Safeguarding your land and property

Protecting one of your most, if not the most, valuable and important assets should be a priority for landowners, yet the latest figure for unregistered land in England and Wales stands at 27 per cent; showing that a large number of rural landowners are not protecting their assets well enough.

Ensuring that your land is registered at Land Registry and that your contact details are correct will provide security and peace of mind for you and could save a great deal of time, worry and expense should you sell up or when future generations inherit.

Land Registry is the government agency responsible for registering land and providing undisputed proof of ownership.

On registration you will be provided with a document, known as Official Copy Entries or sometimes Title Information Document, that sets out proof of ownership, a plan showing the extent of the registered land and any rights and reservations affecting it. This removes the need for holding the traditional deeds that we all have; effectively they become historical documents of interest only. Although no one would recommend destroying deeds they become less important as the Official Copy Entries replace them. Electronic storage of your information eliminates the risk of losing deeds.

Registration makes dealing with property transactions, such as a sale or development, much simpler and potentially cheaper as less time is involved. The registration provides a state-backed assurance of ownership which means you are better protected against claims of adverse possession and boundary encroachments from third parties. As the registration process involves detailed analysis of your deeds it provides an opportunity to flush out and resolve any boundary or title problems in your own time rather than during a sale when time is of the essence and these problems seem much worse.

Registration also gives you the opportunity to check that your rights and easements over other land you don’t own are in place.

Currently, Land Registry is offering a 25 per cent discount on the registration fee making this an ideal time to protect your most valuable asset.

For advice on any aspect of the law mentioned in this article, contact Annabelle Savage or one of the Rural Business Team at Birkett Long LLP – 01206 217353 or visit www.birkettlong.co.uk