HKLII

Hong Kong Law Reform Commission
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Annex III - Text of the Legal Information Form published by the Law Society of England and Wales



(Reproduced by permission of 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.

    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 ...

    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

    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.

    		•

    Attach list of fixtures, fittings and contents

    REPAIRS ETC
    Outside repairs and decorations, and cost
    11

    Inside repairs and decorations
    12

    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.


    Give details of internal and external repairing and decorating obligations

    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.

    Relevant lease terms and restrictive covenants affecting the reversion

    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.

    Amend if necessary to explain planning queries


    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 as appro-priate to explain conditions, eg occupation by the elderly

    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.

    Amend if there are additional Payments


    Documents held by the seller’s solicitor

        

    copy lease
        

    receipt for last payment of rent due
        

    receipts for all service charge payments during the last three years
        

    memorandum and articles of the landlord/management company
        

    seller’s share or membership certificate
        

    company’s accounts for the last three years
        

    copy insurance policy covering the building and copy receipt for payment
    of the last premium due
        

    copy of all regulations made by the landlord or management company and still in force
        

    draft contract
        

    office copies of the register

    propertiesrp00.jpg
        

    epitome(s) or abstract(s) of title, showing all covenants and easements
        

    seller’s property information form
        

    local search(es) and accompanying enquiries

    propertiesrp00.jpg
        

    the following specialised searches:


    propertiesrp00.jpg


    propertiesrp00.jpg


    propertiesrp00.jpg
        

    copies of planning consents
        

    NHBC, Foundation 15 or Newbuild guarantee
        

    guarantee, and specification, for work (specify)
        

    other documents (specify)