Get Your Property Registered!

It is compulsory to register property within England and Wales at HM Land Registry where such property is being purchased, leased (where the lease term is for more than 7 years or the lease term is to take effect more than 3 months from the lease date), gifted, inherited, exchanged for other property, or mortgaged (“a trigger event”).

But you do not have to wait for it to become compulsory, and you can apply to register your property voluntarily. There are several important reasons and benefits to voluntarily registering your property now, including the following:

Protect your ownership

Registered property is easier for parties to deal with, with copies of the title register evidencing your ownership of the property and the title plan showing the scope of the property both being available for download by the public.

Such registration also reduces the risk that a third party will be able to claim adverse possession over your property or other rights over it without you being notified by HM Land Registry and having an opportunity to object to the same.

Therefore, in some instances, having your property registered as part of the public record could lead potential buyers or developers directly to your door to offer you new opportunities or deter adverse possessors from making a claim.

Deal with title defects

Most of the first registrations dealt with within our Agricultural and Estates team reveal title defects which will adversely impact the property (including its value) unless they are rectified or otherwise mitigated. Such title defects include:

• Lost or destroyed title deeds/documents

• Liabilities which should be indemnified against or otherwise mitigated

• The title deeds/documents held by you, including inaccuracies. For example, the deeds/documents do not include the full scope of the property within your possession or show the ownership in the incorrect names.

Identifying and resolving or mitigating such title defects in advance of any subsequent transactions for the property, which include a trigger event, will prevent unpleasant surprises in the future or you having to deal with such defects under any time pressures placed on you by other parties.

Reduce your future costs

Your professional costs will likely be lower where first registrations and any title defects are dealt with before you commence any subsequent transaction for your property, including a trigger event, because of the reduced time pressures and priority required.

At the time of this article, HM Land Registry offers a 25% reduction on their registration fee for voluntary applications to incentivise property owners. This means, at this time, you would pay a voluntary registration fee between £30-£830 instead of a compulsory registration fee between £45-£1,105. The fee payable within the above ranges is dependent on the property value (between £0 and £1,000,001 and over).

Timescales

Historically, HM Land Registry considered and progressed first registration applications within 6 months from the date they received the relevant application. At the time of this article, HM Land Registry’s 6-month timescale has escalated to 2 years. Therefore, to enjoy the other benefits of voluntary registration, the sooner you submit your first registration application, the better.

Especially when, even where there are no title defects applicable, some solicitors acting for other parties in a subsequent transaction may not be conversant with unregistered property and could insist on the owners registering it before they advise their clients to proceed with the purchase, lease, or development.

There is an option available to you to request that HM Land Registry expedite your first registration application, but it is not guaranteed that HM Land Registry will approve your request. This could leave you disputing with HM Land Registry, taking a hit on the terms of the transaction (including the value of the transaction), or losing the sale, lease, or development in its entirety.

If you have any unregistered land or title defects which you would like to be assessed and advised upon, or for more information about property transactions, please contact Cara O’Donoghue on 01206 217311 or cara.odonoghue@birkettlong.co.uk