There are various documents that need to be provided when a leasehold property changes hands or is mortgaged, some always need to be provided, some only need to be provided if required in the Lease.
The Landlord/Management Company will usually charge a fee for each of these documents, but as they are set by the Landlord/Management Company themselves, we cannot usually advise on the sums involved at the start of the transaction.
This always needs to be provided if the property changes hands (even if from joint names to sole names or vice versa) and is instructing the Landlord/Management Company of the change of ownership of the leasehold property, so that they can update their records and ensure that any demands for ground rent or service charge are sent to the correct person/address.
This needs to be provided if the property is mortgaged/remortgaged. This is because landlords/management companies have an obligation to notify a lender if the mortgaged property owner falls into arrears with service charges or breaches the terms of the lease. The Landlord/Management Company can only do so if they are advised of who the lender is.
There is often a restriction on a leasehold property’s title that no change of ownership can be registered without a certificate or consent from the Landlord/Management Company that certain requirements have been fulfilled, whether that be entering into a deed of covenant, issue the notice of transfer or that the person coming off the title has paid any required exit fee. The certificate of compliance is provided by the Landlord/Management Company as and when they are satisfied that the requirements have been satisfied.
This is a document whereby the incoming owner promises (covenants) with the Landlord/Management Company that they will observe and perform the obligations in the Lease in place of the outgoing owner.
This tends to be used mainly in high value blocks (such as London mansion blocks) and is a document by which the Landlord/Management Company approves the incoming owner prior to completion of any change of ownership. The Landlord/Management Company will usually require the incoming owner to provide references and prove that they can afford the service charges and other costs associated with the flat, and once they are satisfied, they will issue a licence to assign confirming that the incoming owner may take over ownership of the property.
