Land registry

shazbig

Hi


Firstly thank you for helping me with completing the 205, this has been accepted as correct and my sister and I have sworn on oath so we are now awaiting the grant of administration.
I know my Dad would have been proud of me for doing things so far without a solicitor. Which is a good feeling.


My sister and I are both beneficiaries and have agreed that I will keep Dad's house, and will pay her the difference in order that the estate is divided exactly 50/50.


So, my question is, how easy is it to register the house in my name? I have all the deeds from the building society. The house has been in my Dad's name for over 50 years so I don't think it is registered with the land registry. Also will I have to pay stamp duty? The house was valued at £167k BTW.


The solicitor whom we swore on oath with has said she can do the land registry part for me, but if this is something I can do I would prefer to.


Your advice is very much appreciated.


Thank you


Shaz

Land_Registry

Shazbig – sorry to hear of your loss. Working through what is required re the property/estate can be quite challenging and we do provide a degree of online guidance to help in such circumstances.

I am assuming the property is in England or Wales and that the reference to grant of administration implies that there was no recorded will. If the property is in Scotland then please ignore the post.

The link here seeks to cover the variety of circumstances which can be encountered when a property owner dies. If he had owned the property for 50 years then there is a good chance that it is unregistered. You can look up the administrative area in section 9 of our Public Guide 1 and if he bought before the date of compulsory registration as listed then it is likely he never registered.

If you intend to keep the property then you should look to having it registered and our online Public Guide 13 explains what is required from our perspective and includes links to the forms needed. If you intend to sell the property then there may be no need to register although sometimes a buyer’s solicitor may ask for it to be registered before they will complete.

Private individuals will sometimes seek to register the property for themselves and providing the deeds are sufficient to prove title then this can be straightforward. The advantage of using a solicitor/conveyancer though is that they can also cover off other aspects as well including the legal/financial impact on you and your sister.

There would not be any Stamp Duty payable as this is not a purchase. I assume that when completing the probate process you will have considered any inheritance tax issues although the value may suggest this would not apply – this is not an area I would deal with but others may post to advise

shazbig

Thank you for advice and the links. I think I must of said the wrong thing in my post, as there is a will, we have applied for probate, have sworn on oath and are now awaiting the final paperwork, I though it was called grant of administration, perhaps its called grant of probate? I hope this doesn't change the advise you have given?
I am having a pretty bad week emotionally, so will look the links when I feeling a bit stronger.
Grief is a strange thing, I have been doing so well, but it is my birthday at the weekend, and the thought of celebrating without Dad has hit me. I have held it together at work, but at home I have been very tearful.

Savvy_Sue

It's letters of administration if there isn't a will, and a grant of probate if there is. But essential they achieve the same result, ie you're then able to distribute the estate.

Be kind to yourself.

BobQ

shazbig wrote: »

Thank you for advice and the links. I think I must of said the wrong thing in my post, as there is a will, we have applied for probate, have sworn on oath and are now awaiting the final paperwork, I though it was called grant of administration, perhaps its called grant of probate? I hope this doesn't change the advise you have given?
I am having a pretty bad week emotionally, so will look the links when I feeling a bit stronger.
Grief is a strange thing, I have been doing so well, but it is my birthday at the weekend, and the thought of celebrating without Dad has hit me. I have held it together at work, but at home I have been very tearful.

It is not something you need to do urgently so take your time and wait till you are ready. As you say these events affect people differently.

When you have the Grant you can transfer ihouse ownership to yourself with or without registering the property.
(Edit - I am assuming you are transferring cash and not taking out a mortgage. If you are you may need to register for that reason)

If you decide not to register, you will need to draw up some kind of legal document to be kept with the deeds to confirm the transfer of ownership and the associated payment and you will need to keep a copy of the death certificate, Will and Grant with the deeds.

That said it is best to register the property as it simplifies the need to keep documentation (and the deeds become only of historical significance). Also it means that if there are any issues associated with registration you can deal with them in slow time (and not when you trying to sell the property at some point in the future).

I speak from experience of having to spend about £1000 resolve a conflict between my unregistered deeds and my neighbour's registered deeds!

You can DIY but you might find it easier to use a solicitor as you are transferring money.

Land_Registry

BobQ is right to advise taking your time although in my experience it is also always best to sort such things out along with everything else that need to be done at such a sad time.

I would add though that the change of ownership means that it does need to be registered, irrespective of whether there is a mortgage involved here. This should have been made clearer in our earlier post - apologies.

Weary_soul

Land_Registry_representative wrote: »

BobQ is right to advise taking your time although in my experience it is also always best to sort such things out along with everything else that need to be done at such a sad time.

I would add though that the change of ownership means that it does need to be registered, irrespective of whether there is a mortgage involved here. This should have been made clearer in our earlier post - apologies.

Thats interesting. It says this on the goverment site website.....

You should also register your ownership at the Land Registry - although legally you don’t have to do this unless the property’s sold or mortgaged.

https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/if-you-inherit-property

Is the above info wrong then or just inappropriate in this instance?

Crabapple

That's an interesting link weary soul. It used to be the case that there was no need to register a property if you were inheriting it (rather than buying), but the rules changed a few years ago and it is now compulsory registration on transfer of ownership no matter how that occurs. There may be some rare exceptions to this. The Land Registry site definitely says it should be done.

I can only think that if a joint owner is inheriting then they wouldn't automatically need to register, just put a copy of the death certificate with the deeds for later.

Weary_soul

Well going by that link there's no need to register now unless you intend to mortgage the property or sell it, unless that only applies to people inheriting?

Would it be breaking any kind of law If a person didn't? I've looked online and can't anymore info. Seems to make out it's a voluntary thing and should be done to help prevent property fraud.

The whole thing confuses me.

Land_Registry

Thank you for the link Weary soul and it is something we will have to try and update with Gov.UK as it is incorrect.
As Crabapple states a change of ownership on inheritance will trigger the need for registration. For example Executor transferring/assenting to the beneficiary.
The only time you would not register is if it was an unregistered property in joint ownership and the person inheriting is the sole surviving owner.

We are working with Gov.uk at present as some of our own website details are moving across to them as part of the Government's digital strategy. Hopefully we can have the guidance updated accordingly as in some cases the Gov.uk site will be the first port of call.