Licensed Conveyancer flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Section 2 LP(MP)A 1989

Requires a contract for the sale of an interest in land to be in writing, incorporate all terms in one document or exchange of documents, and be signed by each party. Incorporation by reference to another document is excluded.

Exchange of contracts

The moment the contract becomes binding. The buyer acquires an equitable interest in the land, and the seller holds the legal estate on trust for the buyer pending completion.

Completion

The stage at which the purchase price is paid and the legal estate is transferred by transfer deed. For registered land, the buyer must then apply for registration of the transfer.

Registrable dispositions (LRA 2002 s.27)

Transfers of registered land, leases over seven years, and express easements created by grant or reservation must be registered to take effect at law; otherwise they operate only in equity.

Thirty business day registration deadline

Under LRA 2002 s.6 (as amended), an application to register a transfer of registered land must be made within 30 business days of completion, failing which the disposition may revert to the transferor.

Good root of title

For unregistered land, the seller must deduce title from a document at least 15 years old that deals with the whole legal and equitable interest and contains a recognisable description of the land.

First registration trigger

Compulsory first registration arises on transfer of a freehold, grant or assignment of a lease with more than seven years unexpired, and certain other dispositions of unregistered land.

Standard Conditions deposit

Under the Standard Conditions of Sale (5th edition), the deposit is 10% of the purchase price unless the contract varies it. It is held by the seller's solicitor as stakeholder pending completion.

Time is of the essence

Completion dates are not usually of the essence; the parties may serve a notice to complete, after which failure to complete within the specified period allows rescission and forfeiture of the deposit.

Notice to complete

A notice served under Standard Condition 6.8 giving the defaulting party 10 working days to complete. On expiry, the innocent party may rescind, keep the deposit, and claim damages.

Local authority search

Comprising LLC1 (register of local land charges) and CON29 (enquiries of the local authority), it reveals planning, highways, and environmental matters affecting the property.

Schedule 3 overriding interests

Interests listed in Schedule 3 LRA 2002, such as short leases, easements, and customary rights, bind a registered proprietor even though they do not appear on the register.

Registered charge priority

Registered charges rank according to the order in which they are entered on the register, not the order of creation; a buyer takes subject to registered charges unless discharged on completion.

Seller's duty of disclosure

The seller must disclose latent defects in title and answer enquiries truthfully. The buyer bears the risk of matters a proper inspection and search would reveal from exchange.

Planning and building regulations

Local authority searches reveal planning permissions and building regulation approvals; missing consents may require indemnity insurance or retrospective application before completion.

Chancel repair liability

A liability of certain landowners to fund repairs to the chancel of a medieval church. Since 2013 it must be registered to bind a purchaser for value of registered land.

SDLT residential rates

Stamp Duty Land Tax is charged on residential purchases above the nil-rate threshold, with higher rates for additional dwellings and a surcharge for non-UK residents. Returns are due within 14 days of completion.

Leasehold enfranchisement

Qualifying long leaseholders may acquire the freehold collectively or extend their lease under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, subject to residence and eligibility conditions.

Grant of probate

A court document confirming the authority of executors named in a valid will to administer the deceased's estate. It is issued by the Probate Registry after the inheritance tax account is delivered.

Letters of administration

The grant issued where the deceased died intestate or without a willing executor. It appoints an administrator, usually the person entitled to the estate under the intestacy rules.

Non-contentious probate fees

Fixed fees set by the Non-Contentious Probate Fees Order 2004: currently £155 for a solicitor application and £215 for a personal application, with no value-based element.

IHT400 and IHT421

The IHT400 is the inheritance tax account delivered to HMRC; the IHT421 is HMRC's receipted confirmation that must accompany the probate application before a grant can issue.

Six-month IHT payment deadline

Inheritance tax is due six months after the end of the month of death; interest accrues on unpaid tax from that date. Payment is often made from the estate before the grant issues.

Executor's year

Under s.44 Administration of Estates Act 1925, personal representatives are not liable to distribute within one year of death; distribution before then is at their own risk if a claim later arises.

Statutory legacy

The fixed sum a surviving spouse receives on intestacy where there are also issue. Currently £250,000, together with personal chattels and a life interest in half the residue.

Intestacy order of entitlement

Where there is no spouse or issue, the estate passes to parents, then siblings of the whole blood, then half-blood siblings, then grandparents, then uncles and aunts of the whole blood.

Revocation by marriage

Under s.18 Wills Act 1837, marriage revokes a will unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage. Divorce does not revoke the will but treats the former spouse as predeceasing.

1975 Act claims

Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 must be brought within six months of the grant. The court may order reasonable financial provision from the estate.

Caveat

A notice lodged at the Probate Registry (Form PA8A) preventing a grant from issuing for six months, renewable, typically used where the validity of a will is disputed.

Citation to propound

A process compelling a person holding a will or claiming an interest to prove it in court or renounce it, allowing the grant to proceed if they do neither.

Assent

A written document by which personal representatives transfer estate property, including land, to a beneficiary. For registered land, it must be registered to transfer the legal estate.

Administration order of payment

Personal representatives pay funeral and testamentary expenses first, then secured debts, preferential debts, unsecured debts, legacies, and finally residue to the residuary beneficiaries.