Conveyancing When Selling a Flat
Legal Support Throughout Your Flat Sale
Selling a flat involves more than finding a buyer and agreeing a price. Once a sale is agreed, your conveyancer is responsible for preparing the legal documentation, dealing with enquiries from the buyer’s conveyancer and taking the transaction through exchange of contracts and completion.
Where a flat is leasehold, there is usually additional information to provide about the lease, service charges, ground rent, buildings insurance and the management of the building. Your conveyancer may also need information from the freeholder, managing agent or management company.
Getting the legal work underway early can make a real difference. Management information, missing documents, leasehold enquiries and delays obtaining information from third parties can all slow a flat sale once a buyer is waiting to proceed.
Whether you’re moving home, selling an investment property or simply selling without an onward purchase, an experienced conveyancer can help you understand what is required and keep the legal process moving.
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What Does a Conveyancer Do When You Sell a Flat?
Your conveyancer handles the legal work required to transfer ownership of your flat to the buyer.
Once instructed, they will normally obtain information about the legal title and lease, ask you to complete the relevant property forms and prepare the contract documentation that will be sent to the buyer’s conveyancer.
Where the property is leasehold, additional information will usually be required about the building and its management. This can include service charges, ground rent, buildings insurance, planned major works and other information supplied by the freeholder, managing agent or management company.
During the transaction, your conveyancer will deal with legal enquiries raised by the buyer’s conveyancer, obtain information about any mortgage secured against the property and work towards exchange of contracts.
Once contracts have been exchanged, your conveyancer prepares for completion.
On completion day, they receive the purchase money, deal with repayment of your existing mortgage where applicable and account to you for the remaining sale proceeds after relevant payments and adjustments have been made.
For a broader overview of the legal process when selling property, visit our Selling Conveyancing guide.
The Conveyancing Process When Selling a Flat
Although every property sale is different, a typical flat sale follows a recognisable legal process.
Stage |
What Happens |
|---|---|
|
Conveyancer Instructed |
You provide identification, property information and details of your sale. |
|
Title & Lease Obtained |
Your conveyancer obtains and reviews the title information and relevant lease documentation. |
|
Property Forms Completed |
You provide information about the flat, the leasehold arrangements and what is included in the sale. |
|
Management Information Requested |
Information may need to be obtained from the freeholder, managing agent or management company. |
|
Contract Pack Prepared |
The draft contract, title documents and supporting information are sent to the buyer’s conveyancer. |
|
Buyer’s Enquiries |
The buyer’s conveyancer reviews the documentation and raises relevant legal and leasehold enquiries. |
|
Enquiries Answered |
Your conveyancer works with you and relevant third parties to provide appropriate replies. |
|
Mortgage Arrangements |
Details of any mortgage secured against the flat are dealt with in preparation for repayment. |
|
Contract Signed |
You sign the necessary contract documentation in readiness for exchange. |
|
Exchange of Contracts |
The sale normally becomes legally binding and the completion date is fixed. |
|
Completion |
The buyer’s money is received, the keys can be released and ownership passes to the buyer. |
|
Sale Proceeds |
Your conveyancer deals with the mortgage and relevant payments before sending you the remaining balance. |
Learn More: Conveyancing Explained →
When Should You Instruct a Conveyancer When Selling a Flat?
You don’t necessarily need to wait until you’ve accepted an offer.
In fact, instructing early can be particularly useful when selling a flat, because some of the information required for the transaction may need to be obtained from third parties.
Starting the conveyancing process while your flat is being marketed can give you time to:
- complete the relevant property and leasehold forms
- locate your lease and other important documents
- identify the freeholder, managing agent or management company
- gather service charge and ground rent information
- locate consents for alterations
- find any share or membership certificates
- establish whether your accounts are up to date
- discuss when management information should be requested
That means when a buyer is found, your conveyancer may be in a much better position to issue the contract documentation and start dealing with the additional leasehold requirements promptly.
Why Is Selling a Flat Different From Selling a House?
Many flats in England and Wales are leasehold. This means the buyer isn’t simply interested in the legal title to the individual flat. Their conveyancer will also need to understand the lease and the legal and financial arrangements affecting the wider building or development.
That can mean more documentation, more enquiries and sometimes more parties involved in the transaction.
Selling a Freehold House |
Selling a Leasehold Flat |
|---|---|
|
Usually involves the freehold title |
Usually involves a leasehold title and lease |
|
Seller provides property information |
Additional leasehold information is usually required |
|
No landlord usually involved |
A freeholder or landlord may be involved |
|
Usually no management pack |
Management information is commonly required |
|
Usually no building service charge |
Service charges may need to be investigated and adjusted |
|
Usually no ground rent |
Ground rent may apply depending on the lease |
|
Fewer third parties |
Managing agents or management companies may also be involved |
|
Generally fewer post-completion requirements |
Notices, certificates or other leasehold requirements may apply |
This doesn’t mean every flat sale will be complicated or slow.
It simply means there can be more information to gather before the buyer and their conveyancer are ready to proceed.
If you’re selling a freehold property instead, our Selling a House Conveyancing guide explains the legal process and the information you may need to provide.
Understanding the Lease When Selling Your Flat
The lease is one of the central legal documents in the sale of a leasehold flat.
It sets out the rights and obligations affecting the property and normally explains the relationship between the leaseholder and the landlord or freeholder.
It may cover matters including:
- the length of the lease
- ground rent
- service charges
- repair and maintenance obligations
- insurance
- rights over communal areas
- parking and storage
- restrictions on alterations
- restrictions on subletting
- restrictions relating to pets
- requirements that apply when the flat is sold
The buyer’s conveyancer will review the lease as part of their investigation of the property.
If something in the lease is unusual or potentially problematic, additional enquiries may be raised.
Does the Length of the Lease Matter When Selling?
Yes. A lease is granted for a particular period, and the number of years remaining can affect the value, saleability and mortgageability of a flat.
Generally, the shorter the remaining lease becomes, the more likely it is to attract attention from buyers, valuers and mortgage lenders. A shorter lease doesn’t automatically prevent you from selling, but it may reduce the number of interested buyers, affect mortgage options and influence the property’s value.
It can also result in additional legal enquiries and make the possibility of extending the lease more important.
If you know your flat has a relatively short lease, tell your conveyancer and estate agent at an early stage. Depending on the circumstances, you may also want specialist advice about your options for extending the lease.
What Is a Leasehold Management Pack?
One of the most important sources of information in many flat sales is commonly referred to as a management pack.
You may also hear terms such as leasehold information pack, sales pack or LPE1 pack, depending on the property and the information being supplied.
The purpose is to provide the buyer and their conveyancer with information about the management and financial arrangements affecting the building or development.
A management pack may contain information about:
- service charges
- service charge accounts
- planned expenditure
- ground rent
- buildings insurance
- the freeholder
- the managing agent
- the management company
- disputes or breaches
- transfer requirements
- administration fees
- major works
The exact information provided will depend on the arrangements affecting the property.
For many flat sales, this information forms an important part of the buyer’s conveyancing investigation.
Who Orders the Management Pack?
The process varies depending on the building and how it is managed. Management information may need to be requested from the freeholder, managing agent, residents’ management company or right-to-manage company.
In some cases, another organisation may be responsible for holding and supplying the information needed for the sale.
There is often a fee for providing the management pack, which the seller will commonly be responsible for paying as part of the sale process.
Your conveyancer can establish what information is required, who it needs to come from and how it should be requested.
When Should the Management Pack Be Ordered?
It is worth considering this early in the sale process.
Waiting until every other part of the transaction is ready before requesting management information can create an unnecessary delay.
Some packs arrive quickly. Others can take considerably longer, particularly where information has to be gathered from several sources.
There is a balance, however. Management information can become out of date, and additional or updated information may sometimes be required if a transaction continues for a long period.
Your conveyancer can advise you on the appropriate timing for your particular sale.
The important thing is not to discover several weeks into the transaction that nobody has started the process of obtaining it.
Service Charges When Selling a Flat
Many leaseholders contribute towards the costs of maintaining, repairing, insuring and managing their building through a service charge.
The buyer and their conveyancer will normally want to understand matters such as:
- the current service charge
- what it covers
- how frequently it is paid
- whether payments are up to date
- previous service charge expenditure
- whether there is a reserve or sinking fund
- whether significant expenditure is expected
Your conveyancer may need to provide relevant service charge information as part of the sale.
If you have recent demands, statements, accounts or correspondence relating to service charges, keep them available.
What if You Owe Service Charges?
If your service charge account is in arrears, tell your conveyancer.
Don’t assume the outstanding amount can simply be left for the buyer to deal with.
The buyer will normally expect the position to be addressed as part of the transaction, and outstanding sums may therefore need to be settled before or on completion.
Arrears can also complicate information supplied by the managing agent or freeholder.
If you disagree with the amount being claimed, tell your conveyancer as early as possible. A disputed service charge may require more consideration than simply paying an outstanding invoice.
What Happens to Service Charges When You Sell?
Service charges are often paid for a period that doesn’t correspond exactly with the date on which you sell.
For example, you might have paid a service charge covering six months but complete your sale halfway through that period.
Depending on the lease and transaction, an apportionment may be made on completion.
In simple terms, this is an adjustment between buyer and seller so that each bears the appropriate share of the payment for the period in which they own the property.
Your conveyancer will deal with the figures where an apportionment is required.
There can also be situations where the final expenditure for a service charge period is not yet known at completion. Depending on the circumstances, the conveyancers may need to consider how any later balancing charge or credit should be dealt with.
Ground Rent When Selling a Flat
Some leasehold flats are subject to ground rent.
The buyer’s conveyancer will normally want to establish:
- how much ground rent is payable
- when it is due
- whether payments are up to date
- what the lease says about future increases
The wording of ground rent provisions can also matter to mortgage lenders.
If ground rent is payable, your conveyancer may need an up-to-date statement or other confirmation as part of the sale.
Some leases, particularly newer leases, may instead provide for a peppercorn rent, effectively meaning there is no meaningful financial ground rent payment.
Major Works and Section 20 Notices
This can be particularly important when selling a flat.
A building may require significant work such as:
- roof replacement
- external repairs
- window works
- structural repairs
- lift replacement
- fire-safety works
- major refurbishment of communal areas
Where certain major works are proposed and leaseholders will be required to contribute towards the cost, the landlord may need to follow a formal consultation process under Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
If you’ve received notices or correspondence about proposed works, tell your conveyancer and provide copies.
A buyer will understandably want to know whether they could face a substantial bill shortly after purchasing the flat.
Providing the information early allows your conveyancer to explain the position and deal with any enquiries appropriately.
Buildings Insurance When Selling a Flat
With many leasehold flats, the building is insured under a single policy covering the whole block, rather than each flat owner arranging separate buildings insurance.
The cost of this insurance may form part of the service charge or be collected separately, depending on the arrangements for the building.
The buyer’s conveyancer and, where applicable, their mortgage lender may need details of the insurer, level and scope of cover, property insured, policy period and premium.
Relevant buildings insurance details will often be included within the management information supplied as part of the sale.
Selling a Flat With a Share of Freehold
Some flat owners describe their property as share of freehold.
This usually means that, in addition to owning the leasehold interest in their flat, they also have an interest in the freehold of the building, either directly or through a company.
Importantly, having a share of the freehold does not normally mean that the lease disappears.
The lease remains important because it defines matters such as the extent of the flat, rights over communal areas, repair responsibilities and obligations between the different properties.
When you sell, your interest in the freehold or membership of a company may also need to be transferred to the buyer.
This can involve additional documentation, particularly where the freehold is owned through a company.
Tell your conveyancer at the beginning if you have a share of the freehold and provide any certificates or company documentation you hold.
Selling a Flat With a Management Company
Some developments have a management company in which the flat owners are members or shareholders.
When a flat is sold, the seller’s membership or share may need to be transferred or otherwise dealt with in accordance with the company’s arrangements.
This could involve:
- a share certificate
- a stock transfer form
- a membership transfer
- a new certificate
- company consent
- other administrative requirements
If you were given a share certificate or membership documentation when you bought the flat, try to locate it early.
A missing share certificate isn’t necessarily disastrous, but replacing one can create additional work and potentially delay the transaction.
Selling a Flat Where There Is No Managing Agent
Not every block of flats is professionally managed. A converted house containing two or three flats, for example, may have much more informal management arrangements.
The flat owners might organise repairs between themselves, insure the building jointly or manage the freehold through a small company.
This doesn’t mean the buyer’s conveyancer won’t need information. In fact, informal arrangements can sometimes generate more questions, particularly where there are fewer formal accounts, budgets or management records available.
Your conveyancer may therefore need to establish how the building is insured, how repairs and communal areas are managed, how costs are shared between the owners and how decisions are made. They may also need to clarify the ownership and management of the freehold.
Alterations and Consent From the Freeholder
If you’ve made alterations to the flat, the buyer’s conveyancer may want to establish whether the work required consent under the terms of the lease.
This can be particularly relevant if you’ve removed or moved walls, changed the internal layout, replaced windows, installed hard flooring, altered plumbing, combined rooms, installed new doors or carried out structural alterations.
Planning permission and building regulations are separate considerations. Even where work didn’t require planning permission, the lease may still have required the landlord’s consent.
If you obtained a licence for alterations or other written approval, provide it to your conveyancer as early as possible.
If consent should have been obtained but wasn’t, avoid trying to resolve the issue yourself before taking advice. Tell your conveyancer about the alterations so they can consider the lease, establish what may be required and advise you on the appropriate way forward.
What if You Have Sublet the Flat?
If the flat has been rented to tenants, tell your conveyancer at the beginning of the transaction.
The legal position will depend partly on whether you’re selling with vacant possession, or with tenants remaining in the property.
The lease itself may also contain conditions relating to subletting, such as a requirement to notify the landlord or obtain consent.
If you have rented the flat, provide your conveyancer with relevant tenancy documentation and any information relating to permissions or notices under the lease.
This is particularly important if the buyer expects the property to be vacant on completion.
What Enquiries Might the Buyer’s Conveyancer Raise?
Flat sales can generate enquiries about both the individual property and the wider building. Because leasehold ownership involves additional legal and financial arrangements, there can be more areas for the buyer’s conveyancer to investigate than with a straightforward freehold house.
The Lease and the Flat
The buyer’s conveyancer may ask about the lease, the number of years remaining, alterations to the property, landlord’s consents and any restrictions affecting how the flat can be used.
They may also investigate arrangements for subletting, parking, storage areas, communal spaces and rights of access.
Service Charges and the Building
Enquiries may also cover the service charge, any outstanding payments, reserve or sinking funds, buildings insurance and planned major works.
Where relevant, the buyer may also require information about fire safety and other matters affecting the wider building.
Freeholder and Management Arrangements
The buyer’s conveyancer will usually want to understand who manages the building and how the management arrangements work.
This can include enquiries about the freeholder, managing agent or management company, as well as any existing disputes, alleged breaches of the lease and requirements that must be followed when ownership of the flat changes.
Who Answers the Enquiries?
Some enquiries can be answered by your conveyancer using the lease, title and information already available.
Others may require information from you, the freeholder, managing agent or management company. This is one reason flat sales can sometimes take longer, as your conveyancer may be dependent on third parties before an enquiry can be answered fully.
Responding promptly whenever your conveyancer asks you for information can help prevent unnecessary delays.
Why Are They Asking About the Whole Building?
You might only be selling your flat, but the buyer is also acquiring rights and obligations connected with the wider building.
A leaking roof, expensive lift replacement or significant planned works could potentially affect the new owner even though the issue isn’t physically inside the flat.
Similarly, the buyer may depend upon rights to use:
- communal entrances
- staircases
- lifts
- gardens
- parking areas
- bin stores
- cycle stores
- access routes
The buyer’s conveyancer therefore needs to understand more than simply the four walls of the flat.
This is one of the fundamental differences between conveyancing for many flats and the sale of a straightforward freehold house.
Selling a Flat With a Mortgage
Having a mortgage does not normally prevent you from selling your flat.
Your conveyancer will need information about the mortgage so that the loan secured against the property can be repaid as part of the completion process.
Before completion, they will normally obtain a redemption figure from your lender.
This shows the amount required to repay the mortgage at the relevant time.
On completion, your conveyancer receives the sale proceeds and uses the required amount to redeem the mortgage.
If you have more than one loan or legal charge secured against the flat, make sure your conveyancer knows.
It is also important to establish early whether the anticipated sale proceeds will be sufficient to repay everything secured against the property and meet the relevant costs of sale.
What if You Are Buying Another Property?
Many flat sellers are simultaneously buying another home.
This creates a property chain, with your sale helping to fund your onward purchase.
Your conveyancer therefore needs to coordinate the two transactions so that, where appropriate, exchange and completion arrangements work together.
The progress of your sale and purchase may not be identical.
For example, your buyer may be ready to proceed while your onward purchase is still waiting for enquiries or other matters to be resolved.
Communication becomes particularly important when you’re selling and buying at the same time.
Why Can Selling a Flat Take Longer?
It isn’t inevitable that a flat sale will take longer than a house sale, but there can be more opportunities for delay.
Potential Delay |
Why It Can Happen |
|---|---|
|
Management Pack |
Information has to be obtained from a third party. |
|
Additional Enquiries |
The buyer’s conveyancer may need to investigate the lease and management arrangements. |
|
Service Charge Information |
Accounts, budgets, outstanding charges or planned expenditure may require clarification. |
|
Major Works |
Proposed expenditure may generate further enquiries or discussions. |
|
Lease Issues |
Lease length or unusual terms may require further investigation. |
|
Missing Consents |
Alterations may have required landlord or management company approval. |
|
Share Certificate |
Missing company documentation may need replacing. |
|
Mortgage Requirements |
The buyer’s lender may have requirements relating to the lease or building. |
|
Multiple Parties |
Responses may be required from the freeholder, managing agent or management company. |
The sooner an issue is identified, the more opportunity there is to deal with it before it threatens the transaction.
How Can You Speed Up Conveyancing When Selling a Flat?
You can’t control every party involved, but there are several things you can do to reduce avoidable delays.
Instruct Your Conveyancer Early
Give your conveyancer the opportunity to identify what information will be needed while the property is being marketed.
Identify the Managing Agent or Freeholder
Provide accurate contact details and any account or reference numbers you have.
Deal With the Management Pack
Ask your conveyancer when the relevant management information should be requested and arrange payment promptly where a fee is required.
Find Your Leasehold Paperwork
Look for service charge statements, ground rent information, insurance documents, notices and correspondence.
Locate Consents for Alterations
If you’ve made alterations, find any licences or written approvals you received.
Find Your Share Certificate
If you have a share in the freehold or management company, locate the relevant documentation.
Deal With Arrears
Tell your conveyancer about outstanding service charges or ground rent rather than allowing them to emerge later.
Respond Promptly
Some enquiries will require information that only you or the parties managing the building can provide.
The objective isn’t to answer legal enquiries yourself. It is to give your conveyancer the information they need to answer them properly.
When Are You Legally Committed to Selling the Flat?
In a standard residential transaction in England and Wales, you normally become legally committed to the sale when contracts are exchanged.
You may have signed your contract beforehand, but signing is not the same as exchanging contracts.
Until exchange takes place, either party can generally withdraw from the transaction, although they may have incurred costs.
At exchange, the completion date is normally fixed and both buyer and seller become contractually committed to completing in accordance with the contract.
Withdrawing or failing to complete after exchange can have serious legal and financial consequences.
What Happens on Completion Day When You Sell a Flat?
Completion is the point at which the sale is finalised.
The buyer’s conveyancer sends the required completion money to your conveyancer.
Once your conveyancer receives the funds and completion has taken place:
- the buyer becomes entitled to possession of the flat
- the estate agent or other key holder can normally be authorised to release the keys
- your existing mortgage is dealt with where applicable
- relevant payments and leasehold adjustments can be made
- the remaining money can be sent to you or used towards your onward purchase
You should normally have vacated the flat and left it in accordance with the contractual arrangements by the required time.
When Do You Receive the Money From Your Flat Sale?
Your conveyancer doesn’t simply transfer the full purchase price to you when it arrives. Before sending the remaining balance, they may need to make a number of payments and deductions connected with the sale.
These can include repaying your outstanding mortgage and dealing with conveyancing fees and disbursements. Where authorised, your conveyancer may also pay your estate agent’s fees from the sale proceeds.
For a flat, there may be additional amounts to account for, such as outstanding service charges or ground rent, apportionments between you and the buyer, or other agreed leasehold payments.
Any other secured debts or charges that must be repaid as part of the sale will also need to be dealt with.
The amount left after the relevant payments have been made is your net sale proceeds. This can normally be transferred to you, or if you’re buying another property at the same time, some or all of it may be used towards your onward purchase.
Your conveyancer should provide a completion statement showing the money received, the payments made and the final balance due to you.
What Happens After You Sell the Flat?
Completion may not be the end of the administrative process for a leasehold property. There can still be formalities connected with the lease, freeholder or management company after ownership has changed.
The lease may require the new owner to notify the freeholder or management company of the transfer and, where relevant, details of their new mortgage. This can involve formal notices of transfer or charge.
Depending on the lease and management arrangements, the buyer may also need to enter into a deed of covenant, obtain a certificate, become a member of a management company or arrange for a share to be transferred.
These matters will usually be dealt with primarily by the buyer’s conveyancer after completion, although your conveyancer may need to provide documents or deal with any remaining obligations relating to you as the seller.
The buyer’s conveyancer will also normally deal with registering the new ownership at HM Land Registry.
How Long Does Conveyancing Take When Selling a Flat?
There is no fixed timescale for every flat sale.
The legal process can be affected by:
- how quickly management information is obtained
- enquiries about the lease
- service charge information
- planned major works
- missing consents or documentation
- the buyer’s mortgage
- the condition and complexity of the legal title
- the buyer’s related sale
- your onward purchase
- the length of the property chain
A seller can help by being organised and responding quickly, but the speed of a flat sale can depend on several parties rather than your conveyancer alone.
This is why instructing early and identifying the relevant freeholder, managing agent or management company can be particularly useful.
Learn More: Conveyancing Timescales →
Common Mistakes When Selling a Flat
Common Mistake |
Why It Matters |
|---|---|
|
Waiting Too Long to Instruct |
Valuable time to gather leasehold information can be lost while the flat is being marketed. |
|
Requesting Management Information Too Late |
The buyer’s conveyancer may be unable to complete their investigation without it. |
|
Not Budgeting for Management Fees |
Freeholders or managing agents may charge for packs, certificates and other administration. |
|
Ignoring Service Charge Arrears |
Outstanding sums may need to be resolved before or at completion. |
|
Not Mentioning Major Works |
Planned expenditure can be important to a buyer and may generate further enquiries. |
|
Losing a Share Certificate |
Replacement company documentation can add work and potentially cause delay. |
|
Not Providing Alteration Consents |
The buyer may need to establish whether works complied with the lease. |
|
Assuming Share of Freehold Means No Lease |
The lease will normally remain a central part of the legal title. |
|
Trying to Resolve Legal Issues Yourself |
Give the information to your conveyancer and let them advise on the appropriate response. |
Selling a Flat: Quick Answers
Why Choosing the Right Conveyancer Matters
Selling a flat can require coordination between more parties than a straightforward freehold house sale.
Your conveyancer may need to communicate with the buyer’s conveyancer, estate agent, mortgage lender, freeholder, managing agent and management company while dealing with the legal work required to complete your sale.
That makes communication and proactive case management particularly important.
At Trusted Conveyancers, we’ve done the hard work, so you don’t have to. Rather than spending hours comparing firms yourself, we’ve carefully assessed the conveyancing firms we recommend based on communication, service standards, transparency and professionalism, so you can choose with confidence.
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