9 January 2009

Voluntary Registration

The Land Registry's records show that approximately 35% of land is unregistered in England and Wales. Although registration is not compulsory until land is sold or mortgaged it seems that many people are choosing to voluntarily register their land and property.

Why should you voluntarily choose to register your land?

Making a voluntary application brings many advantages to developers and estate owners. I have come across occasions where people have encroached on their neighbour’s property causing many problems. One developer even obtained planning permission over what he and the planning authority thought was 100% his land and, after he had laid the foundations and constructed the ground and 1st floors of his development, his neighbour discovered that part of the development was on his land. By that stage it would have cost many tens of thousands of pounds to demolish and rebuild the development so needless to say, after an expensive legal battle the aggrieved neighbour received a substantial sum for what was a small strip of land.

Registering your land not only proves you own your land but also protects you against claims against your land if someone were to try to encroach on it and claim it as their own.

The advantages of land registration

The Land Registry encourages registration of your land and provides a state-backed registration which gives you more security.

  • It provides greater protection against the possibility of someone else claimed they own parts of your land.
  • You are reimbursed if you suffer any loss if you are deprived of any of your land.
  • It introduces certainty and simplicity into buying and selling land because all of the rights and restrictions that benefit and affect the land are shown clearly in one legal document. This can save you hundreds of pounds in legal fees during the conveyancing process.
  • There is a plan produced that shows the clear extend of your land.
  • You can also easily offer the land as security to lenders enabling you to raise funds by way of secured borrowing.
  • A buyer can see clearly the extent of the land they are buying and everything that affects the land and a lender can clearly see that the value of the land over which they grant security is sufficient.
  • As an added incentive, the Land Registry offer 25% off of the registration fees for voluntary registrations.

Estate Registrations

In very large estates there may be boxes of very old deeds with antiquated rights and restrictions which for a potential purchaser are not very attractive. It will cost you, and any potential purchasers, many hundreds, maybe thousands of pounds, in legal fees to investigate and deal with all of the issues arising out of the title deeds. It is far more attractive to have everything in one document.

One of the great advantages in registering a large estate is that the land registry can separate the land into individual title numbers similar to a jigsaw. This has the advantage that parcels of land or pieces of the jigsaw can be sold off separately without going through a complex sale and transfer of a part of the whole estate. You don’t have to get your scissors out and cut out a section of the land. You simply remove a piece of the jigsaw that is already cut out with minimal hassle. It also gives you the ability to raise finance by securing borrowing over one piece of the land rather than the estate as a whole thus leaving the remainder free of any charge and restrictions.

The legal costs for the voluntary registration of land vary greatly depending on the size and complexity of your estate but the costs involved if you put off registering until you are forced to will be a lot more.

ENDS

Notes to editor:

Tony Dupreez is a property specialist at commercial law firm Bright LLP based in the north of Plymouth. If you have any queries or are considering registering your estate please contact him on 01752 764848 or by email Tony.Dupreez@Brightllp.co.uk

For further information please contact Martyn King at Fuel Communications on 07815 322304. For background information on the company please visit www.brightllp.co.uk