About to place a bid on a leasehold apartment in Pencader. The property agents assure me that it is the norm for flats in Pencader to have less than 75 years left on the lease. I am taking out a mortgage with Nationwide Building Society. Is this going to be a problem if the lease has Seventy One 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. Nationwide Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 13/4/2025 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.
I am being told by my solicitor that lack of planning permission insurance is required on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Pencader conveyancing?
The right level of lack of planning permission indemnity insurance depends on your lender. It would differ for example between HSBC Bank and Barnsley Building Society. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to members of the public take out such insurances.
We had instructed conveyancing lawyers located in Pencader on the Barclays solicitor approved list. They are now charging me an additional fee for handling the Barclays mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Barclays?
Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your property lawyer may levy a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Barclays but by your Pencader conveyancer. Plenty of firms on the Barclays panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but plenty of practices include it on their overall fee.
We were going to get a DIP from Bank of Ireland this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Bank of Ireland recommend any Pencader solicitors on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint Pencader solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Bank of Ireland through the process.
I understand that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Do I need this when acquiring a house in Pencader? or Apparently there is a law dating back centuries that means some house owners residing in a parish church boundary will be compelled to pay for maintenance to the chancel within the church. Is this appropriate for conveyancing in Pencader?
Unless a previous acquisition of the premises completed post 12 October 2013 you may assume that conveyancing practitioners carrying out conveyancing in Pencader to continue to suggest a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and found one close by in Pencader I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 51 years on the lease. There is not much else in Pencader suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?
Should you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will be problematic. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.
I am looking into buying my first house which is in Pencader and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Pencader. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Pencader area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Pencader. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found
When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Pencader what are the most frequent lease defects?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Pencader. Most leases are drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
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Insurance obligations
You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Chelsea Building Society, and Clydesdale all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.
I bought a garden flat in Pencader, conveyancing having been completed in 2012. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Pencader with an extended lease are worth £216,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2094
With just 69 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.