Why is High-Rise Flat Conveyancing Complicated
Conveyancing – the legal process of buying or selling property – can vary significantly depending on the type of property involved. When it comes to high-rise flats, the conveyancing process is often more complex than it is for traditional houses or low-rise apartments.
If you’re buying or selling a flat in a high-rise building, here’s what you need to know about how the process differs from standard conveyancing.
Building Safety and Cladding Checks
In the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, new safety regulations have been introduced to assess the risks posed by cladding and other fire safety defects in high-rise buildings (typically 11 metres or more in height). Conveyancers must now carry out additional due diligence, which may include:
- Reviewing EWS1 forms (External Wall System assessments)
- Ensuring the building complies with the Building Safety Act 2022
- Identifying whether remediation work is needed or already planned
- Confirming if leaseholders are protected from historical safety costs
This additional scrutiny can delay the process if the documentation is missing or the building is undergoing assessment or repair.
Leasehold Considerations
Most high-rise flats are leasehold properties, and leasehold conveyancing already involves more steps than freehold conveyancing. For high-rise buildings, the leasehold checks can be even more involved due to:
- Service charge and ground rent reviews
- Investigations into major works, such as fire safety improvements
- Clarity around the management company’s responsibilities
- Understanding the building’s maintenance and safety plans
These factors can affect your lender’s willingness to proceed with a mortgage, and your solicitor will need to work closely with the managing agents to obtain the necessary information.
Increased Lender Scrutiny
Many mortgage lenders now have stricter requirements for lending on high-rise flats, especially those in buildings with unresolved safety issues. Your conveyancer must:
- Confirm the building meets lending criteria
- Secure evidence of a compliant EWS1 form if required
- Ensure that the lease complies with the lender’s specific requirements
Failure to meet these conditions can result in mortgage offers being withdrawn, even late in the process.
Leaseholder Deed of Certificate and Landlord’s Certificate
As part of the Building Safety Act, leaseholders may need to provide a Deed of Certificate to confirm their eligibility for cost protections against remediation work. In response, the building owner must provide a Landlord’s Certificate.
Your conveyancer will help coordinate the exchange of these documents and ensure they’re correctly completed and served.
Longer Timescales and Higher Legal Fees
Due to the complexity of high-rise conveyancing, transactions often take longer than standard property sales. There are more documents to review, more stakeholders involved, and often more queries raised by both solicitors and lenders.
As a result, legal fees for high-rise flats may be higher to reflect the additional work required.
Our Approach to High-Rise Flats Under the Building Safety Act
At Starck Uberoi, we want to be transparent about the scope of the service we currently offer. At this present time, we do not act for buyers in the purchase of high-rise flats that fall within the scope of the Building Safety Act 2022. This is a considered decision driven by the fast-evolving nature of building safety legislation and the significant risks involved for purchasers. The regulatory landscape continues to change, EWS1 requirements and remediation obligations remain in flux, and the protections available to leaseholders can be complex and uncertain. Where critical information is missing, where remediation costs are unresolved, or where a building’s compliance status is still being assessed, a buyer can be exposed to substantial financial liability and considerable difficulty securing mortgage finance. Until this area of law settles and the associated risks become clearer, we have chosen not to act on these purchases rather than expose our clients to that uncertainty. We do, however, most definitely continue to act on the sale of high-rise flats, and our team is well placed to guide sellers through the additional documentation, disclosures and safety requirements that these transactions now demand.
Selling a high-rise flat? Get an instant conveyancing fees quote online.
Why Specialist Legal Advice Matters
Conveyancing for high-rise flats requires expertise in leasehold law, building safety legislation, and lender requirements. Choosing a conveyancer with experience in this area can help avoid unnecessary delays and ensure you are fully informed about any risks before proceeding.
If you’re buying or selling a high-rise flat, speak to a conveyancing solicitor who understands the unique challenges of high-rise buildings and is up to date with current building safety legislation.
Our Offices
Our solicitors on Brentford High Street, are just a short walk away from Brentford railway station. Our Belgravia solicitors are located Just a 5 minute walk from Victoria tube station in Grosvenor Gardens. Our solicitors located in Ealing London are only a short walk from both Ealing Broadway and South Ealing and our solicitors in Richmond Surrey have the pleasure of overlooking the picturesque Richmond Green. Finally our solicitors in Canterbury Kent are located in the within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Canterbury Cathedral.
Instant Conveyancing Quote
At Starck Uberoi we are committed to providing you with efficient and clear legal advice. We understand that finding a reliable conveyancer can be a time consuming and difficult task; to make it easier for you, we provide a free, online conveyancing quote calculator to save you time on your search.
