All the details of the title to a property are available in the land registry’s register, which makes your conveyancing solicitor’s life easy. Getting an official copy of the register is as good as having a full set of the title deeds. Ordering these documents is very easy. If you have an online account, you can order through their portal; if not, these documents can be ordered through post as well. Once you have the documents, here are a few important items you will find in them:
1) HM Land Registry Title Number
The “title number” is a unique identifier associated with every individual registered title. Even so, you must know that a single plot of land may have two or more titles. For example, the same parcel of land may have a freehold title with title number along with a leasehold title. Your conveyancing solicitor need to take good care about this.
2) The Official Copy Banner
The first page of the document will have a header which says “OFFICIAL COPY OF THE REGISTER ENTRIES.” Make sure you check this as you may get a copy which says “REGISTER VIEW”, which is not official.The land registry is not responsible for any losses you many suffer because of the Register View.
The first section of the document also provides the exact time and date of the issue. It also tellsyou about the office that deals with the title.
3) Property Register
The property register tells you the county and administrative area of the title and also has information about the title and the land related to it. This register also tells you the date when the title was first registered and the type of estate- freehold, leasehold or commonhold.
The register also gives the property address and details of the rights associated with the property. Your UK conveyancing solicitor needs to check and verify these details.
4) Proprietorship Register
The Proprietorship Register has information about the owner or the proprietor of the property. First, this part of the official copy will tell us the class of the title.
There are four different classes of title
- Title Absolute
- Qualified Title
- Possessory Title
- Good Leasehold
5) Proprietor Details
As the name suggests, this section will have the owner’s name and registered address, and the date that he/she was first registered as proprietor. The price paid by the current proprietor may also be mentioned. The price mentioned helps indicate a transfer at undervalue, which should be enquired about, if suspected.
6) Official Copy Edition Date
The official copy edition date is the date when the title was transferred or mortgaged for the last time. Simply put, it is the date when the register was last altered.
7) Indemnity Covenant
The indemnity covenant frees the sellers from any covenants after they sell their land. The seller is not liable for the observance of the covenant or accountable for any breach of covenant after the sale.
8 ) Charges Register
The Charges Register is the final section of the official copes. This register contains charges to which the property is subject. These charges include covenants, mortgages, equitable charges and leases.
9) Restrictions
Any restrictions which affect the property are mentioned, in this case, the restriction is in favour of the first charge holder. But, this restriction can be ignored, since the charge will be paid off on completion making the restriction automatically disappear.
10) Covenants
The rules which are imposed upon the land owner to regulate the way land can be used are called “covenants”. Usually the original land owner imposes covenants to get the benefit of any adjoining land he may have retained. Covenants can be Positive or Negative and your UK conveyancing solicitor should verify this.
11) Notices
The priority of an equitable interest is protected by a notice which could fall under any of the following categories:
- Home Rights or Matrimonial Home Rights
- Agreed
- Unilateral
12) Mortgages
If there are any financial charges registered against the property, such as mortgages, they are detailed in this section of the Charges register. The mortgages are listed in order of priority, which is based upon the order in which it appears in the register.
13) Power of Sale
The power of sale usually lies with the holder of a charge on a property. They have the power to repossess the property if they find that the owner is in breach of his mortgage conditions, which mostly includes failure to make the repayments.
14) Equitable Charges
Equitable charges are registered because of an order of the court. They are not created by a deed like legal charges are. Equitable charges are issued when the debtor fails to make payments and an individual or company to whom the money is owed applies to the court for a charging order against the debtor’s property.
15) Leases
At the end of the charges register, there is mention of leases. Details about the lessee, date of the lease, address of the leasehold property and the title number can be found here.
16) Filed Plan
The Filed Plan is an ordinance survey map defining the extent of the land in the title. It is given at the end of the Official Copies.
