Land registry transfer of deeds after a death

bjbyorkshire

My husband and daughter were tenants in common on a mortage for 5 years, Our daugher has fairly recently died and we have now paid off the mortgage. Halifax have put the house in my husbands name for their purposes but have not yet done a transfer of the deeds to husbands name only. We are now hoping to let the house rather than sell it and for tax reasons it would be better if the rent came to me as I am a non tax payer.

I have received forms from the Land Registry to transfer the title from husband to me (assuming the Halifax do the transfer from deceased daughter to her dad). The forms do look a bit daunting but would any of you think that I could do the transfer myself without the use of a solicitor to save costs or would it all be a bit too complicated???

Thanks
bjbyorkshire

Land_Registry

bjbyorkshire - I am sorry to hear of your recent loss.

I am glad you have received the forms from us and I trust you have also been directed to our completion notes as well. If you are completing a Transfer of the title then the notes should help you to complete the relevant paperwork from a registration perspective at least.

Your post raises a few questions though as it is unclear as to the exact circumstances regarding the current registered title. Based on what you have stated I am assuming that the following is the actual situation

1. The property is registered in the joint names of both your husband and late daughter;
2. They are registered as tenants in common and this is confirmed by entry of a restriction on the title i.e. Form A restriction: “No disposition by a sole proprietor of the registered estate (except a trust corporation) under which capital money arises is to be registered unless authorised by an order of the court."; and
3. There is a registered charge in favour of Halifax but this has now been redeemed (paid off).

If that is correct and Halifax are arranging for the charge to be removed then it may well be something which you can complete yourselves. In such circumstances though the registration aspects are usually quite straightforward even if you do need to complete several forms but it is the other aspects i.e. any will, beneficiaries, inheritance issues etc that can be complicated and often the services of a solicitor are recommended to cover all of these issues.

If the above assumptions are correct then I would expect the following sequence of events from a registration perspective
1. Halifax redeem their charge
2. The title is transferred from your husband to you using form TR1 etc
NB - I think it is very unlikely that the Halifax will transfer the actual title to him as the mortgage has been paid off. If we are notified of your daughter's demise e.g. when redeeming the mortgage the death certificate is also lodged then we would update the register accordingly and this is perhaps what they are referring to.

The issues you then face are completing a Transfer from him to you (the forms and notes explain what to do) but also dealing with the tenancy in common aspect.

Information regarding the tenancy in common aspect is contained within our Public Guide 18 - you will need to consider whether the restriction can/should remain on the title or whether you wish to remove it. This is not something I can advise upon and something on which I would always recommend people to take legal advice. The PG will explain the basics and guide you through removal etc but understanding the options and agreeing how you are to hold the property (even if only in your sole name) should be considered. Section 2 of the PG explains the two different types of ownership for you.

The choice of whether you use a solicitor or not to deal with the registration/mortgage formalities is of course your own. Halifax are unlikely to require you to do so as the mortgage has been redeemed but worth checking with them from a redemption perspective perhaps?

Likewise we would not insist on you using a solicitor but as mentioned it is important for you to understand the wider implications of any changes to the registered title.

Once you have read PG 18 and the forms/notes as mentioned you should have a better understanding of the procedure. We also provide an online FAQ to advise on how to transfer a registered property

We can assist with the completion of the forms/application but we cannot provide legal advice - if you need assistance with the forms/application then please contact our Customer Support Centre

bjbyorkshire

Thanks so much to Land Registry Representative for such a long and informative answer. I have been dealing with so many issues since the death of my daughter that I had not seen this reply but will now read it and take heed of any points I may still need to take on board.

The Land Registry people who I spoke to on the phone in the Nottingham office could not have been more helpful when I asked for advice on how to fill in some bits of the form. They showed patience and were courteous and I completed the registration without problem. I had to go to a solicitor to have the photos/forms signed and he said he thought that our own property would never have been registerd as it had not changed hands in more than 50 years. He was right, but he asked me to consider letting him do the first registration as they are more complicated than the change of ownership one was. I decided to let him do it and that is now completed. I think I could probably have done it myself and at a much reduced price than he charged but I had lost the will to battle with any more paperwork at that point so hopefully all the major issues are now sorted and we have a tennant in the small property which belonged to my daughter. Here's hoping they look after the house as it does have some very precious memories for us and it is difficult to think of strangers living in our daughte'rs little house.

many, many thanks for your reply.
bjbyorkshire