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.

1. That the sellers are the legal owners of the property and as such, they have the right to sell it to you. If for any reason the sellers’ details are different in the contract supplied by the sellers’ solicitors from those contained in the actual deeds to the property, then your conveyancing solicitor will need to see proof that the sellers are actually entitled to sell it to you. For example, if the owner registered in the deeds is now deceased and the Personal Representatives of the Estate (i.e. the deceased person’s Executors under the terms of the Will or if no Will was written, the family member entitled to inherit the Estate) are the persons selling the property, then a copy of the Grant of Probate (where there is a Will) or Letters of Administration (where there is no Will) must be produced to your conveyancing solicitor. If this is not already in place, then it can be a very time consuming process.

2. You may have certain rights or obligations (”covenants”) to which you will be bound because they are attached to the property by means of the contents of the deeds and these rights or obligations will be explained by your conveyancing solicitor. The solicitor will check that rights, such as of way or access exist where necessary. Any defect in the title will have to be put right before you proceed and the seller is usually the one who must pay for this.

3. The Land Registry do not usually define the precise boundaries of the property on the plan which they provide and in all cases, your conveyancing solicitor should provide you with a copy of the plan so that you can visit the property and check as far as you are able, that the plan supplied corresponds with the land that you believe you are buying as part of the transaction. If it does not, then you must let your conveyancing solicitor know straight away so that he can take this up with the seller’s solicitor.