I have just over seventy years left on my lease and require a lease extension for my flat in Wenvoe. Conveyancing solicitors on the The Mortgage Works panel can deal with such extensions right?
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 18/11/2025 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.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my property are lost. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Wenvoe 4 years ago are no longer around. What are my next steps?
Assuming you have a registered title the details of your proprietorship will be evidenced by HMLR with a Title Number. It is easy to conduct a search at the Land Registry, identify your property and order up to date copies of the Registered Entries for a small fee. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually retain a file copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for twenty pounds.
Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I put an offer in last month in what should have been a simple, chain free conveyancing. Wenvoe is the location of the property. Can you offer any opinion?
Flying freeholds in Wenvoe are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Wenvoe you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Wenvoe may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.
Am I right to be concerned that brokers that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use a factory type conveyancing firm as opposed to a High Street Wenvoe conveyancing firm?
As with lots of professional services, often input from connections can be worth their weight in gold. Nevertheless there are numerous players in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, financial adviser and lenders may put forward lawyers to choose. On occasion these lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but occasionally there exists a financial incentive behind the recommendation. You have the discretion to appoint your own conveyancer. Don't forget that the majority of banks specify a panel list of solicitors you are obliged to use for the lender aspect of your conveyancing.
In scouring the world wide web for the words on line conveyancing in Wenvoe it reveals many property lawyersin the vicinity. How do I determine which is the right property lawyer for my move?
The preferential method of seeking the right conveyancer is through a trusted referral, so seek the counsel of friends and those you trust who have acquired a property in Wenvoe or the respected estate agent or mortgage broker. Fees for conveyancing in Wenvoe vary, so it's advisable to request at least three costs illustrations from varying types of companies. Dont forget to clarify that the fees are fixed.
Myself and my fiance have recently had an offer accepted on a flat and had meeting on Monday with Leeds Building Society for the mortgage. They warned me that when it comes to selecting a conveyancing practitioner that if they are not on their approved list of property lawyers then we will incur an additional charge of about two hundred pounds. This is because they would then have to instruct a property lawyer to act on their behalf as well as the one we choose to act for ourselves and we assume responsibility for their costs. I have requested Leeds Building Society to provide me with a list so I can request quotes only from their approved lawyers but was told that I need to check with each individual lawyer to see if they are on the panel. Is there a simple way of finding out who is on a lender panel?
You should ask Leeds Building Society what their panel criteria is for a solicitor.Then ask the solicitor of your choice whether they fit that criteria and have they acted on loans for Leeds Building Society before. If the answer to those is yes, then just clarify this with Leeds Building Society. Alternatively please make use of our search facility and we may be able to locate a property lawyer in Wenvoe on the panel for Leeds Building Society.