Leaseholders’ information and advice

Pre-assignment pack

There are obligations required to be adhered to as a homeowner, and any changes are to be reported to the appropriate services within Newham Council.

There are matters the homeowner will need to consider when selling the property for example:

  • If you are planning to sell your property in the first 5 years from the purchase date, you will need to repay all or some of the Right to Buy (RTB) discount received and
  • If you are planning to sell within 10 years, the Council has the Right of first refusal (ROFR), you will need to offer the property to the council before selling it on the open market.

When you sell your home, your solicitor may need pre-assignment information from Newham Council.

Your solicitor can request a pre-assignment pack from us and the council will charge an administration fee for the process. This will contain information about your property, including any planned major works. It can also be used by your solicitor to complete the LPE1 form.

What is included in the leasehold pack is as follows;

  • 3 year service charge history (estimates and actual invoices)
  • current service charge statement of account (including ground rent and major work)
  • breach of Lease
  • building insurance schedule 
  • list of section 20 notices served on the address and planned major works for the block and/or estate
  • Asbestos risk assessment for the building and fire risk assessment. 
  • post-completion fees ( Deed of Covenant, Notice of Assignment, transfer and Charge fees 
  • You'll need to request the ESW1 and Building Safety Certificate separately. It's not included in the pre-assignment pack and fees are applicable separately.

The pre-assignment information does not include an ESW1 and Building Safety Certificate for the building. Your solicitor will need to request this from the building safety team directly. 

We will aim to send the pre-assignment pack within 14 working days of receiving fee payments from you or solicitors.

Seller’s Fee

  • The pre-assignment pack costs £243.00

Notice of assignment and charge

Transactions such as sales and re-mortgages of leasehold properties require formal notices that must be served to the council.

Notice of assignment

After a leasehold property has been sold, the new leaseholder's solicitor must send us a formal notice of assignment confirming the lease has been transferred within a month of the sale. This is known as a notice of assignment. 

Notice of charge

If the leasehold property also has a mortgage, the new leaseholder's solicitor must also send us a formal notice confirming that a mortgage has been secured as a charge against the land registry. This is known as a notice of charge.

You'll also need to issue a notice of charge if you:

  • buy a property with a mortgage
  • add someone to your mortgage
  • re-mortgage the property (get a new mortgage, or borrow more money on your existing mortgage)

New leaseholder's Fees

  • Deed of Covenant: £85.00
  • Notice of Assignment £85.00
  • Notice of Transfer: £85.00
  • Notice of Charge: £85.00

We aim to send it within 14 working days.

*Please note that the council will not update its records until all payments and relevant legal documentation have been received by the council and ensure all property-related debts have been paid and the service charge, ground rent and major work accounts have been paid up to date.

More information

If your solicitors have any further enquiry regarding the pre-assignment pack from us, please send your enquiry to HSG - Leasehold Services HSG-Leasehold.Services@newham.gov.uk.