I am about to put a bid on a leasehold flat in Bromham. The estate agents assure me that it is the norm for flats in Bromham to have less than 75 years left on the lease. I am expecting a mortgage with The Mortgage Works. Is this going to be a problem if the lease has 69 years unexpired.
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are obtaining a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. The Mortgage Works have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 13/1/2026 the requirements read as follows :
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
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 70 years
- 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 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 70 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 1.0% 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
- 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
- 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 reviewed and altered on any review basis or methodology
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 1.0% 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 the 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.
I just bought a house at auction in Bromham. Conveyancing is needed. What happens now?
Having exchanged you now have to retain a conveyancing practitioner as a matter of urgency as you will have a fast approaching deadline in which to complete the conveyancing. An auction property should have a corresponding auction set of papers. This will likely include evidence of title and search results. In the case of leasehold premises the legal papers should include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing documentation specific to leasehold premises. You should hand this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor ASAP. Do make sure that your finances are organised to complete the transaction on the set completion date.
Is there a list of Co-operative panel solicitors in Bromham on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?
Unfortunately not yet. There is no such facility on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of lenders make their panel listings available on the web. If you are seeking to appoint a Bromham solicitor on the Co-operative please use our facility.
We previously appointed conveyancing lawyers based in Bromham on the Kent Reliance solicitor approved list. They have just billed me a further sum for dealing with the Kent Reliance mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Kent Reliance?
Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitor can charge a fee for this. This charge is not set by Kent Reliance but by your Bromham conveyancing practitioner. Plenty of firms on the Kent Reliance panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
Is it necessary to pay for insurance to cover chancel repairs when purchasing a house in Bromham?
Unless a prior acquisition of the property completed after 12 October 2013 you could expect conveyancing practitioners carrying out conveyancing in Bromham to continue to advocate a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
Just bought a terraced house in Bromham , What is the estimated time for the Land Registry to deal with the formalities evidencing my ownership? My Bromham conveyancing solicitor works at snail pace, so I want to be sure the registration formalities are concluded.
There is nothing unique when it comes to conveyancing in Bromham registration formalities. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timescales can vary depending on the party submitting the application, whether it is in order and whether the Land registry must send notices to any 3rd persons or bodies. Currently in the region of 80% of submission are fully addressed in less than three weeks but some can be subject to longer delays. Registration occurs once the purchaser is living at the property thus post completion formalities is not always an essential issue yet where it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your conveyancer could speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.
We expect to complete our sale of a £125,000 flat in Bromham in seven days. The freeholder has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Bromham?
Bromham conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times results in fees being invoiced by management companies :
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Completing pre-exchange enquiries
Where consent is required before sale in Bromham
Supplying insurance information
Deeds of covenant upon sale
Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
Leasehold Conveyancing in Bromham - Examples of Queries Prior to buying
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You should want to discover as much as possible concerning the company managing the building as they can either make living at the property much simpler or problematic. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day matters like the tidiness of the communal areas. Ask other tenants if they are happy with their service. In conclusion, find out the dates that the service fees are due to the managing agents and specifically how they are spending the funds. Please note if it is no more than 80 years it will affect the value of the property. Check with your bank that they are content with remaining years on the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out what this would cost. For most Bromhamlease extensions you will need to own the premises for a couple of years before you are legally able to extend the lease.
Being a tenant I am on the hook for a maintenance fee for my flat in Bromham. As a result of poor financial planning I fell into arrears with payments. The management company agreed a settlement schedule but there remains a couple of remaining to be paid.
I want to sell and I am worried this could threaten to derail the sale if I have to discharge the arrears in advance. Do I have to settle before - is this viable?
It would be wise to check with the conveyancer handling your Bromham conveyancing but one option might be to agree for the outstanding amount to be transferred to the purchasers. The contractual price they pay would be adjusted to reflect the amount of debt they take on. They would then discharge the outstanding monies once they are the owners.