Legal checklist for buying dental property

Buying an existing dental practice, setting up a squat or acquiring a property already occupied by a practice is a significant investment.

Any property purchase involves a comprehensive review of practical considerations, funding availability and valuations. When acquiring a dental property, there are additional legal considerations to make sure the property can be used as a practice without restrictions.

Title

It’s essential to check the title to the property to make sure that:

• The seller is the legal owner and can sell the property without restrictions
• There are no covenants or restrictions on title that might prevent the property from being used as a dental practice.

Searches

Property searches help identify any issues with the property, including:

• Whether the property has the correct planning use or is subject to any conditions that might restrict the use
• Any existing breaches of planning law or building regulations
• Whether there’s potential for the property to be designated as contaminated land
• If there’s a risk of flooding.

Replies to enquiries

As part of the sale process, the seller will provide replies to commercial property enquiries, disclosing any issues with the property that they’re aware of. As part of these enquiries, we would expect the seller to provide various compliance documents, including an asbestos survey, fire risk assessment and gas and electricity certificates, which are required for CQC registration.

Contract and transfer

The contract for sale and transfer deed are important legal documents and must reflect any provisions that have been agreed in the heads of terms.

Secure funding

If funding is required for the acquisition, your lender will require a property valuation by a specialist healthcare valuer. The information in the valuation will also need to be verified by a solicitor.

The process of securing the funding should run alongside the conveyancing process to avoid delays in completing once title checks are complete.

There are several important legal factors to consider when acquiring a dental property. Specialist advice will help to ensure your investment is protected.