My wife and I are hoping to purchase a flat in Cottingham and have appointed a Cottingham conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Platform Home Loans Ltd have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Cottingham lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Cottingham lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I have 7378 less than 75 years unexpired on my lease and require a lease extension for my flat in Cottingham. 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 securing 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 15/1/2026 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 am assisting my mother sell her house in Cottingham. Does the conveyancing solicitor commission the EPC or do I organise this?
After the abolition of Home Information Packs, EPC’s was retained a compulsory component of selling a property. An EPC needs to be to hand prior to the property being advertised. It is not as aspect of the sale process that conveyancers normally organise. If you are using a Cottingham conveyancing practitioner they may be willing to arrange energy assessments due to their contacts with reputable local assessors
I am purchasing a property in Cottingham. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Lloyds be concerned?
Given that your lender is Lloyds your lawyer must comply with the conveyancing requirements outlined in Part 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Lloyds. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook sets out minimum conditions for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to Lloyds where a lease does not meet these requirements. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not restricted to Cottingham.
Intending to buy a apartment in Cottingham. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Cottingham solicitor is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel.
Will our solicitor be raising enquiries concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Cottingham.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers conducting conveyancing in Cottingham. There are those who acquire a property in Cottingham, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Lawyers are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that can be carried out by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which will figure out the risks in Cottingham. The standard completed inquiry forms given to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a usual question of the vendor to determine whether the property has ever been flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred which is not notified by the seller, then a purchaser could commence a claim for damages as a result of such an incorrect reply. The buyer’s solicitors will also conduct an enviro report. This should indicate if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries will need to be initiated.
How do I identify a Cottingham solicitor on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel? I have a car and am happy to travel upto 20miles to meet the conveyancer.
Feel free to make use of the facility on this website. Please select a mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of Cottingham conveyancing lawyers based on proximity. We have detailed some Cottingham conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can telephone them to verify whether they are on the Bank of Scotland panel