Updated
Selling a flat quickly: the leasehold paperwork to gather first
A flat sale needs two sets of paperwork: yours, and your landlord’s. You cannot produce the second set yourself, so that is the one to ask for first.
Why a flat has two sets of paperwork
Most flats are leasehold. You own the flat for a fixed number of years, and ownership returns to the freeholder (your landlord) when the lease ends. The lease also sets conditions: whether you need permission to alter the flat, what you pay to maintain it and who is responsible for repairs (GOV.UK, Leasehold property).
Your buyer’s solicitor will ask questions about the title, the property and the transaction. With a flat, some of the answers sit with your landlord or managing agent. Asking them early tells you what you already have, and what is still missing, before a buyer is waiting on it.
The paperwork tracker
Tick each item as you get it. The list comes from two GOV.UK pages. It is not a full legal checklist, and your solicitor or conveyancer will say what else your sale needs.
0 of 10 gathered
| Gathered | Item | What GOV.UK says | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| The lease says how many years you own the flat and what conditions you have agreed to. GOV.UK: Leasehold property | Your title deeds or your solicitor | ||
| Tenure (freehold or leasehold) is listed with the title deeds among the paperwork to gather. GOV.UK: Selling a home | Your title deeds | ||
| You can ask your landlord for a summary of how the charge is worked out and what it is spent on, and see supporting paperwork such as receipts. GOV.UK: Leasehold property | Your landlord or managing agent | ||
| The lease sets out how much you pay to maintain the property and who is responsible for repairs. GOV.UK: Leasehold property | Your lease, then your landlord to confirm | ||
| The lease says whether you need permission to alter the flat. GOV.UK also lists planning permission and building regulation certificates. GOV.UK: Leasehold property, Selling a home | Your own records, and your landlord if the lease required permission | ||
| Information about fire safety issues is on the list if you live in a flat. GOV.UK: Selling a home | Ask your landlord or managing agent | ||
| You must order an EPC for potential buyers before you market the property. GOV.UK: Selling a home | You order it | ||
| FENSA or CERTASS certificates, guarantees, warranties, surveys, electrical checks and party wall agreements are all on the list. GOV.UK: Selling a home | Your own records and the firms that did the work | ||
| Check how much you owe, whether there are early repayment charges and whether there are fees to move or end the mortgage. GOV.UK: Selling a home | Your lender | ||
| You will need to prove both to your estate agent, solicitor or conveyancer and mortgage lender. GOV.UK: Selling a home | You |
Lease length
GOV.UK says you can ask your landlord to extend your lease at any time, and that when 80 years or less remain the cost of extending increases significantly. For a flat you might be able to extend by 90 years if you qualify. Since January 2025 you no longer need to have owned the flat for two years before you start a claim to extend.
How the years left on your lease affect a particular sale is a question for your solicitor. We found no official source that sets a cut-off for buyers or lenders.
What changed for leaseholders
The government’s leasehold toolkit for England (updated 20 May 2026) lists changes already in effect under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. Two touch a sale:
- From 27 December 2025, long leases (over 21 years) no longer count as assured tenancies, whatever the ground rent. GOV.UK says this makes it easier for leaseholders to get finance or sell.
- The two-year qualifying period for lease extension and freehold claims was abolished in January 2025.
The same toolkit says more transparency rules are still to come, including standardised service charge demand forms and enhanced rights to obtain information. Those were not in force when the toolkit was written, so check the toolkit for their current status.
Choosing how to sell
The tracker applies whichever way you sell. If speed is the goal, our guide to selling a house in 7 days shows each legal stage and who has to act at it. To compare an estate agent with a cash buyer, start with cash buyer vs estate agent, then use the cost of selling worksheet to see what you would keep on each route.
If the flat needs work or has a lease problem, read about selling as is and selling a problem property. GOV.UK says to complain about an estate agent to The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme, so ask which one an agent belongs to.
Questions
How long does it take to sell a flat?
We found no official source that gives a separate figure for flats. The government’s consultation on home buying and selling reform says the average sale takes 120 days to complete and that around 1 in 3 transactions fail, across all property types.
Who has to give me the service charge information?
GOV.UK says that if you pay a service charge you have the right to ask for a summary showing how it is worked out and what it is spent on, and to see supporting paperwork such as receipts. Your landlord must give you this information.
Does a short lease stop me selling quickly?
GOV.UK says the cost of extending a lease increases significantly when 80 years or less remain. We found no official source that sets a cut-off for buyers or lenders, so ask your solicitor how the number of years left affects your sale.
Do I need an EPC to sell a flat?
GOV.UK says you must order an Energy Performance Certificate for potential buyers before you market a property for sale. In Scotland it must also be displayed.
Is the paperwork different if I sell to a cash buyer?
GOV.UK describes this paperwork as what you give a prospective buyer, without distinguishing the type of buyer. Compare the routes in our cash buyer vs estate agent guide, and read the questions to ask a cash buyer before you agree anything.
Is this legal advice?
No. It is a summary of public guidance, published by Loud Crowd IT Ltd, which does not buy property. A solicitor or licensed conveyancer can tell you what your own sale needs.
Sources and when we checked them
Every figure and rule on this page comes from the sources below, read on . The date next to each source is the “last updated” date the publisher shows. Rules and thresholds change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.