Answers for Northern Ireland

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Question: 5.10.7. Contact point for matters connected with the lease?

Lender Answer
Accord Mortgages Ltd As 4.1.1.2. With regard to ground rent, please note that we have the following additional requirements to those set out in Part 1 of Section 5.10.7:
* the ground rent at the start of the lease term must not exceed £1000 a year
* the ground rent must not be capable of being increased during the first 21 years of the lease, and not more frequently than every 21 years during the rest of the lease term
* When the ground rent is reviewed, any increase must not exceed the higher of i) 100% of the ground rent payable immediately before the date of the rent review: ii) a figure increased in accordance with the equivalent percentage change in the Index of Retail Prices since the date of the previous rent review
Allied Irish Bank (GB), a trading name of AIB Group (UK)  
Atom Bank plc Please raise a query via Secure Link which is accessed through Conveyancer Zone and the panel membership dashboard, or contact us via telephone at 03333 990055, or via email at conveyancing@atombank.co.uk

With regard to the ground rent provisions within the lease, Atom has the following additional requirements:

o the ground rent must be no more than 0.2% of the property value; and
o the ground rent review frequency must be greater than or equal to 10 years.

Subject to the requirements above, ground rent escalation in line with the Retail Price Index will be acceptable.

Where there is the potential for the ground rent provisions to cause the lease to be treated as an assured shorthold tenancy for the purposes of the Housing Act 1988 (either at the outset or during the term of the mortgage), we require the lease to be varied so that we are suitably protected from the risks of the lease being deemed to be an assured shorthold tenancy.

Where it has not been possible to vary the terms of the lease so that we are appropriately protected, then we will accept a suitable indemnity insurance policy. You must be satisfied that the policy adequately protects the bank from the risks of the lease being deemed to be an assured shorthold tenancy and be able to provide a clean COT on the basis of the policy being in place. We do not review the terms of any proposed policy.
Aviva Equity Release UK Ltd See 1.10
Bank of Ireland (UK) plc See 1.10

A property will be considered to have onerous leasehold terms where one or all of the following is identified
• The original lease term on a new build flat (or second hand flat built post 2000) is less than 125 years
• The original lease term on a new build house (or second hand house built post 2000) is less than 250 years
• The maximum ground rent at the start of the lease term exceeds 0.1% of the property value or £500 a year whichever is the higher.
• The ground rent must remain reasonable at all times during the lease term, with unreasonable multipliers not allowed. For example, it is acceptable for ground rent escalation to be linked to RPI (Retail Price Index) or a similar index and where this is the case we do not need to be advised. However, unreasonable multipliers of ground rent will not be permitted, for example, doubling every 5, 10 or 15 years. These must be referred to us and we will advise if our mortgage offer remains valid. If you are unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable, please refer the details to us.
The lease must be amended to comply with the above. If not the case cannot proceed.


Bank of Ireland as Bank of Ireland Mortgages See 1.10

A property will be considered to have onerous leasehold terms where one or all of the following is identified
• The original lease term on a new build flat (or second hand flat built post 2000) is less than 125 years
• The original lease term on a new build house (or second hand house built post 2000) is less than 250 years
• The maximum ground rent at the start of the lease term exceeds 0.1% of the property value or £500 a year whichever is the higher.
• The ground rent must remain reasonable at all times during the lease term, with unreasonable multipliers not allowed. For example, it is acceptable for ground rent escalation to be linked to RPI (Retail Price Index) or a similar index and where this is the case we do not need to be advised. However, unreasonable multipliers of ground rent will not be permitted, for example, doubling every 5, 10 or 15 years. These must be referred to us and we will advise if our mortgage offer remains valid. If you are unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable, please refer the details to us.
The lease must be amended to comply with the above. If not the case cannot proceed.

Bank of Scotland Beginning A Address & telephone number on Mortgage Offer
Bank of Scotland Beginning O Minimum 70 years from the date of mortgage.
Barclays Bank UK PLC Issuing Office.
Peppercorn or low ground rents are acceptable.
RPI linked Ground rents:
• Ground rent is indexed to RPI no more frequently than every 5 years.
• Ground rent up to 0.1% of the current market value is acceptable
• We may accept Ground rent up to 0.2% of the current market value subject to review and where this is the case you should refer the matter to us to provide confirmation of whether we are happy to proceed,

Doubling ground rents:
• Should not double more frequently than every 20 years
• Ground rent up to 0.1% of the current market value is acceptable
• We may accept Ground rent up to 0.2% of the current market value subject to review and where this is the case you should refer the matter to us to provide confirmation of whether we are happy to proceed,

In respect of Fixed increase ground Rents
• Should not increase by more than doubling;
• These are acceptable up to 0.1% of the current market value
• We may accept ground rent of up to 0.2% of the current market value subject to review and where this is the case you should refer the matter to us to provide confirmation of whether we are happy to proceed

Open Market Value linked ground rents
• These are not acceptable to Barclays and should be referred to us as soon as identified
Birmingham Midshires Completions Team at office issuing mortgage instructions.
Bradford & Bingley Limited As 1.10a
Britannia, a trading name of The Co-operative Bank plc Britannia New Lending Britannia House Leek Staffordshire Moorlands ST13 5RG or Britannia New Lending
Britannia
DX16351 Leek Telephone and fax Numbers as shown on the letter enclosing the Offer of Advance
Chelsea Building Society (a trading name of Yorkshire BS) As 4.1.1.2.
With regard to ground rent, please note that we have the following additional requirements to those set out in part 1 of Section 5.10.7:
* the ground rent at the start of the lease term must not exceed £1000 a year
* the ground rent must not be capable of being increased during the first 21 years of the lease, and not more frequently than every 21 years during the rest of the lease term
* when the ground rent is reviewed, any increase must not exceed the higher of i) 100% of the ground rent payable immediately before the date of the rent review: ii) a figure increased in accordance with the equivalent percentage change in the Index of Retail Prices since the date of the previous rent review.
.
CHL Mortgages Customer Services, Capital Home Loans Ltd, Admiral House, Harlington Way, Fleet, Hants GU51 4YA
Co-operative Bank plc See 1.10a earlier.
Coventry Building Society CBS Instructing Office.
Danske Bank As at 1.10a

If the Property is held (or to be held) under a lease the Bank will not regard the title as good and marketable if there is any provision for forfeiture on bankruptcy or insolvency or other analogous event of the Borrower or any superior tenant.

A right of re-entry for non-payment of reserved yearly rent is acceptable to the Bank. (The right of re-entry and termination provision in the standard form of Lease from the Northern Ireland Co-Ownership Housing Association Limited is acceptable to the Bank.)
DB UK Bank Ltd db mortgages
PO Box 890
Newport
NP20 9LZ
Tel: 0845 650 6281
DX Address - not available
Ecology Building Society As in 1.10
First Direct We do not accept any shared ownership or shared equity schemes

Lease terms such as ground rents must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirement below.

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 mechanism by which any increase is calculated. See the guidance below:

Acceptable:

• Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.2% of the current property value .
• Leases granted after 30 Jun 2022 limited to a peppercorn ground rent
• Grounds Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
• Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI.
• Ground Rent doubles every 20 years or over any longer period and does not continue to double after 125 years.

Ground rents which do not meet the above criteria are unacceptable and a deed of variation should be obtained to amend the ground rent provisions to meet the above criteria.

First Trust Bank Mortgage Business Team
AIB NI
92 Ann Street
Belfast
BT1 3HH

Telephone no: 0345 600 5925
Mortgage.completions@aib.ie
GE Money Home Lending Ltd GE Money Home Lending has withdrawn from the UK mortgage market.
Godiva Mortgages Ltd GML Instructing Office.
Halifax Please Email Conveyancer Support ConveyancerSupportTeam@lloydsbanking.com
Halifax Loans Ltd Halifax Loans Limited, Trinity Road, Halifax, HX1 2RG.
Hampden & Co. plc  
HSBC UK Bank plc We do not accept any shared ownership or shared equity schemes

Lease terms such as ground rents must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirement below.

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 mechanism by which any increase is calculated. See the guidance below:

Acceptable:

• Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.2% of the current property value .
• Leases granted after 30 Jun 2022 limited to a peppercorn ground rent
• Grounds Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
• Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI.
• Ground Rent doubles every 20 years or over any longer period and does not continue to double after 125 years.

Ground rents which do not meet the above criteria are unacceptable and a deed of variation should be obtained to amend the ground rent provisions to meet the above criteria.
HSMS As 1.10a
Intelligent Finance Securities, Intelligent Finance, PO Box 890, Leeds, LS1 9UG

ITL Mortgages ITL Instructing Office.
Kensington Mortgage Company Ltd Kensington Mortgage Company Ltd, New Business Operations Centre, 2nd Floor, Marlow International, Parkway, Marlow, SL7 1YL. Tel: 03444 990011 Fax: 03444 990022.
Landmark Mortgages Limited New Mortgage Completions
Landmark Mortgages
PO Box 656
Durham
DH1 9LY

Tel - 0330 159 7152
Leeds Building Society As per 1.10a.
Lloyds Bank plc Mortgage Processing. Please see 1.10.
Lloyds TSB Scotland plc Mortgage Processing. Please see 1.10a
M&S Bank We will not lend where the ground rent reserved by the lease of the property is excessive or will escalate unreasonably
Mortgage Express As 1.10a
Mortgage Express (No 2) As 1.10a
National Westminster Bank plc As detailed above in 1.10
Nationwide Building Society Issuing Office

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 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- 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 55 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% 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 (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- 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 (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- Starting Ground Rent greater than 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period less than or equal to every 5 years
- 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

Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Ground Rent is linked to any indices greater than RPI
- Ground Rent is linked to the value of the building*
- 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% 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
- Starting Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period greater than 5 years
- Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI

* 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

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.
New Street Mortgages New Street Mortgages, PO Box 831, Redhill, RH1 9NJ Tel: 0333-300-3100, Fax: 0333-300-3132, email: enquiries@newstreetmortgages.com
NRAM Ltd As 1.10a
Platform (a trading name of The Co-operative Bank p.l.c.) Refer to office issuing mortgage instructions.
Rooftop Mortgages Ltd The address and contact details shown on the mortgage offer
Sainsbury's Bank Contact point as detailed in 1.10a
Santander UK plc Provisions which allow for ground rents to be increased over and above the Retail Price Index (or other inflation linked index) are considered to be onerous and are therefore not acceptable to the Bank. Examples of unacceptable ground rent provisions include the compounding of increases or fixed increases which are clearly above inflation expectation. Any onerous ground rent provisions should be reported to us.
Scottish Widows Bank New Business Processing (see 1.10).
The Mortgage Business The Mortgage Business plc, PO Box 548, Leeds LS1 1WU
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc As detailed above in 1.10.
TSB Bank plc Mortgage Processing. Please see 1.10a
UCB Home Loans Corporation Ltd See 1.10
Ulster Bank As detailed above in 1.10
Virgin Money Mortgage Processing
Operations
Virgin Money
Gosforth
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE3 4PL
Solicitor Helpline: 0845 604 4858
Solicitor Email: postoffer@virginmoney.com
Yorkshire Building Society As 4.1.1.2.
With regard to ground rent, please note that we have the following additional requirements to those set out in Part 1 of Section 5.10.7:
* the maximum ground rent at the start of the lease term must not exceed £1000 a year
* the ground rent must not be capable of being increased during the first 21 years of the lease, and not more frequently than every 21 years during the rest of the lease term.
* when the ground rent is reviewed, any increase must not exceed the higher of i) 100% of the ground rent payable immediately before the date of the rent review; ii) a figure increased in accordance with the equivalent percentage change in the Index of Retail Prices since the date of the previous rent review.