What Is Unregistered Land?

As part of his latest blog, Trainee Solicitor Connor Ball-Wood explains what unregistered land is and what implications can be avoided by registering your land…

If you have unregistered land, this means that it has not yet been registered with the Land Registry.

Historically, when a property was sold, solicitors would handwrite the deeds of conveyance to transfer the property from the seller to the buyer. Mortgages were also prepared in a similar way. The documents themselves would set out important information including the price of the property, the parties, any rights, restrictions, easements, and reservations affecting the land. This bundle of documents formed the title deeds. This system was revised by the Land Registration Act 1925.

On 1 December 1990 something called compulsory registration was introduced, in the hope that eventually all land in England and Wales would become registered. The implementation of the Land Registration Act 2002 brought in further trigger events that meant in addition to a sale and purchase, other transactions required that the property had to be registered.

By registering the deeds of a property at the Land Registry, this officially records the property ownership in a central electronic register. On registration, the Land Registry will collate all the relevant information that they need from the historic deeds and will then record this on the official register.

Benefits Of Registering Your Property With Land Registry

Minimise the risk of fraud. Unregistered land is at a higher risk of fraud as people can assume your identity and attempt to sell or mortgage your property without your knowledge. Registering your property with the Land Registry provides further protection from this (How can I protect my property from fraud?)
Confirming the boundaries of your property. The Land Registry will require a title plan which will then be issued by them on registration This will clearly show the land in your ownership
Confirming your ownership of the property
Protection from claims against your property
Reduces the risk of losing title by adverse possession
Prevents the need for retaining the deeds
Immediate copies of the registered title are easily accessible from the Land Registry.

How Can Timms Help?

At Timms, our Conveyancing team are able to assist with a voluntary first registration. We can also assist with registering your property where the deeds may have been lost or destroyed. If you would like further information, contact us on freephone 0800 011 666 or via email at legal@timms-law.com.