Voluntary first registration

Posted 07/05/2013

Land registration is coming back to the headlines with increased rumours that the reduced fees for voluntary registration may disappear, or worse be replaced by hourly rates of Land Registry staff.Today, although the title to more than three quarters of the land in England and Wales is now registered at the Land Registry, there are still large parts of the country which are unregistered, particularly in more rural areas such as East Anglia.  Some important points:“If you own land or buildings that have yet to be registered, now is a good time to consider the benefits of registration. It has been suggested that the Land Registry could soon be changing their fee structure, moving from the current reduced fixed fee which is based on the current market value of the property. Should these proposals get the green light, first registrations are likely to become more expensive.”These reduced fees currently range from £30 for a property valued at less than £50,000 to £680 for a property valued at more than £1 million.Owners of registered land are much better protected against squatters or encroaching neighbours claiming ownership, than owners of unregistered land.  One reason is because an owner of unregistered land will not know if a claim is being made to the Land Registry to register a possessory claim. In theory, a squatter acquires the right to be registered as proprietor of the land once they can establish they have been in adverse possession, without consent, for 12 years.  Whilst it may be possible for a squatter to claim adverse possession of registered land, it is much more difficult, and the rules favour the registered owner of the land over the squatter. Most importantly, as a registered land owner you would be notified by the Land Registry and given the opportunity to oppose a squatter’s application.  We have had cases where land is actively farmed, but unbeknown to the unregistered owner the next door neighbour has registered title to part of the wrong farm.Registered title is state guaranteed. If somebody suffers a loss because of a mistake or omission from the register, they may be able to get compensation. In 2011/2012 the Land Registry paid out £7.19million from its compensation fund in relation to 52 claims for registration fraud. The Land Registry hold your title electronically , which means that you no longer have to worry about the safe keeping of your title deeds. Once the title has been registered, the loss or destruction of the pre-registration deeds will not affect the adequacy of your title. We would still advise you to keep the old deeds, as they are often useful if there is a later boundary dispute, or for family history as to who was farming what land, if needed for inheritance tax planning. At Ashtons Legal we keep clients’ old deeds for free in our fireproof strong rooms.Potential purchasers increasingly expect the land that they are acquiring to be registered. Sales of registered land are much quicker and more straightforward, which will mean a cheaper legal fee bill on any sale off or mortgage. Voluntary registration will simplify any subsequent transactions whether in your lifetime or by your executors and beneficiaries in the event of your death. And it will mean that the older generation will have checked the deeds from their historic knowledge, rather than loose any evidence where title corrections or statutory declarations are needed.Clients with a portfolio of properties find that it is much easier to keep track of them by reference to the official copy entries rather than boxes of unregistered deeds.At Ashtons Legal we would be delighted to meet with you to discuss your needs. For an initial discussion please contact Simon Cunningham on 01603 703085 or email him at simon.cunningham@ashtonslegal.co.uk. Alternatively complete one of our enquiry forms.