Shropshire law firm Hatchers Solicitors is calling on all property owners to apply to the Land Registry for voluntary first registration of their houses and land to prevent problems with boundary disputes and squatters’ rights.
Figures from the Land Registry show around 60% of land and buildings in the country are currently ‘unregistered’, with the Government announcing plans for compulsory registration by 2012.
The Title Register (Property Register) is one of the two main documents of title, often called Title Deeds. It contains a description of the property, its tenure, the name and address of the owners, purchase price (recorded for sales after 2000), name and address of mortgage holder and details of other charges or covenants.
Sue Cornish, for Hatchers, said the main advantage with registration is that title is guaranteed.
She explained: “This means that it doesn’t matter if the deeds get lost or eaten by the dog as the deeds can be accessed online at the Land Registry.
“There are other advantages too. When you sell your house it makes the conveyancing process simpler and quicker because the deeds can be accessed easily.
“Finally, you have much better protection against squatters who can gain title to unregistered land by occupying for 12 years. It is much harder for them to do this if the land is registered.”
For more information on title deeds contact Sue Cornish on 01743 237651.
