The majority of property in England and Wales is registered with HM Land Registry. This means that it is listed on the Land Register, with a description, a title number and an official plan. Ensuring that any property you own is registered is an important step in avoiding property fraud. We explain what registration involves and answer the question, How much does it cost to register an unregistered property.

At Lockings Solicitors, our expert property solicitors can deal with your property registration. It is always advisable to have this done as soon as possible. As well as being the safest option, it can also reduce the time taken to deal with property transactions such as a property sale or remortgage.

We have been helping individuals and families with property matters for many years and have the in-depth legal expertise necessary to deal effectively with any complications. If you are thinking of buying an unregistered property or unregistered land, we will carry out the additional due diligence work necessary to ensure that you will be gaining good legal title. Once your purchase has been completed, we will deal with the first registration at HM Land Registry.

Our property solicitors hold the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation. This recognises our legal excellence as well as the high levels of client service we provide.

We offer a FREE initial chat so that you can ask us any questions you have about unregistered property. Call us on 01482 300 200, email us at welcome@lockings.co.uk or fill in our Free Online Enquiry and we will call you back promptly. We have offices in Beverley, Hull and York and represent clients across the East Yorkshire area.

What is property registration?

Property registration is the entry of property onto the Land Register, a list maintained by HM Land Registry. Around 87% of property is registered. Since 1990, it has been compulsory to register land when it is purchased.

The entry on the Land Register will include a range of information about the property, including:

• A description of the land
• The name of the owner or owners
• Whether the property is freehold or leasehold
• The title number, which is provided by the Land Registry
• The class of title, ie. whether it is absolute, good or possessory – this refers to the strength of the evidence of ownership provided to the Land Registry, with ‘title absolute’ being the best class of ownership
• An official plan of the property
• Details of any rights granted in respect of the property, including covenants and easements such as rights of way
• Details of any restrictive covenants that affect the property
• A list of any charges or mortgages registered against the property

If you own an unregistered property or a piece of land that has not been registered, an application can be sent to the Land Registry to register it. Alternatively, if you are selling an unregistered property, then the buyer’s solicitor will deal with the registration once the sale has been completed.

Should you register property?

One of the most important reasons to register property is to reduce the risk of property fraud. Criminals target unregistered property as it can be easier to perpetrate a fraud when there is no official record of a property in existence.

Once property has been registered at the Land Registry, you can set up an alert so that you will receive a notification should anyone attempt to register anything against your title. You also have the option to register a restriction that aims to prevent fraudsters from selling or mortgaging your home unlawfully. No transaction will then be registered unless a conveyancer or solicitor certifies that it was made or authorised by you.

It can be faster to deal with a property sale or remortgage once a property has been registered. Purchasers’ solicitors will need to carry out more careful due diligence work on unregistered property to ensure that you have a valid legal title. If your property is registered, this will already have been done to the satisfaction of the Land Registry.

If you want to sell or remortgage registered property, an official copy of the title and plan can easily be obtained, showing your ownership and other relevant information.

Registering property also eliminates the risk of difficulties if the title deeds are lost or destroyed. After registration, all relevant documents will be available electronically.

How much does it cost to register an unregistered property?

If you register a property voluntarily, ie. not during the purchase or remortgage process, the Land Registry charge a reduced fee to encourage registrations, as follows.

Property value                                                  HM Land Registry registration fee

0 – £80,000                                                         £ 30

£80,001 – £100,000                                        £ 70

£100,001 – £200,000                                      £ 170

£200,001 – £500,000                                      £ 250

£500,001 – £1,000,000                                  £ 495

£1,000,001 +                                                      £ 830

If the Land Registry decide that an inspection of the property is necessary, they will make an additional charge of £40.

We can put together the necessary application for first registration on your behalf. If you would like to discuss our costs for this service, please call us and we will be happy to provide you with a quote.

How do you register unregistered property at the Land Registry?

The Land Registry will need to see all of the title deeds to the property that provide evidence of your ownership and any restrictions over the land. A ‘root of title’ document is needed. This is a conveyance or transfer that is at least 15 years old and that, along with any subsequent transfers, establishes your ownership. In addition, copies of any conveyances referred to in this document must be included. In addition, documents relating to any rights or obligations over the land must be included.

It is not always straightforward to identify which documents are needed. Our property experts can prepare the application on your behalf, completing the Land Registry forms and providing the right paperwork together with certified copies as needed.

How long does first registration of property take?

First registration can be lengthy and takes considerably longer than making changes to the Land Register once a property has been registered.

However, it is well worth doing, firstly to provide a greater degree of protection from fraudsters and secondly so that any future transactions such as a sale or mortgage will be quicker and easier.

This includes where the unregistered property is a small piece of land adjoining a main, registered property. Even if the main property is already on the Land Register, you should still have any unregistered land registered.

If you decide to sell your property while the Land Registry is dealing with the first registration process, we can ask them to expedite the process.

Contact our East Yorkshire and York area conveyancing solicitors

If you have an unregistered property and you would like assistance in dealing with the first registration, we will be happy to help.

You can ring us for a FREE initial chat on 01482 300 200, email us at welcome@lockings.co.uk or fill in our Free Online Enquiry and we will call you back promptly. We have offices in Beverley, Hull and York and represent clients across the East Yorkshire and York area.