If you and your family have owned the same land for many years then the chances are some if not all of your property will be unregistered and that is fine but you need to be aware there are certain “trigger events” that the law will imposes the first registration of your land at the Land Registry.
As you would imagine the sale of the whole or part of the freehold or leasehold of land will be a trigger but so will an assent or a lease if granted for more than seven years. The granting of a mortgage over your property is another common trigger event. There are many other dealings with land whether freehold or leasehold that will trigger compulsory registration and we will happily advise you as to what they are.
You may decide that you have all the information and deeds that prove you own the land you think you own and you might be right but what if you are not? If you decide to sell or put a charge over your land you normally want it done efficiently, quickly and painlessly as will the buyer or the bank on the other side. To do this you will have to demonstrate you own what you say you do. What if you have lost part of the deeds or the land never had any in the first place? What if your neighbour has been occupying land that you thought was his but was in fact is yours? Why is there a kink in the boundary on the ground but on the deed plan the boundary is a straight line? Where is the grant of access to the house from the highway? There are so many complications in an unregistered title that could potentially slow up the legal process causing frustration for everyone and adding to costs!
However if you decide that you would like to voluntarily register your land then all the complications of unregistered deeds are addressed in plenty of time. Instead of a jumble of historic deeds (which can be beautiful and historically interesting in their own right) you would have a simple Land Registry produced document showing a guaranteed title to your land with a clear general boundary plan with all the encumbrances and benefits that affect the property noted clearly within the document. This title document is electronically stored at the Land Registry and can be accessed and used quickly and efficiently to deal with all matters from a simple sale to a claim for adverse possession and everything in between. Oh and one big benefit is if you volunteer to have your land registered then the Land Registry reduce the registration fee by around twenty five percent.
If you feel you would like to have a no obligation chat about your deeds and the best way to move forward with voluntary First Registration then please do not hesitate and contact one of the Agricultural Team here at Bendles.
Jane Fillis jf@bendlessolicitors.co.uk
Shaun Martin sm@bendlessolitors.co.uk
Or call 01288 522215 and reception will put you through.
