Back to previous page
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 |
| 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@digitalmortgages.net. 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 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 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 you are unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are reasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us for 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 mechanism by which any increase is calculated. See the guidance below: Acceptable: • Maximum Ground Rent p.a. must not exceed £250 (£1,000 in Greater London) per year. If there is the potential (within the lease provisions) for the ground rent to exceed these levels then the rent should be reduced to within the required threshold. This would require a lease variation on the lines that under no circumstances could reviewed rent be increased so that it comes within the applicable Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) thresholds in the Housing Act 1988 (as amended) or in any legislation amending or replacing it or in any subordinate legislation issued under it. If the lease cannot be varied, a suitable indemnity policy must be put in place to protect the risk to the Bank • Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.2% of the current property value (New Builds restricted to 0.1%) • Grounds Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years • Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI. Any RPI increase must not exceed the AST thresholds under the Housing Act 1988. • Ground Rent doubles every 20 years or over any longer period and does not continue to double after 125 years. Any doubling of ground rent must not be capable of exceeding the AST thresholds. Unacceptable: • Ground Rent greater than 0.2% of the current property value (New Builds greater than 0.1%) • Ground Rent review period is less than 10 years • Ground Rent escalation greater than RPI or linked to any other indices • Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years Where ground rent provisions cause (or, during the term of the mortgage and/or lease, are likely to cause) the lease to be treated as an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) under the Housing Act 1988, this need not be reported to us if either: a. the Lease can be varied to restrict the ground rent below the statutory level; OR b. If the lease cannot be varied, a suitable indemnity policy is put in place to protect the risk to the Bank (Please refer to paragraph 9 for the Bank’s requirements for Indemnity Insurance). |
| 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 | Customer Service Centre, (see offer for address and telephone/fax numbers). |
| 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 you are unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are reasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us for 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 mechanism by which any increase is calculated. See the guidance below: Acceptable: • Maximum Ground Rent p.a. must not exceed £250 (£1,000 in Greater London) per year. If there is the potential (within the lease provisions) for the ground rent to exceed these levels, then the rent should be reduced to within the required threshold. This would require a lease variation on the lines that under no circumstances could reviewed rent be increased so that it comes within the applicable Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) thresholds in the Housing Act 1988 (as amended) or in any legislation amending or replacing it or in any subordinate legislation issued under it. If the lease cannot be varied, a suitable indemnity policy must be put in place to protect the risk to the Bank • Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.2% of the current property value (New Builds restricted to 0.1%) • Grounds Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years • Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI. Any RPI increase must not exceed the AST thresholds under the Housing Act 1988. • Ground Rent doubles every 20 years or over any longer period and does not continue to double after 125 years. Any doubling of ground rent must not be capable of exceeding the AST thresholds. Unacceptable: • Ground Rent greater than 0.2% of the current property value (New Builds greater than 0.1%) • Ground Rent review period is less than 10 years • Ground Rent escalation greater than RPI or linked to any other indices • Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years Where ground rent provisions cause (or, during the term of the mortgage and/or lease, are likely to cause) the lease to be treated as an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) under the Housing Act 1988, this need not be reported to us if either: a. the Lease can be varied to restrict the ground rent below the statutory level; OR b. If the lease cannot be varied, a suitable indemnity policy is put in place to protect the risk to the Bank (Please refer to paragraph 9 for the Bank’s requirements for Indemnity Insurance). |
| 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 Mortgages, New Business Operations Centre, Ascot House, Maidenhead Office Park, Maidenhead, SL6 3QQ. 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 |
| New Street Mortgages | New Street Mortgages, PO Box 4761, Maidenhead, SL60 1HW. 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 Jubilee House Gosforth Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 4PL or DX 60350 Gosforth Solicitors Helpline: 0845 604 4858 |
| 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. |