Selling a leasehold flat: the leasehold information pack

Updated 7 November 2026. Applies to England and Wales.

In a leasehold sale the slowest item in the pack is the leasehold information pack: the LPE1 form and supporting documents that only the freeholder or managing agent can supply, covering service charges, ground rent, buildings insurance, major works and building safety. It costs typically £150 to £400 today and can take four weeks or more, with no legal deadline yet. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 contains powers to cap the fee (£200 plus VAT has been signalled) and impose a 28-day time limit, to be brought into force by regulations. The single most useful thing a leasehold seller can do is request the pack on the first day.

A wooden model house beside a calculator and a pen — The leasehold information fee is set by the freeholder today; a cap of £200 plus VAT has been signalled.

Why it is the slowest item

Every other item in a pack can be obtained by the seller, downloaded from a register or ordered from a provider with a service standard. The leasehold information pack depends on a third party who is not a party to the sale and who, today, has no statutory deadline to meet. Freeholders and managing agents answer in their own time and at their own price, and the government's roadmap names "sellers being let down by freeholders and managing agents" as one of the causes of delay in the market. The information cannot be skipped: a buyer's conveyancer and lender will not proceed without it.

What the leasehold information pack contains

The Law Society's LPE1 (Leasehold Property Enquiries) form is the standard request. The freeholder or managing agent answers questions and attaches documents covering:

Ground rent: amount, payment dates, review terms, and any arrears.
Service charge: the current year's budget, the last three years' accounts, any arrears, the reserve or sinking fund balance, and how the charge is apportioned.
Major works: anything planned, consulted on under section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, or in progress, and the expected cost to the flat.
Buildings insurance: the policy, the sum insured, the premium and any claims.
Management: the managing agent's details, any residents' management company and its accounts, and disputes or tribunal proceedings.
Consents and fees: what the landlord requires on sale (notice of transfer or charge, deed of covenant, share transfer in a residents' company) and the fees for each.
Building safety: height, whether the building is a "relevant building" under the Building Safety Act 2022, fire risk and external wall assessments, any remediation identified or funded, and the Leaseholder Deed of Certificate and Landlord's Certificate where relevant (the LPE1 is accompanied by the Building Safety Act supplement, the BSA1).

The seller's own side of the leasehold information is the TA7 Leasehold Information Form, completed with the conveyancer, together with the lease itself.

What it costs and how long it takes today

	Today	Under the 2024 Act, once regulations are made
Fee	Set by the freeholder or agent; commonly £150 to £400, sometimes more, plus fees for individual consents	A maximum fee set by regulations; £200 plus VAT has been signalled
Time	No legal limit; four weeks is common and longer is not unusual	A statutory deadline; 28 days has been signalled
Remedy if late	Chasing; no statutory enforcement	Enforcement provisions in the Act, with regulations to follow

The Act received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024. The provisions on sales information requests take effect only when the government makes the regulations that set the cap and the deadline; the reform roadmap lists this among the 2027 to 2028 actions.

What a leasehold seller should do first

Request the leasehold information pack on the day you decide to sell, through your conveyancer or directly, and pay the fee promptly; the clock does not start until the fee is paid.
Find your lease and note the remaining term. A lease that will be under 80 years at completion affects buyers' mortgages and the cost of extension, and is material information for the listing.
Gather your own records: service charge demands and accounts, ground rent demands, insurance details, section 20 notices, and any correspondence about major works or building safety.
Check the building safety position if the building is 11 metres or more or five storeys or more: whether a Leaseholder Deed of Certificate has been given, and whether a Landlord's Certificate exists.
State the material information on the listing: tenure, lease length, ground rent and its review terms, and the service charge. These are required now.
Diarise the chase. If nothing has arrived in two weeks, chase in writing and ask for a date.

Freehold houses on managed estates

Owners of freehold houses that pay an estate rent charge or management fee face a smaller version of the same problem: the estate's managing agent supplies the charge history and planned works, often using the Law Society's FME1 form, and may charge for it. The 2024 Act extends rights over information and charges to these homeowners too. The pack's item 7 ("leasehold and estate terms") covers this case.

How it fits the upfront sales pack

Items 7 (leasehold and estate terms) and 8 (building safety information) of the government's 14-item list are met largely by the leasehold information pack plus the lease and the seller's TA7 answers. Because it is the slowest item, a well-organised flat sale starts it first and shows it as "requested, expected by" on the listing until it arrives. Once the 2024 Act's deadline is in force, a 28-day maximum will make the timetable predictable for the first time.