Conveyancing Explained

In a bid to reduce property fraud, the Land Registry has introduced “Protect your Property”. The idea is that homeowners, particularly those with no mortgage, are at greater risk of property fraud if the Land Registry can’t contact them when someone makes an application (fraudulently) to register a financial charge against the property. It is also particularly relevant to buy-to-let landlords for the same reason.

You can contact the Land Registry or download the update form from their website at www.landregistry.gov.uk. The service is free of charge.

Many people think that if they bought a property in their maiden name that either, 1: They won’t be able to sell the property until this has been changed or 2. They need a solicitor to get the surname changed. Neither of these is correct!

Regarding point 1;-

If the house is in your maiden name, when your conveyancing solicitor instructed to act on your sale has a look at the deeds, he will see this. He will then ask you to provide your original marriage certificate, take a copy of it and return the original to you. The copy is certified by the conveyancing solicitor as being a “true copy” of the original. When your conveyancing solicitor sends the contracts and Official Copies of the Register (the name for the electronic register of deeds held by the Land Registry since paper title deeds were abolished) to your buyer’s solicitors, he will also send the certified copy of the marriage certificate. This proves to the buyer’s solicitors that you have legally changed your surname and that you are entitled to sign the contract as the owner of the property in that name. It’s that easy!

Regarding point 2:-

All you need to do is send a letter to the Land Registry, explaining that you are now married and supplying your original marriage certificate. If I was doing so, to make sure it gets there, I would send it by recorded delivery. It might also be helpful if you included a stamped addressed envelope for the return of the certificate.

The Land Registry will then update its electronic register and return the certificate to you. Very simple and no need for a solicitor.

Since the implementation of the Land Registration Act 2002, all paper deeds have been “dematerialised”. All this means is that instead of being kept on paper, which can easily be lost, the deeds are recorded electronically at HM Land Registry on a register. This means that you might not actually get any deeds after completion, you might just get a copy of the new register showing you as owner. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your conveyancing solicitor is holding anything else, he may just have no other relevant papers to give to you, sundry title deeds and searches may not be available nor do you really need them for anything other than historical interest.

The electronic register can be accessed by anyone, it is a public register. If your neighbours want to get a copy of your deeds to see how much you paid when buying your house, (and vice versa) then they can do. If you want to get a copy of your deeds, (or anyone else’s for whatever reason) visit www.hmlr.gov.uk and click on Land Register Online, coloured blue on the right hand side of the home page. The service costs from 3 pounds.