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In order to sell property you must be able to prove ownership and the right to sell.
Most properties in England and Wales are registered at The Land Registry. If the house is registered then the Land Registry will hold details of the property and its registered owner. The Land Registry will also hold copies of documentation which can be downloaded from the Land Registry’s website. An official copy of the title register can then be produced as evidence of ownership. In this case your deeds will not be needed.
If the property is not registered you will need title deeds to prove ownership. When registering a property at the Land Registry for the first time, the owner must generally lodge documents showing the chain of ownership going back at least 15 years.
If you do not have any title deeds, you must try to locate them. It may be that the original acting solicitor kept the deeds in his or her office or they may be lodged with a Mortgage Lender even if the mortgage has been repaid some time ago. Furthermore it is a good idea to thoroughly search the property and any other possible storage locations.
If after all of this you are still unable to locate the deeds you can still apply for first registration.
You will need to submit to the Land Registry a letter explaining the search attempts that you have made, providing evidence of unsuccessful searches such as letters from solicitors. This letter should also explain how you came to own the property e.g. inheritance etc. The more information you provide the Land Registry, the better for your case. This will usually be in the form of a Statement of Truth by the person claiming ownership of the property.
You will also need to try to reconstruct the title deeds to show how the property has passed to the person applying to be registered as its owner. This could include a certified copy or draft of a conveyance or transfer to the person applying, together with copies of documents forming the earlier title.
The Land Registry will also require evidence of the identity of the applicants for first registration. This will help to demonstrate that the applicant is entitled to apply for registration and protects against the risk of fraud.
You will also need to submit a Title Plan to the Land Registry demonstrating the boundaries of the property.
Furthermore you will need to submit a Statutory Declaration with a plan of the property included within the Declaration, from the neighbours to the property or another person who can confirm your ownership and the boundaries of the property. In the Statutory Declaration the neighbour or third party will have to state how long they have known you, in what capacity and the length of time they can confirm your ownership of the property. The Statutory Declaration will need to be witnessed.
The Land Registry will contact you if they require any further evidence. In circumstances where the title deeds have been lost or destroyed, it is likely that the Land Registry will only grant either a “possessory title” or a “qualified title” rather than a “title absolute”, where the Land Registry guarantee the ownership. However a further application can then be made to the Land Registry to upgrade the title after the expiry of certain time limits.
For further information on this topic please contact the property department at EHL Group on 0116 266 5394.