One of the questions I get asked most in Post Completions is ‘where are my Title Deeds’. It always starts with a client who purchased their property a few years ago ringing up in a panic because they are now wanting to sell and realise that they don’t have their Title Deeds.
Title Deeds are paper documents, normally aged brown paper tied together with green/pink string, which show the chain of ownership for land and property and can include:-
Where are my Title Deeds?
Well the good news is if you purchased your property in the last 25 years and were registered the owners then you will not need the Title Deeds, in fact, although historically interesting, there is no legal obligation/requirement for the seller to provide these deeds to you when you purchase the property.
In 1990, when the registration of property was made compulsory throughout England and Wales, the Land Registry looked into digitalising registration and with the Land Registration Act 2002 it enabled the future compulsory introduction of electronic conveyancing.
After this time all Title Deeds that were sent to the Land Registry were scanned into their system thereby removing the need to keep the historical documents that were required previously. This not only is more convenient when selling and buying property, as titles can be viewed immediately, but saves money and worry on ensuring that your own title deeds remain safe and sound.
However, if your property has never been registered (and there are still some properties, particularly family homes that have been left to offspring that have not), then you will need these Title Deeds to register the property.
If you would like more information on Title Deeds please contact Laura Catania on 01473 229200.
