When selling a leasehold property, you will need to fill out Leasehold Information Form TA7.
Form TA7 will be given to you by your conveyancer to fill out at the start of the sale process.
You can download an example TA7 Form from the Law Society’s website.
The Leasehold Information Form is made up of a list of questions which are relevant to a leasehold property, including about its management, insurance details and any maintenance or service charges which may apply to it.
Note that this form works in addition to, rather than replacing, Form TA6 and Form TA10, which are important when selling any property, not just leaseholds.
How should I fill in Form TA7?
Form TA7 will ask questions about your leasehold property. You must answer these truthfully and to the best of your ability.
If you cannot answer a question on the form you are advised to simply leave it blank and carry on. Many of the answers needed for a Leasehold Information Form can be found in a property’s management information pack. Your conveyancer should order this after you return Form TA7. Make sure to speak with your solicitor about any sections you have left blank.
Once your conveyancer has received the management information pack, they will be able to fill in the remaining parts of Form TA7 on your behalf.
What does Form TA7 ask?
Form TA7 is split into ten sections, each of which go into detail about one aspect of the leasehold.
It also asks for several other important documents. These can either be included or provided to your buyer at a later date as you complete conveyancing.
While many of the questions in the Leasehold Information Form are self-explanatory, we will go through them here to ensure you do not miss anything important.
1. The property’s details
This section asks you to confirm if the property is a house or a flat. This will include maisonettes and apartments. There is a tick box for flats, properties in shared ownership, and long leasehold houses.
Note that shared ownership property’s can apply to both houses and flats and this means that a tenant owns part of the lease and pays rent on the remaining section. If you are unsure about your property’s shared ownership status you can check the title deeds.
Section one also asks about the property’s annual rental cost and how many payments that rent is split across.
If you must pay a ground rent to your freeholder, like most leasehold properties, you should include it here.
2. Relevant Documents/ The Management Information Pack
Section two of Form TA7 checks to ensure you have all the necessary documents to sell a leasehold property.
There are several other pieces of paperwork which need to be provided alongside Form TA7 when selling a leasehold property.
These include everything that is relevant to the lease.
This includes a copy of:
- The lease and copies of any supplemental deeds.
- Any additional regulations made by the landlord, or by the management company.
- Any correspondence with the landlord, management company or managing agent.
- Any invoices, demands, statements, and receipts for ground rent, maintenance payments or service charges from the last three years.
- The buildings insurance policy, whether this is arranged by you, or by your landlord.
In addition, if the tenants have formed a management company to run the building, you will also need to include copies of:
- The Memorandum and Articles of Association.
- Your share or membership certificate
- The companies last three years’ worth of accounts.
Generally, your conveyancer will gather all the relevant documents as part of their enquires of the landlord.
This collection of documents is collectively referred to as the Management Information Pack or the Leasehold Information Pack.
These documents are always required when selling a leasehold property, but your landlord is not bound to provide them for free.
Often a freeholder will charge between £100 and £300 for the Management Information Pack.
3. Building Management
The third section of Leasehold Information Form TA7 asks about the management of your property.
It asks if your landlord employs a managing agent, if any tenant formed managing company still exists and if so, if the tenants pass day to day management responsibility to their agents.
4. Contact Details
Section four of Form TA7 asks for the name, address, telephone number and email of both the landlord and any managing agents.
If a tenant run management company exists, this should be listed here too.
If you only know the managing agent’s contact details this is normally sufficient. Your conveyancer will be able to contact them to find your landlords details.
5. Maintenance and Service Charges
The fifth section of Form TA7 asks several questions about the maintenance, insurance, and charges payable on the leasehold property.
It asks who is responsible for the insurance, when the property was last decorated, and if the seller contributes to the property’s maintenance costs.
If the seller does contribute towards the property’s maintenance, it then asks for details about this. Specifically, you will need to disclose any maintenance charges which are not incurred annually.
If the seller knows about or has challenged problems with the service charges in the last three years, you must also mention this.
6. Notices
This section of the Leasehold Information Form asks if you have received any notices regarding the property.
These can include notices from the freeholder stating their intention of selling. It could also include notices about the building, including about it’s use, condition and repair.
If a landlord intends to conduct serious repair work, they must serve a Section 20 Notice to their tenants beforehand.
You will be expected to include copies of any notices received from your landlord with Form TA7.
7. Consents
Section seven concerns consents.
When speaking about leasehold property, a consent is defined as a landlord giving a tenant permission to do something they would otherwise not be allowed to under the terms of their lease.
This can include things like decorating a property or building an extension.
You will be asked to include written evidence of any consents you have been given as part of Form TA7.
If you do not have paperwork about these matters, you will need to source it from your landlord.
8. Complaints
The eighth section of Form TA7 concerns complaints. This includes complaints from all parties, including the landlord, their managing agent and the lessee.
Complaints can be made about pets, noise, litter, mess, or any number of other things. You should include details of all complaints even if they were resolved.
9. Alterations
Section nine of the Leaseholder Information Form asks about any alterations made to the property.
If you own a flat, this refers specifically to that flat, rather than works conducted on the whole building.
You will need to include any planning consents, building regulations approvals and guarantees that apply. You will also need to provide evidence of the landlord giving you permission to conduct any works.
If you do not have evidence of the landlord giving you permission, you will need to contact them to provide you with a duplicate of this proof.
10. Enfranchisement
Enfranchisement is the right of leaseholders to buy the property where they live. The closing section of Form TA7 asks about any enfranchisement proceedings which could affect the property.
You will be asked how long you have lived in the property. This can be important, as you are only eligible for enfranchisement if you have lived somewhere longer than two years.
This section will also ask about any ongoing attempts to collectively buy the freehold. You will be asked if you are currently trying to buy it, or if you are aware of any other attempts to buy the freehold.
If you are, it will also ask if the freeholder has yet responded. If they have, this response must be included.
Conclusions
The Leasehold Information Form TA7 is an integral part of selling any leasehold flat, house or apartment. As a seller, your buyer will be relying on your answers as they look to purchase your property.
Completing Form TA7 accurately could mean having to liaise with your conveyancer to ensure it is done properly so as not to waste unnecessary time later on.
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