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When you own a property or land or when you sell or buy land, there are many documents and rules you need to be aware of. You must, therefore, use a good property solicitor to ensure you get these right. One rule concerning property acquisitions is about registering land. Registering land requires your title deeds to be given to the Land Registry. Title deeds are virtually important as they demonstrate you have legal title to the land you occupy. This article will explain what you need to know about Land Registry title deeds in the UK.
What is the Land Registry?
The Land Registry is a government department that deals with registering property ownership. There are rules about when and how you must register property and land with the Land Registry. Once your land has been registered, the record goes into the department’s central register.
What Do I Need to Know About Land Registry Title Deeds?
Title deeds show who owns land and property and the chain of ownership for this. You also hear people refer to property deeds as the root of the title. Deeds are not in paper format but are in a digital format with HM Land Registry as they are used to register land. Below, we discuss some points you should know about Land Registry title deeds.
1. Types of Title Deeds
There are different types of title deeds for land and property. These include:
- conveyances;
- wills;
- mortgages;
- leases; and
- contracts for the sale of land or property.
2. How Do I Find My Land Registry Title Deeds?
You may want to know how to find your Land Registry title deeds. You may think these will be with the Land Registry, but this is not necessarily true. The Land Registry tends only to keep scanned copies of deeds apart from when they are deeds from when the property is first registered. When a person first registers a property, the Land Registry has the original title deeds. Once they have scanned the title deed, they usually return it to the solicitor or conveyancer. Therefore, your original title deeds could be with your solicitor or conveyancer, or you may have a copy of them with the HM Land Registry.
3. What Do I Need My Title Deeds For?
You may wonder what you need these deeds for. They can help give you legal information about the land. For example, they can include what the legal boundaries of the land are and information about who used to own the land.
However, it is imperative that you have your land title deeds to show that you own a land or property. This is because the Land register will need these to prove you own the land.
4. When is a Land Registry Deed a Good Demonstration of Title?
It is helpful to know when a Land Registry deed is a good root of title. This is because when a deed is one, you do not always need the deeds prior to this one. You will only need it where it details any promises about the land. This can be the form of any rights or covenants that attach to the land.
A Land Registry deed is a good root of title once it reaches 15 years old and where it was not a gift to the person.
5. Can I Prove Ownership of Land Without Title Deeds?
Sometimes, a property or plot does not have Land Registry title deeds because it is unregistered. Where this is the case, it means when you prove ownership, you do not need to have these as evidence. However, although it is difficult, it is possible to show ownership another way by finding other evidence of ownership alongside a statutory declaration. There are legal rules about the statutory declaration, so you should be aware of these. Evidence to prove ownership can include:
- receipt of rent you pay;
- any solicitor’s letters when the property became yours; or
- any other correspondence about you acquiring the land.
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Key Takeaways
The Land Registry is a register that shows who owns which land and property. This government department will have copies of original Land Registry title deeds as part of composing the register. This article explains some things you need to know about these deeds. These can appear in different formats, such as a mortgage document. If you cannot find your title deeds, the article points out that a copy may be with the Land Registry but the original may be with your solicitor. The article also explains that Land Registry title deeds can hold valuable information such as the legal boundaries of the land. Further, this article highlights that for a title deed to effectively signal your claim to the land, it should be over 15 years old. Ideally you should also not have been gifted the title deed. Finally, the article explains that you can try to prove ownership of unregistered land with no title deeds. This requires you to gather evidence that the land is yours and create a statutory declaration.
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