The sellers of the property we are purchasing have instructed a conveyancing practitioner in Woodlands who has insisted on a preliminary agreement with a down payment two thousand pounds. Are such contracts appropriate for Woodlands conveyancing transactions?
This kind of agreement is unusual in Woodlands, conveyancers are often found to direct clients away from them as they detract from focusing on the primary focus, namely conveyancing and if you end up losing your deposit then the solicitor at best left with an upset client and at worst a litigious one. Furthermore, there is no assurance that just because the seller has signed a lock out agreement they will sell to you. They may be in contravention of the agreement if they receive a large enough incentive to do so because an aggrieved party with the benefit of a lockoutcontract will still be duty bound to show losses as a consequence of the breach and this may not compare to the financial benefit that your seller may secure by breaching the contract, however morally condemnable that may be.
I am about to put a bid on a leasehold flat in Woodlands. The estate agents say that it is standard for flats in Woodlands to have less than 75 years unexpired on the lease. I am taking out a mortgage with The Mortgage Works. Is this going to be acceptable if the lease has 69 years to go.
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are getting 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 15/6/2025 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.
What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Woodlands
There are two types of lawyers who can conduct conveyancing in Woodlands namely CLC regulated conveyancers or solicitors. Both professionals administer conveyancing services that required to complete the sale or acquisition of property. They are both required to execute Woodlands conveyancing to the same standards and guidelines so you can be safe in the knowledge that your conveyancing will be professionally carried out and that the requisite steps should be suitably taken.
We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Coventry BS. Woodlands conveyancing solicitors have been instructed. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Coventry BS?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Coventry BS conducted the valuation? Have you informed Coventry BS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.
I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Yorkshire BS. I assume I don't need a Woodlands lawyer on the Yorkshire BS panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Yorkshire BS mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Yorkshire BS mortgage from the register. Yorkshire BS, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Yorkshire BS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Yorkshire BS has instructed the Land Registry to do so
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Woodlands prior to appointing conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. The surveyor has said that some banks will refuse to issue a loan on such a property.
It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different requirements from Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Woodlands. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.
Are there any apps to help locate a Woodlands solicitor on the Barclays Direct conveyancing panel? I am a keen cyclist and am willing to travel upto 25miles to meet the solicitor.
You can use the search on this page. Please select a mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of Woodlands conveyancing lawyers locally. We have detailed some Woodlands conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can ring them to check whether they are on the Barclays Direct member panel
I am employed by a busy estate agency in Woodlands where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Woodlands conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in Woodlands. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?
in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to assess the premium.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Woodlands flat is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 60.45 years.