Russell Hewitson

A contract race arises when a seller instructs their solicitor to deal with two or more separate proposed buyers. This Practice Note considers how setting up a contract race is addressed by the SRA Standards and Regulations when acting for a seller who intends to deal with more than one buyer at the same time.

This Practice Note sets out an explanation of the legal position should the buyer or the seller die following exchange of contracts but before completion in respect of a residential property. It considers what action should be taken, as well as what happens if the seller/buyer consists of two individuals (joint tenants or tenants in common) and only one of them dies. It looks at the devolution of title, overreaching by trustees, ensuring the buyer’s priority is protected in the event of any delay and serving a notice to complete.

This Practice Note sets out the issues arising on a sale of property by a surviving co-owner. It covers the position in respect of joint tenants and tenants in common, overreaching of equitable interests, the points that a buyer’s solicitor should consider and HM Land Registry registration requirements.

This Practice Note provides guidance on preparing a contract bundle or title pack in a residential conveyancing transaction. It considers the seller’s duty of disclosure and how investigation of title by the seller’s conveyancer and preparation of a comprehensive title pack enables the seller to comply with their duty of disclosure, the requirements of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Protocol 2019 and the contents of the title pack or contract bundle.

This Introductory Guide to Residential Property is one of a series of Introductory Guides to Property. The purpose of these Introductory Guides is to provide apprentices, paralegals and others with an understanding both of the transactions which are typically undertaken by a property lawyer and also the legal framework within which those transactions are conducted.

This Practice Note looks at the fraud prevention guidance and services which are available to practitioners. It covers the Law Society’s guidance on property and mortgage fraud together with HM Land Registry’s guidance on protecting land and property from fraud. It also addresses the potential for claims against practitioners for breach of retainer and breach of trust in the context of fraudulent transactions.

This Practice Note looks at enquiries before contract (also called pre-contract enquiries, preliminary enquiries or standard enquiries) in residential conveyancing transactions. It considers the role of enquiries before contract, the principle of ‘caveat emptor’ and the seller’s duty of disclosure. It also looks at standard enquiries before contract and the role of additional enquiries, the importance of answering enquiries accurately and the need to keep replies to enquiries up to date.

This Practice Note considers the alternative management schemes that may be established in relation to residential flats, including schemes where the developer/landlord retains management responsibilities or contracts them out to a third party, schemes where a management company assumes those responsibilities, the ‘criss-cross’ or ‘crossover’ scheme and the ‘cat’s cradle’ scheme. This Practice Note also addresses the advantages and disadvantages of each scheme and a lender’s requirements.

This Practice Note focuses on the more generic issues to consider when dealing with any residential flat scheme, such as insurance, provision of services, service charge, rights, repair, underleases (subleases), lease terms with only a short residue and concurrent leases.

The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 gives developers of new residential schemes a freehold option to offer to flat buyers. This Practice Note considers the advantages and disadvantages of owning a freehold unit within a commonhold as opposed to a leasehold interest.

This Practice Note covers the concept of a concurrent lease in the context of a residential scheme and the legal effect of it, the procedure for granting such a lease, the delivery of services, the developer’s release, the amount of ground rent that can be charged in relation to leases granted on or after 30 June 2022, the appropriate term of the concurrent lease and the covenants that should be contained in a concurrent lease (sometimes known as an overriding lease or a lease of the reversion).

This Practice Note considers the different methods by which a person with an equitable (also known as a beneficial) interest in residential property may transfer, assign or convey that interest (often referred to as a transfer of equity), either to a fellow beneficiary or to a third party. It considers the different positions of joint tenants and tenants in common, and also the position where the transferring/assigning beneficiary is or is not an owner of the legal estate.

This Practice Note provides a guide to the main provisions of the Standard Conditions of Sale (Fifth Edition: 2018 Revision) which form the basis of the majority of contracts for the sale and purchase of residential property in England and Wales.

This Practice Note looks at the use of additional clauses—or special conditions as they are also known—in conjunction with the Standard Conditions of Sale (Fifth Edition—2018 Revision) in residential conveyancing transactions.

This Practice Note contains a link to the Law Society’s Conveyancing Protocol together with a brief overview of its requirements and links to other relevant content.

This Precedent provides a comprehensive overview of the steps involved in purchasing a residential property. It covers the entire process from obtaining a mortgage offer to the completion of the transaction, culminating in the registration of the property at HM Land Registry and is intended to be provided to the buyer of a residential property at the outset, as a simple explanation of the steps involved in a residential sale and purchase.

This Precedent form of occupier’s consent to a mortgage is intended for use in residential property conveyancing to meet a lender’s requirement that any occupier over 17 years old who is not a party to the mortgage signs a form of consent to waive any rights that they may have in the property. This requirement is set out in the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook.

This Precedent form of occupier’s consent to a sale is intended for use in a residential property conveyancing transaction to meet a buyer’s requirement that any adult occupier of the property, who is not a party to the sale contract, agrees to waive any rights that they may have in the property and to vacate the property on or before the completion date.

This Precedent is a simple contract for the sale of freehold or leasehold residential property incorporating the Standard Conditions of Sale (Fifth Edition—2018 Revision).

If you own a leasehold flat, your property can become harder to sell, more difficult to mortgage, and less valuable overall as the term of your lease grows shorter. One of the most important steps you can take to protect and enhance the value of your property is to extend the term of your lease.This guide provides an overview of the lease extension process, from understanding why it matters, to navigating the legal procedures, understanding costs, and completing the transaction.Whether you are considering a formal statutory lease extension under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (referred to as ‘the 1993 Act’ in this guide) or exploring an informal agreement directly with your landlord, this guide will help you make informed decisions at every stage.1Understanding leasehold ownership1.1A right to occupy for a fixed termWhen you own a leasehold property, you own the right to occupy and use that property for a fixed period of time, known as the ‘term’ of the lease. Outright ownership—the freehold—of