A new version of the LPE1 (Leasehold Property Enquiries) form has been launched with the aim of covering requirements arising from the Building Safety Act 2022.
The release of the form, which goes live today, coincides with lenders changing their policies to be able to lend on properties in remediation schemes , or those covered by leaseholder protections.
This is the fourth version of the LPE1 form and includes a number of additional questions covering:
- Whether the Leaseholder Deed of Certificate has been served on the Landlord in relation to the sale of the property or remedial works required to the property?
- Whether a Landlord’s Certificate has been served?
- Where there is any outstanding enforcement action against the Landlord or accountable person (such as outstanding enforcement notices)?
The form also includes new requests for documents covering the Leaseholder Deed of Certificate, the Landlord’s Certificate, and any known enforcement action taken. Definitions for the Leaseholder Deed of Certificate and the Landlord’s Certificate have been added, plus an amendment to the definition of a Right to Manage Company.
The new LPE1 has been launched by trade and representative bodies covering the legal, surveying, estate agency, and property management sectors, including the Conveyancing Association (CA).
The CA say other bodies including the Law Society, CILEX, Society of Licenced Conveyancers as well as ARHM, BPF, TPI, RTMF, and ARLA are encouraging their member firms to use the new versions from this date.
“As an industry we have committed to updating all the relevant forms in order to ensure we have the most up to date and fullest information possible at any given time,” said Beth Rudolf, Director of Delivery at the Conveyancing Association.
Rudolf added that the new form “should help conveyancers and other property professionals provide as much information as possible around the current circumstances, as advised to them, and allow them to tailor their advice based upon it”.
With regards to what the future will hold, Rudolf said:
“Our next proposals, when the regulations have gone live and the dust has settled, will be to create a standard set of additional enquiries to ensure the conveyancer receives the information necessary to advise their clients – either the borrower or the lender – on what they have been told the current position is.
For example, whether the cost of the remediation work is completely covered, when it will be done, whether it will require the leaseholder to vacate the property, etc. This will allow conveyancers to gather the new information needed by stakeholders during the sale or remortgage process.”
Mairead Carroll, Senior Specialist, Property Standards at RICS, commented:
“These crucial updates to the LPE1 form will serve to further clarify the remediation responsibilities of different parties, improving efficiency and accuracy in the conveyancing process. With conveyancing becoming an increasingly complex procedure, it is vital key data-gathering tools, such as the LPE1, are fit for the demands of today’s profession.”
The updated LPE1 forms can be downloaded for free from the trade/representative bodies’ websites and will be circulated amongst law firm stationers and CRM systems by software providers.
Further Guidance from the Government on this issue can be found here.
The Law Society of England and Wales also noted amendments to its TA7 and TA13 forms:
The revised TA7 (3rd edition) includes:
- a new section on building safety to assist transactions impacted by the Building Safety Act 2022 including questions about: remediation works; whether the lease is a qualifying lease; the Leaseholder Deed of Certificate and the Landlord’s Certificate.
- a question asking if the seller knows about defects that create a building safety risk.
- new questions about the ownership and management of the building.
- fields to capture details of the seller if they are a company.
- updated definitions and other process improvements.
The revised TA13 (4th edition) includes:
- arrangements to be made for the seller to hand over not just the keys, but also any equivalent electronic devices, passcodes and alarm codes.
- confirming that a copy of the executed transfer is attached or will be supplied before completion.
- a client firm’s reference to be included with the bank details.
