Land Reg plans missing small extension - what do we do?

MrsMooMoo

The land reg plan showing the house we are buying is missing a small corner off the back of the house where at some point in the past 25 yrs there has been a small 2mx1m extension added for a utility room. The plans are only showing the original house and not this addition.

I've checked the local council planning dept website and cannot find planning permission for it (gone back 50 yrs). Am I right in thinking it wouldn't have needed planning permission anyway as it's only a small addition and just filled a gap in an L-shaped single storey extension (which must have been built a long time ago as all the houses on the street have the same single storey extension just without the utility room).

I know local council are not likely to knock it down after so long and our surveyor said it wasn't properly built (e.g. only single glazed etc) but we lived with a similar utility 'room' for 10 years with no problem so we aren't bothered. At some point in future we'll extend and then it won't be a problem anyway.

As we have to sign the land reg forms for the solicitor confirming the house is as stated on the plans, what do we do? Do we sign knowing it's not accurate? or do we tell solicitor it's wrong?

Thanks, and sorry, newbie here and no idea what's normal with these things.

davidmcn

What do you mean by "missing"? If you own the land on which the extension lies then there isn't a title problem. The Ordnance Survey plan isn't kept bang up to date with new buildings, and minor extensions etc might never be marked on it.

MrsMooMoo

davidmcn wrote: »

What do you mean by "missing"? If you own the land on which the extension lies then there isn't a title problem. The Ordnance Survey plan isn't kept bang up to date with new buildings, and minor extensions etc might never be marked on it.

I mean the outline of the house on the plot of land on the registry deeds only shows the original house and not the corner added by the utility room extension. So if we're meant to sign to confirm the plans are the same as the house we're buying, then it's wrong, as there's a small corner of the house missing on the plan.

Davesnave

MrsMooMoo wrote: »

I mean the outline of the house on the plot of land on the registry deeds only shows the original house and not the corner added by the utility room extension. So if we're meant to sign to confirm the plans are the same as the house we're buying, then it's wrong, as there's a small corner of the house missing on the plan.

Lots of title plans are like that. Mine's like it, as my house has had a number of additions.

So long as everything you are buying is inside the boundary, as marked on the plan, it's fine.

G_M

LR Title plans are only indicative, both of the buildings and the boundaries.

They certainly don't get updated every time an extension is built.

The boundary, although somewhat inaccurate due to the scale, is far more important than the building. You will own everything within the bundary whether it is marked or not.

MrsMooMoo

Okay, thanks. When would the land deeds get updated then?

davidmcn

MrsMooMoo wrote: »

Okay, thanks. When would the land deeds get updated then?

If you mean the Ordnance Survey base map, their web page here explains their policy.

This comes under Category C, so no promises to update it unless something more significant happens to the land. But as above, it really doesn't matter from a legal point of view.

Davesnave

MrsMooMoo wrote: »

Okay, thanks. When would the land deeds get updated then?

They don't need to change. Extensions and alterations all get their own paperwork, if it's necessary.

It's more likely a change on the ground would be recorded separately if that were required, and especially if another party were to be involved.

For example, my title plan included a right of way for a neighbour, but over the years that had been moved about 15 metres from the route shown on the plan. The title plan was left as it was, but a new map showing the RoW was attached and the title document had a paragraph added to reflect the change.

Land_Registry

MrsMooMoo wrote: »

I mean the outline of the house on the plot of land on the registry deeds only shows the original house and not the corner added by the utility room extension. So if we're meant to sign to confirm the plans are the same as the house we're buying, then it's wrong, as there's a small corner of the house missing on the plan.

Others have covered this in their posts and it is rare that OS update their detail and the title plan is then also remapped on that new detail.

The title plan we prepare is to show the general boundaries/extent only and not so much what is within that extent. So any question posed by the buyer or your solicitor would most likely relate to the boundaries and not the size and shape of the house in my experience.

The only time we are likely to re-map a single residential title plan on more recent OS detail is when part of the title is removed/sold off for example.

MrsMooMoo

Land_Registry_representative wrote: »

The only time we are likely to re-map a single residential title plan on more recent OS detail is when part of the title is removed/sold off for example.

Thank you very much for explaining, now I know it's fine to sign the plan so long as the boundaries are accurate.

Thanks to everyone who has commented and given advice. Newbie here so grateful for all your input and reassurance.