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Hong Kong Law Reform Commission |
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Annex
II
Legal Information Form
under “Transaction 2000” (the Law Society of England and
Wales)
|
Using this form:
| 1 | This
form is part of the TransAction 2000 protocol published by the Law society of
England and Wales. It may be reproduced by any means by a solicitor or a
licensed
conveyancer. | | 2 | The
form should be completed in plain, non-technical
language. | | 3 | The
information given on the form should wherever possible be complete, and should
not refer to any other
document. | | 4 | If
not selling a flat, use the TransAction 2000 form for houses, not this
form. |
|
These are the details of the terms on which you
may make an offer to buy the flat identified
above.
The seller’s solicitors, who
prepared this form, are:
... [contact
details]
Please note:
| • | this is only a
summary of the main terms. A brief document cannot explain everything which is
relevant: you should take legal
advice. |
| • | unless
expressly mentioned, the information does not extend to any neighbouring
property. |
| • | much
of the information comes from details supplied by the seller, statutory
authorities and utility companies. They are responsible for the accuracy of it.
Circumstances may have changed since the information was
supplied. |
| • | you
should not sign a contract which commits you to buy without consulting your
solicitor or licensed
conveyancer. |
| • | the
seller's lawyer cannot normally also act on your
behalf. |
| • | you
should inspect the property before making an offer to buy
it. |
| • | these
details do not give you information about the state of repair and physical
condition of the property; for that, you should inspect the property and consult
a
surveyor. |
| • | before
offering to buy the flat, you should make sure that any borrowing you will need
will be readily available, subject to satisfactory
valuation. |
For
both rights of way and services, give details of (a) rights enjoyed and rights
to which the flat is subject and (b) financial
responsibilities
THE
PROPERTY
Type of
ownership
1 The flat is sold
leasehold.
Rights of
way
2 No/the following arrangements
apply concerning rights of
way
...
Services
3
No/the following arrangements apply concerning water, drainage, gas
and electricity services ...
Reproduced
by courtesy and permission of the Law Society of England and
Wales.
Attach list of
fixtures, fittings and
contents
Give
details of internal and external repairing and decorating
obligations
Furniture and
fittings
4 The sale includes the furniture and
fittings listed on the attached list. The seller may agree to include other
items or to sell them separately.
LEASE
TERMS
Details of
lease
5 The lease contains a detailed code of
obligations for the ownership of the flat. The main details are given here, but
there are other detailed requirements on which you should seek legal
advice.
Length of
lease
6 The lease runs until ...
.
EXPENSES
Rent
7
A rent of £ ... a year is payable to the landlord, by quarterly
instalments. The amount of rent increases to £ ... a year in ...
.
Other
payments
8 In addition, you must
pay:
| • | first, your
proportion of the insurance premium covering the whole
building, |
| • | secondly,
a service charge which is a proportion of the cost of management, cleaning,
decorating and repairing costs, which relate to the common parts used by the
occupiers of more than one flat and the structure of the
building. |
Insurance
9
The last annual charge for insurance was £ ...
.
Service
charge
10 For the last three years, the
service charges were £ ..., £ ... and £ ... . The seller does not
know of any plans for major future expenditure other than ... . The
landlord/management company holds a reserve fund for major expenses, for which
there is a contribution.
REPAIRS
ETC
Outside repairs and decorations, and
cost
11
Inside
repairs and
decorations
12
Relevant
lease terms and restrictive covenants affecting the
reversion
Amend
if necessary to explain planning
queries
Amend as
appro-priate to explain conditions, eg occupation by the
elderly
Rights of entry for
repair
13 You have a right to enter other parts
of the building for the purpose of repairing the flat, and you must allow others
to enter the flat to repair other parts of the
building.
Restrictions on
use
14 No/the following existing
restrictions apply ... . The seller requires the following new restrictions
...
MANAGEMENT
Company
membership
15 The landlord/management
company comprises the leaseholders of all the flats. You will become a
member when you become owner of the flat, and must relinquish membership when
you part with the flat. The company has limited liability, which means that you
are not liable to contribute anything/more than a nominal sum towards its
debts, although you may also have liabilities under the
lease.
Running the
company
16 Like any other company, it is run by
a board of directors elected by the members. It must prepare accounts and hold
meetings as appropriate. The regulations for running the company are its
‘memorandum and articles’. The seller’s solicitors hold a
copy.
PLANNING
Planning
consent
17 The documents do not show any
dispute relating to planning consent. Approved plans are normally only available
at the local planning office.
Authorised
use
18 The authorised use of the property is as
a single private dwelling, without special
restrictions.
GENERAL
Disputes
19
The seller knows of no disputes about this or neighbouring property other
than
...
Notices
20
The seller has neither sent nor received any letters or notices affecting the
property or neighbouring property other than
...
Amend if there are
additional
Payments
Expenses
21
Nothing has to be paid by the owner of the flat other than taxes, amounts for
electricity, gas and water and payments under the
lease.
PROCEDURE
Formal
contract
22 The formal contract will be
based on a draft document already prepared by the seller’s solicitors. You
and the seller will each sign an identical copy. When they are exchanged, the
contract will be binding on both of
you.
Purchase
price
23 The purchase price must be
agreed between you and the seller. This must be done before contracts can be
exchanged.
Property to be vacant and free
from mortgages
24 The seller will agree to
vacate the flat and hand it over to you empty when the purchase is completed.
Any mortgage which the seller now has on the flat will by then be repaid and
cancelled.
Deposit
25
On exchange of contracts, you must pay a deposit. This is normally 10 per cent
of the agreed purchase price, but the seller may agree to a smaller amount. If
you fail to complete the purchase, you may lose the deposit, and you may also be
liable to compensate the seller for losses
incurred.
Other
terms
25 The contract is a technical document
and will contain detailed provisions regulating the conveyancing process and
dealing with possible contingencies.
STAMP
DUTY
26 You will be liable to pay stamp duty,
which is a form of tax collected by the Inland Revenue. There is a sliding
scale, and the amount due depends on the price of the property and the rent
payable under the lease. Your solicitor will be able to tell you how much you
will have to pay.
Documents held by the seller’s
solicitor
c copy
lease
c receipt
for last payment of rent due
c receipts
for all service charge payments during the last three years
c memorandum
and articles of the landlord/management company
c seller’s
share or membership certificate
c company’s
accounts for the last three years
c copy
insurance policy covering the building and copy receipt for payment
of
the last premium due
c copy
of all regulations made by the landlord or management company and
still
in force
c draft
contract
c office
copies of the register dated: .
c epitome(s)
or abstract(s) of title, showing all covenants and easements
c seller’s
property information form
c local
search(es) and accompanying enquiries dated:. .
c the
following specialised searches:
dated: .
dated: .
dated: .
c copies
of planning consents
c NHBC,
Foundation 15 or Newbuild guarantee
c guarantee,
and specification, for work (specify)
c other
documents (specify)
