Deed of Covenant
It may be that the new owner needs to enter into a Deed of Covenant with the landlord and/or management company. A Deed of Covenant is a legally binding agreement whereby one party covenants with the other to perform certain obligations (to pay rent and service charge, to deal with assignment requirements etc.) and/or observe certain restrictions (not to cause nuisance, obstruct common parts etc.). Look out for something similar to the following: “Not to assign, underlet or otherwise part with possession of the property without first ensuring that the assignee or underlessee enters into a direct covenant with the lessor to observe and perform the covenants on the part of the lessee contained herein”.
If a Deed of Covenant is required then as part of your enquiries you should ask what the landlord/management company's requirements are and what fees are payable. They may have their own form of Deed which you must use or they may require you to draft your own. If the latter then follow this link and you can download a specimen deed. There will often be a fee payable to the landlord/management company for drafting or approving the Deed. Note that the landlord/management company will not usually need to sign the Deed.
