The advantages of voluntary registration

The Land Registry is a government department which maintains a register of property ownership in England and Wales.  It is one of the largest property databases in Europe and approximately 80% of the land mass of England and Wales is registered with the Land Registry.  It provides a state guarantee of title to land so that whoever is shown as the registered proprietor of a property i.e. the legal owner is guaranteed ownership by the Land Registry.

If you purchased your property or land in Wales before 1988, it is likely that your title to the property is unregistered.  This means that the Land Registry doesn’t hold a record of your ownership of the property.  Your deeds may be held by a solicitor, a mortgage lender or by you, at home, or perhaps lodged at your bank.

What does this mean?

This means that the paper documents comprising the title deeds prove that you are the legal owner(s) of the property and therefore safe possession of these paper documents is extremely important.  If these documents were lost or destroyed then, whilst not impossible, some considerable work might be required to prove your ownership of the property.  It could be a difficult, long, and likely expensive process to prove your ownership of the property. If there is insufficient evidence to prove ownership the Land Registry may award you with Possessory Title.  This means the entry on the central register is created subject to any unknown rights or interests and the title is not guaranteed by the Land Registry.  This could cause problems when you will want to sell the property in the future.

What are the benefits of registration?

• The title is secured.
• If the Deeds are subsequently lost, it does not make any difference as the registration in the Land Registry proves the ownership.
• The register for each property clearly sets out any rights or interests.
• Land registration helps you to protect your land from fraud and to resist third party applications for adverse possession (“squatter’s rights”) over your land and property.
• Any future sale is less likely to be affected by difficulties relating to ownership.
• The Land Registry fee for the first registration depends on the value of your property. There is a 25% reduction for voluntary first registrations.

Land registration proves ownership and the register for each property will reflect all the rights and obligations shown in the paper title deeds.  There is then no need to store paper title deeds in safe custody and the register can be viewed quickly and securely online.  Once the property is registered with the Land Registry, then the boundaries are established and clear to all so that any potential problems with boundaries e.g. a neighbour claiming part of your land, can be resolved and dealt with preventing any problems arising when the property is sold.

Land registration is also helpful in terms of adverse possession i.e. squatters’ rights.  Where title to the property is unregistered, then the paper owner may not necessarily become aware of a third party seeking to lay claim to part or all of the property.  If the property is registered at the Land Registry, it is virtually impossible for anybody to acquire squatters’ rights over a property without the true owner’s knowledge.  Upon any application made by a squatter for squatter’s rights at the Land Registry, the Land Registry will notify the registered proprietor that their property is at risk.  This gives the registered proprietor time to deal with the matter and prevent those squatters’ rights from arising.

Following registration, the need to store paper documents with the bank or with solicitors is then removed and any paper documents can simply be held at home for reference.  If those documents were ever lost, then it would not make any difference, as all the relevant information is held at the Land Registry.

If you wish to speak to us about a voluntary first registration, please contact one of our Conveyancers who will be happy to help you.

Written by Alica Kandova