiet about (very little), how much a real-condition sale actually costs you, and who to sell to.
- Selling "as is" is completely legal in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. You never have to renovate before you sell.
- "Sold as seen" does not cancel your duty to disclose. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, omitting a material fault is an offence in its own right.
- You'll typically accept somewhere between 80% and 90% of full market value on the open market, and around 80–85% from a genuine cash buyer, in exchange for speed and certainty.
- The right buyer depends on your property and your timeline: a cash house-buying company, a property auction, or a developer/investor.
- Doing the wrong repairs first is a classic way to lose money. Some jobs pay you back; most don't.
What does selling a house "as is" actually mean?
Selling "as is" (or "sold as seen") means the buyer agrees to purchase the property in its present state, accepting its faults, and you make no promise to put anything right before completion. The kitchen from 1987 stays. The bowing garden wall stays. The buyer prices that in and takes it on.
It's a condition of sale, not a legal loophole. The phrase gets borrowed from second-hand car sales, where "sold as seen" genuinely does shift a lot of risk onto the buyer. Property is different. A house is the biggest purchase most people ever make, it's heavily regulated, and the consumer-protection rules that apply to a home sale are some of the strictest in the country. So the car-boot logic of "you looked at it, tough luck" simply doesn't hold.
People reach for an as-is sale for all sorts of reasons. You've inherited a property you can't afford to do up. You're going through a separation and want a clean break. The house needs £40,000 of work and you have neither the cash nor the appetite. Or you simply want out, fast, without a chain collapsing under you. All of those are perfectly good reasons, and none of them require you to pick up a paintbrush.
Is "sold as seen" legally binding on a house sale?
Not in the way people hope. You can absolutely agree an as-is sale, and the fact you're not carrying out repairs is a legitimate part of the deal. But a "sold as seen" clause in the contract does not override your legal duty to be honest about the property. This is the single biggest misunderstanding I come across.
The old principle here is caveat emptor, Latin for "let the buyer beware". For centuries it meant the buyer was responsible for checking the property, and the seller could stay largely silent. That principle still technically exists, but it has been hollowed out. Two things fill the gap: the buyer's own survey, and your obligation not to mislead.
Do I still have to disclose problems if I sell as is?
Yes. This is where the law has moved hard in the seller's disfavour, and it's the part you must get right.
Until recently, disclosure sat under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. On 6 April 2025 those regulations were replaced by the consumer-protection provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (the DMCCA). The headline change matters to you: omitting material information from an invitation to purchase is now treated as unfair in its own right. In plain terms, leaving out a known problem can be an offence even if you can't prove it would have changed the buyer's mind. Enforcement sits with the Competition and Markets Authority and Trading Standards, and it can mean prosecution, not just a civil squabble.
On top of that sits the Misrepresentation Act 1967. If you make a false statement, in writing or in conversation, and the buyer relies on it and loses money, they can rescind the sale (unwind it) or claim damages. That applies whether you lied on a form, told a fib to the estate agent, or reassured the buyer at the viewing that "the damp's all sorted".
Most of your disclosure happens on the TA6 Property Information Form, the Law Society's standard seller's questionnaire. The 6th edition (2025) became mandatory for Conveyancing Quality Scheme solicitors from 30 March 2026, and it asks about disputes, notices, flooding, Japanese knotweed, alterations, guarantees and more. Answer it fully and honestly. A blank or evasive TA6 doesn't make a problem disappear; it just moves the liability squarely onto you.
Here's the practical rule I give every seller: you don't have to fix it, but you do have to flag it. Selling as is protects your wallet from the cost of repairs. It does not protect you from the consequences of concealment. For the full picture, read our companion guide on what you must legally disclose when selling a house.
What counts as "material" information?
Material information is anything the average buyer would need to make an informed decision. In a real-condition sale, that usually includes: structural movement or subsidence, active damp or rot, a leaking or failed roof, electrical or plumbing that's past its life, Japanese knotweed, a short lease, boundary or right-of-way disputes, past flooding, non-standard construction, and any work done without building regulations sign-off. If you know about it, put it on the table. Buyers of as-is property expect faults; what kills deals and lands sellers in court is the fault they weren't told about.
How much less do you get selling a house as is?
Less than a fully renovated equivalent, but rarely as little as sellers fear. The discount is the buyer pricing in two things: the cost of the work, plus a margin for their time, risk and the hassle of doing it themselves.
As a rough guide for 2026, here's what different routes tend to return against a property's full, done-up market value.
With the average UK house price at roughly £270,000 in the year to April 2026 according to the official UK House Price Index, an 85% cash offer on an average home is around £229,500. That gap of £40,000-odd looks brutal on paper. But before you rule it out, you have to net off what the "full price" route actually costs you: months of mortgage payments, insurance and council tax on an empty or half-finished house, the repair bill itself, estate agent fees, and the very real chance the sale falls through. Around a third of agreed UK sales collapse before completion. When you run the true numbers, the headline discount shrinks fast.
The real maths: a worked example
Numbers beat theory, so let's run one. Say your house would be worth £250,000 fully done up, but it needs a new roof, some rewiring and a bathroom, call it £25,000 of work over four months.
Route one, renovate then sell. You spend £25,000 and four months project-managing. Add four months of mortgage, council tax, insurance and utilities on a house you're not living in, say £6,000. Sell at £250,000 through an agent, minus roughly 1.5% plus VAT in fees, about £4,500. Net in your pocket: around £214,500, assuming the work runs to budget and nothing falls through. It usually doesn't run to budget.
Route two, sell as is to a cash buyer at 83%. That's £207,500, with no fees, no repairs, no holding costs, completing inside a month. Net in your pocket: £207,500, and you're free.
The renovation route wins on paper by about £7,000, but only if everything goes perfectly, the market holds, and your buyer doesn't pull out. Factor in the stress, the time, the risk of overspend and a collapsed chain, and for a lot of people that £7,000 gap is a price worth paying for certainty. Run your own version of this sum before you decide anything. The point isn't that as-is always wins; it's that the "obvious" renovation is rarely as profitable as it looks.
Should you do repairs first, or sell as is?
This is the question I'm asked most, and the honest answer is: it depends entirely on the job. The seductive myth is that you spend £30,000 on a new kitchen and bathroom and add £50,000 to your price. In a soft 2026 market, that maths often collapses, and you end up funding a renovation the next owner would rather have done themselves.
The trick is to separate value-adding fixes from money pits. A £300 day clearing junk, mowing the lawn and giving the front door a coat of paint can genuinely lift offers, because it changes the first impression. Ripping out a dated but functional kitchen usually doesn't, because you're spending real money to impose your taste on someone who'll rip it out anyway.
- Deep clean, declutter and clear the garden
- Fix anything that's a cheap safety flag: a wobbly bannister, an exposed wire, a tripping hazard
- Touch-up paint in the worst rooms
- Sort the paperwork: guarantees, FENSA, building regs, gas and electrical certificates
- New kitchen or bathroom purely to sell
- Full re-roof, rewire or damp-proofing to please one buyer
- Structural work you'd have to project-manage from a distance
- Anything that ties up cash for months while the market drifts
Big-ticket repairs are where the "just do it up" advice really falls apart. A full re-roof on a three-bed semi runs from around £6,500 for concrete tile up to £18,500 for natural slate. A new combi boiler is typically £2,300–£4,000 installed. Damp injection is £50–£80 a linear metre before you touch the replastering. Take on all three and you're easily £20,000 deep, months of disruption in, and still not guaranteed a penny more than an as-is buyer would have paid you today. If the property is genuinely hard to mortgage, the calculation shifts further still; our guide to selling an unmortgageable house goes deeper on that scenario, and our strategy for a house that needs updating weighs the trade-offs in detail.
Who buys houses "as is" in the UK?
Plenty of buyers actively want a property in its raw state, because a done-up house gives them no room to add value. Your job is to match the property to the buyer who'll pay the most for it in the condition it's in.
| Route | Typical return | Speed | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open market with an agent | 80–90% | 3–6 months+ | Cosmetic wear only; you can wait |
| Cash house buyer | 80–85% | 7–28 days | Speed and certainty; any condition |
| Property auction | 70–90% | 4–8 weeks | Unusual or unmortgageable homes |
| Developer / investor | 75–85% | 2–6 weeks | Renovation projects, big plots |
A genuine "we buy any house" company is the fastest option, and by definition they buy in any state, so an as-is sale is their bread and butter. They fund the purchase themselves, which is why there's no chain and no mortgage survey to fail. The trade-off is the price, and the sector has some sharp operators, so it pays to know who you're dealing with. Our rundown of the best house-buying companies is the place to start, and if you've been told your home is "impossible to sell", read how to sell an unsellable house before you accept that verdict.
What should I check before choosing an as-is buyer?
The single most common way as-is sellers get burned is the price drop just before completion. A company offers a strong figure, you take the house off the market, and days before you're due to exchange the offer mysteriously falls by £15,000, citing a "survey issue". By then you're committed, exhausted, and they know it. So vet hard:
- Ask if they're a genuine cash buyer buying with their own funds, or a lead-generator who'll sell your details on.
- Get the offer and the deduction basis in writing, and ask what would change it.
- Check for membership of The Property Ombudsman or the National Association of Property Buyers.
- Read independent reviews, and be wary of any company that pressures you to sign quickly.
- Compare at least two or three offers. A single quote tells you nothing about whether it's fair.
How do I sell my house as is, step by step?
An as-is sale is simpler than a traditional one precisely because there's no repair schedule to negotiate. Here's the path I'd steer you down.
1. Get a realistic valuation of the property as it stands. Not the done-up figure, the honest current-condition figure. Start with our how much is my house worth guide, or book a free house valuation to anchor your expectations.
2. Decide your priority. Is it the highest possible number, or speed and certainty? That single choice points you to a route. If you need out this month, the open market isn't it. If you can wait six months and the faults are cosmetic, an agent may squeeze out more.
3. Gather your paperwork. Title documents, EPC, any guarantees, building-regs and FENSA certificates, and a fully completed TA6. Good paperwork speeds everything up and reduces the excuses a buyer can invent later.
4. Disclose everything you know. Write down every fault, honestly. This protects you legally and, counter-intuitively, builds trust with a serious buyer who's expecting problems anyway.
5. Get multiple offers and read the small print. Compare not just the headline figure but the fees, the deduction terms and the completion timeline. Then instruct a solicitor and proceed.
Can I sell as is if I still have a mortgage on the property?
Yes, and most people do. Having a mortgage doesn't stop you selling in any condition. On completion, your solicitor uses the sale proceeds to redeem the outstanding loan, and whatever's left after fees comes to you. The only sticking point is if the sale price won't clear the mortgage balance, which is negative equity. If your as-is offer is lower than what you owe, you'll need to make up the shortfall from savings, or get your lender's written agreement to a short sale before you commit. Don't assume; ask your lender for a redemption figure early so there are no nasty surprises at the finish line.
One thing genuinely does speed up: because a real cash buyer isn't relying on a mortgage of their own, there's no lender's valuation of your property to fail. That single fact removes the most common reason as-is and problem-property deals collapse on the open market, a down-valuation or a survey the buyer's lender won't accept.
Selling as is in special situations
Some of the most common as-is sales aren't about a tired kitchen at all. Inherited and probate properties are frequently sold exactly as the previous owner left them, because clearing and renovating an estate house is a job the beneficiaries have no wish to take on. A divorce or separation often calls for the fastest clean exit rather than the highest price. Homes facing repossession, or with an unmortgageable defect like spray-foam insulation or non-standard construction, are natural as-is candidates because the pool of ordinary buyers has already shrunk.
In every one of these cases the same rule holds: you're allowed to sell the house warts and all, but you must name the warts. A cash sale can be a genuine lifeline when time or money is tight, and the certainty of a fixed completion date is worth real money when the alternative is a chain that could collapse. If your motivation is speed above all, our main guide to selling your house fast lays out every option side by side.
The mistakes that cost as-is sellers the most
After all these years, the same three errors come up again and again. First, treating "sold as seen" as permission to hide a known fault. It isn't, and under the 2025 rules it's a fast route to a legal claim or worse. Second, spending thousands on repairs a buyer never asked for, then discovering the market won't pay it back. Third, accepting the first cash offer without comparing it, and without pinning down what could make it drop before completion.
Get those three right and an as-is sale becomes what it should be: a straightforward, honest transaction that gets you out of a property you no longer want, on a timeline you control, without pouring money into a house you're about to hand over. Sell it as it is. Just don't pretend it's something it isn't.
If you'd like to see what your home could fetch in its current condition, with no obligation and no pressure, compare cash offers with a free valuation and take it from there.
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Frequently asked questions
Straight answers, no sales talk
Is 'sold as seen' legally binding when selling a house in the UK?
The as-is condition is a valid part of the deal, so the buyer can't demand you carry out repairs. But 'sold as seen' does not override your legal duty to disclose. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (in force since 6 April 2025) and the Misrepresentation Act 1967, hiding or misstating a known material fault can still land you with a claim or prosecution.
Do I still have to fill in the TA6 form if I sell as is?
Yes. The TA6 Property Information Form is where most disclosure happens, and selling 'as is' does not exempt you from completing it fully and honestly. The 6th edition (2025) is mandatory for Conveyancing Quality Scheme solicitors from 30 March 2026. Answer every question truthfully; a blank or evasive form shifts liability onto you.
How much less will I get selling my house as is?
Expect roughly 80-90% of full market value on the open market and around 80-85% from a genuine cash buyer, with unusual or unmortgageable homes sometimes fetching 70-80% at auction. The discount reflects the cost of the work plus the buyer's risk and effort, offset against the repairs, holding costs and fall-through risk you avoid.
Can I sell a house that has failed a mortgage survey as is?
Yes. Cash buyers and many auction buyers don't need a mortgage, so a failed lender's survey doesn't stop the sale. These routes are common for homes with subsidence, damp, short leases, spray-foam insulation or non-standard construction that ordinary mortgaged buyers can't touch.
Do cash house-buying companies really buy in any condition?
Genuine cash buyers do, because they fund the purchase with their own money and plan to renovate or let the property. That's why there's no chain and no mortgage survey to fail. Vet them carefully: confirm they're a true cash buyer rather than a lead-generator, get the offer in writing, and watch for last-minute price drops before completion.
Should I get a survey before selling my house as is?
It's optional but often worth it. A seller's survey or condition report lets you disclose accurately, pre-empt the buyer's own findings, and defend your asking price. It reduces the risk of a buyer using a 'survey issue' to knock money off just before exchange.
Can a buyer sue me after buying the house 'as is'?
They can't sue you for faults they could see or were told about. They can pursue you for concealment or misrepresentation, if you actively hid a known defect or gave false information. That's the key distinction: 'as is' covers disclosed condition, not deception.
Is it worth doing repairs before selling as is?
Cheap cosmetic work like decluttering, cleaning and touch-up paint usually pays for itself by improving first impressions. Big-ticket jobs, such as a new kitchen, full re-roof or rewire, often don't return their cost in a soft market, so you're frequently better selling as is and letting the buyer do the work.
