If you’re currently selling property or land that is unregistered, or planning to do so in the near future, finding a good solicitor will help you tackle all the legal complexities involved.
There has been a requirement since 1958 that all land transactions are registered at Land Registry since 1958. However, this became compulsory in different parts of the country in different years, which is why there is still a large number of unregistered properties and land.
Without your property or land being registered at Land Registry, it can be harder to sell – but far from impossible, especially when you have an experienced conveyancer working for you.
What Happens When You’re Selling Unregistered Land Or Property?
If your property or land is not registered, the title to the property relies on paper deeds that have been handed down from previous owners. Each deed will have been added to every time the property changed hands, which is why there are often numerous deeds and the deeds can have plans that seemingly don’t correlate with the existing buildings or land.
When your land is registered, all the important information of all the deeds is written within the one document, enabling the conveyancer to establish who the current owners are and their status, purely by looking at the title supplied by the Land Registry.
The conveyancer should have experience of dealing with unregistered land and know what to do. While every transaction is unique, as a guide, the following will need to be done in order to sell unregistered land or property:
- Plans checked with Land Registry using the new MapSearch together with an Index Map Search of the land
- The Epitome or Abstract of Title provided to the seller’s solicitor will contain copies of all the deeds, which need to be checked
- Every document needs to be checked from a minimum of 15 years from the current date, to make sure there is a clear chain of title from then until now
- Checks include any information that would be on the Register, including bankruptcy, marriage changes, stamp duty paid, and whether the title is free from defects
- Paper title deeds prove ownership and the seller’s title would need to be thoroughly investigated during the conveyancing process
Is There Anything You Can Do To Help Sell Unregistered Land?
Many sellers of land or property that isn’t registered with Land Registry, choose to register before beginning the selling process or as a pre-condition of the sale. This gives certainty to the buyer that Land Registry should accept the First Registration application when submitted.
How We Can Help With The Sale Of Unregistered Land
All our conveyancers have the experience and legal knowledge to assist with diverse property transactions, and many of our conveyancing team have a proven track record of dealing with unregistered land and property.
Your chosen conveyancer would work closely with you, advising you on the best way to proceed with the sale. We can help with the checking of documents as well as handling any queries from Land Registry and providing legal guidance on any issues that arise during the process. Regardless of how you decide to sell the property – registering it beforehand or waiting for the buyer to do so during – we have the expertise to support you.
To speak to one of our professional conveyancing solicitors about your unregistered land or property and how best to sell it, contact us on 01244 311 633 or 0800 988 3674 or email advice@bartletts.co.uk
