Inauguration Of New Conveyancing Forms
New versions of several critical conveyancing forms have been created to expand the amount of property information available upfront.
Trade and representative bodies in the legal, estate agency, surveying and property management sectors have launched upgraded versions of the LPE1 (Leasehold Property Enquiries), LPE2 (Consumer summary) and FME1 (Freehold Management Enquiries) forms.
Fourteen industry bodies, including The Conveyancing Association and The Law Society, encourage their members and member firms to use these new upgraded versions from 11 January 2022.
Several further questions have been added to the third version of the LPE1 form, including establishing whether there are restrictions on keeping parking or pets.
In addition, the form asks if an external firewall or a fire safety assessment has been undertaken and whether any urgent works are required. Hopefully, this will enable those marketing the property to identify material facts around cladding more easily.
Stephanie Boyce, the Law Society president said: “We are pleased to see the launch of the new versions of these important property forms.
“Making key information about a property available to consumers and those who work in the conveyancing system is beneficial in terms of identifying any potential issues at an early stage and speeding up property transactions.
“The updated LPE1 form should allow for crucial information about fire safety and any urgent remediation work required to be identified as soon as possible.”
Director of delivery at the Conveyancing Association, Beth Rudolf, stated: “The industry has committed to ensuring the forms are up to date and continually assessed to make sure they ask for all the necessary information. These new iterations of the forms do just that, and particularly in light of the ongoing issues many leaseholders are having with their building’s fire safety, it is clearly very important that all stakeholders have full upfront and transparent information on this aspect of the property.
“We’ll continue to review these forms to make sure they are fit for purpose going forward and in particular as there becomes greater clarity over the need for external wall assessments and access to them.”
CEO of the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA), Nigel Glen went on to say: “We are pleased with the comprehensive additions to the forms, in particular, the addition of the – usually belated and highly emotive – a matter of pets and the LPE1’s request for information on building safety. We hope the latter will help towards freeing up leaseholders to sell on properties where the fire risk is minimal. We also welcome the addition of the UPRN field as a means of encouraging its adoption across the residential building stock, the benefits of which have long been known.”
At SRB, our experienced residential property solicitors offer a comprehensive legal service for clients buying or selling a home. In addition, we can also check and provide impartial advice on mortgage loans.
Notably, we are not a high-volume bucket type of conveyancing shop with paralegal staff, but you can count on quality and expertise with us.
Contact us on 020 8891 6141