How to find out who owns house

Gingernutty

CapitalLeasehold wrote: »

I can't add anyting to the Land Registry advice on the original question but...

Kingfisherblue, unless there are exceptional circumstances you are probably entitled to buy the freehold of your house under the provisions of The leasehold Reform Act 1967.

Check here: http://www.lease-advice.org/wizard/?step=7

I've given you a head start on navigating the excellent Leasehold Advisory Service site.

When you have had a read through, if you want to buy the freehold step one is to consult a solicitor familiar with enfranchisement law and step two obtain specialist valuation advice.

Hope this helps, good luck!

This only works if there is a leasehold title to the house and a recognised contract with the freeholder.

It sounds like it might not be the case.

If so, then twllwyd is spot on. The house belongs to whoever owns the land.

princeofpounds

I think everyone needs to be very careful about this situation. It appears to be highly complex and will probably require professional legal advice to solve.

There are several questions to consider. The first is whether there are one or two titles at stake. There is the land, but the property itself might legally exist under a separate title also depending on the circumstances of its creation.

A landowner does not necessarily own anything simply by virtue of it being sited on their land, even if it as permanent a fixture as a house.

Then we need to consider ownership of all titles. The land may be registered to one person, but your grandparents may have acquired title through adverse possession. Or a transaction may have happened in the past but not been recorded properly (it does happen). Or the cousing might have registered themselves as the land owner when they were not. Who knows.

As for the house, it might be bound up with the land, but more likely the ownership of it belongs to whoever built it.

The point of all this is that the real situation is dependent on many factors, some of which will be lost to time. No-one here can guess with any confidence.