I have 7378 less than 75 years unexpired on my lease and need a lease extension for my apartment in Abertillery. Conveyancing solicitors on the Nationwide Building Society panel can deal with such extensions correct?
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are securing a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Nationwide Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 5/6/2025 the requirements read as follows :
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).
Where the unexpired lease term is different to that recorded on the mortgage offer, the following clarifies if we need to be informed:
Second hand property:
- If the unexpired lease term on the offer is 85 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 85 years
- if the unexpired lease term on the offer is less than 85 years – advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported
- For equity share applications - advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.
New build property:
- If the unexpired lease term stated on the offer is 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house) or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house)
- For equity share applications - always advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
Lease terms such as ground rent and event fees must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirements below. If you’re unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us in plain English for Valuer consideration. If the potentially onerous terms are in relation to the ground rent please include the current ground rent figure per annum, how often it will be reviewed and the price structure it will be reviewed against. See the guidance below.
SECOND HAND PROPERTIES
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- Less than 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term
- Ground Rent greater than 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years (e.g. doubles every 5, 10 or 15 years) - acceptable if doubles every 20 years or more
- Ground Rent is compounded RPI
- Ground Rent review period is less than or equal to 5 years
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Unexpired lease term is 55 to 85 years
- Ground Rent greater than 0.1% and less than or equal to 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to any indices greater than RPI
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building*
- Ground Rent review period is greater than 5 and less than 10 years
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial, etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything that appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than 85 years (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
- Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI
NEW BUILD PROPERTIES (includes office conversions)
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined)
- Unexpired lease term less than 125 years on a new build flat or less than 250 years on a new build house (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything else appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than or equal to 125 years on a new build flat or greater than or equal to 250 years on a new build house
- A lease subject to a peppercorn Ground Rent (Annual Rent) charges
For the avoidance of doubt, any New Build properties completed but not sold pre-30 June 2022 will only be acceptable if the Lease conforms to the above guidance.
* Where the Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building, please provide the following:
- How is the value of the block/unit currently calculated and if the assessment relates to the block(s), how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned per property?
- The current valuation and Ground Rent for each unit
- What is the mechanism for future valuations of the block and how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned?
- What is the right of appeal? And is this a documented process within the lease?
- Who bears the cost of the valuation (and appeal) process?
- Confirmation the review period is not less than twenty years.
Lease Extensions
We require all Lease Extensions to be completed under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and to meet the above criteria as a minimum. Where you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to Issuing Office.
Please ensure that all lender enquiries are submitted (with full documentation/requirements) at least 2 weeks prior to exchange to allow sufficient time for review and decisioning.
Will our conveyancer be raising enquiries concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Abertillery.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers conducting conveyancing in Abertillery. Plenty of people will purchase a house in Abertillery, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.
Solicitors are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a various checks that may be initiated by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which should give them a better appreciation of the risks in Abertillery. The conventional set of property information forms sent to a buyer’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a usual question of the owner to determine whether the premises has historically flooded. If the residence has been flooded in past and is not disclosed by the seller, then a buyer could bring a compensation claim as a result of such an incorrect response. A buyer’s solicitors should also carry out an enviro search. This will reveal if there is any known flood risk. If so, further investigations should be made.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my property can not be found. The solicitors who did the conveyancing in Abertillery 10 years ago no longer exist. What are my options?
As long as the title is registered the details of your ownership will be recorded by HMLR under a Title Number. It is easy to perform a search at the Land Registry, find your property and obtain up to date copies of the Registered Entries for less than a fiver. Where the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually retain a file duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for twenty pounds.
How does conveyancing in Abertillery differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Abertillery come to us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is completed. This is because new home sellers in Abertillery tend to purchase the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Abertillery or who has acted in the same development.
Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Abertillery before appointing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor advised that some lenders may refuse to issue a loan on a flying freehold house.
It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different instructions from Halifax. If you contact us we can check via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Abertillery. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Abertillery especially if they regularly deal with such properties in Abertillery.
I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Abertillery. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
Abertillery Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing
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Its a good idea to discover as much as possible concerning the company managing the block as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day issues such as the tidiness of the communal areas. Ask other tenants whether they are happy with them. Finally, be sure you understand the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and precisely how they are spending that money. The answer will be useful as a) areas may result in problems in the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate where repairs are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will wish to know about it