Land Registry questions

Paddyone

Hi LR, 

I have a leasehold property and in 2002 I purchased the Freehold by using TR1. Should I combine the leasehold and freehold and what are the positives and negatives of doing this? Is there a fee and do I need a solicitor to combine them? Thank you

Millie789

Hi,
We are in the process of buying a house and have been told by our solicitors that we can't buy the house until the current sellers change the boundary on the title plan to reflect the flying freehold ( part of the house is over a shared passageway) that is over unregistered land. He says that without the change we are basically buying half a house. This is all fine however we haven't been given any sort of timescale for how long something like this will take, it has already been two weeks with no word. We have simply been told that as HMLR has no incentive to change this we could be in for a wait!  How long this kind of thing can take? 

YoungGentry

Hi Land Registry,

When will the remaining April to June housing sold data be added to the public facing portal.  It seems you only monthly releases, do you expect to have the remaining april to june data on by the end of this month? 

Thanks

samarnesen

Hi, my husband owns a house with an outstanding mortgage of £107000 is there any way I can be put on the deeds without getting a remortgage? We don’t live in the property his ex wife does but we’re concerned if anything happens to him I won’t get my share of the house. He is the sole owner his ex wife is on the deeds as a beneficiary not sure if that’s something I could do?
thanks

Land_Registry

Paddyone said:

Hi LR, 

I have a leasehold property and in 2002 I purchased the Freehold by using TR1. Should I combine the leasehold and freehold and what are the positives and negatives of doing this? Is there a fee and do I need a solicitor to combine them? Thank you

You’ll need wider legal advice on the positives/negatives. We register the outcome rather than how you made your decision. 

All I can really say is that it’s not routine to determine the lease and merge it into the freehold. There are factors to consider including future plans e.g. you may decide to sell the lease and keep the freehold? 

And the lease may include rights etc over other land/property that the freehold does not. Merge the lease would mean those rights are lost. Not always the case but an example of a negative 
If you simply apply to merge then £40 fee. You don’t need to use a solicitor - see our Practice Guide 

Land_Registry

Millie789 said:

Hi,
We are in the process of buying a house and have been told by our solicitors that we can't buy the house until the current sellers change the boundary on the title plan to reflect the flying freehold ( part of the house is over a shared passageway) that is over unregistered land. He says that without the change we are basically buying half a house. This is all fine however we haven't been given any sort of timescale for how long something like this will take, it has already been two weeks with no word. We have simply been told that as HMLR has no incentive to change this we could be in for a wait!  How long this kind of thing can take? 

Unsure what ‘incentive’ has to do with things here as w3 are a registration authority so need to get it done and ideally ASAP. 

I suspect they mean that there can be delays currently and that is very true especially with regards complex applications such as this. 

Those delays mean it’s likely to wait several months before being processed. So it’s crucial that they reduce that wait by requesting expedition as they’ve got a confirmed buyer

It will still take several weeks to process as there will be a site visit and I suspect contact made with neighbouring land/property owners. But far better to expedite ASAP

Land_Registry

YoungGentry said:

Hi Land Registry,

When will the remaining April to June housing sold data be added to the public facing portal.  It seems you only monthly releases, do you expect to have the remaining april to june data on by the end of this month? 

Thanks

Hopefully but the gathering and publishing of data in recent months has been impacted upon so it may not be released as consistently as you are used to 

Land_Registry

samarnesen said:

Hi, my husband owns a house with an outstanding mortgage of £107000 is there any way I can be put on the deeds without getting a remortgage? We don’t live in the property his ex wife does but we’re concerned if anything happens to him I won’t get my share of the house. He is the sole owner his ex wife is on the deeds as a beneficiary not sure if that’s something I could do?
thanks

Whilst a title can be transferred whilst subject to a mortgage you’ll need the lender’s consent. They’ll also insist you use a conveyancer if they do consent. 

I’d suggest you get wider legal advice as to how best to protect your beneficial interest as being a joint legal owner might not be the best option and the lender may not consent of course 

Silkers

Hello, this is my first time on the forum, I could really do with some advice please! I am a leaseholder of a flat I bought in 2003, which was sold to me with a small courtyard attached, my conveyancing solicitor did not question this. The area appears outlined in the original lease from 1987. I have new neighbours moved in next door who are claiming that half of this land belongs to them, and looking at land registry plans the line does look like it goes through the middle of the courtyard. However I can prove sole use of this space which is fenced off, and have confirmation from previous owners back to 1997 that they too had sole ownership of the area. My neighbours have said they will oppose any application to land registry to have the area changed... but where do I stand with this? Who is right? They are about to have building work done to their wall (which runs along one side of the courtyard) so the perimeter fences will be taken down and I don't know how I will be able to get them back up again - they will see this as an opportunity to claim the land. It's only a really small area and not worth going to court over financially, but I would like to keep it and it adds value to the flat. I have engaged a solicitor, but it's obviously expensive at a time when I'm not working due to C19 and I'd really appreciate any advice on what I can do myself to protect this bit of land. The freeholder has written to my solicitor but is being a bit cagey and doesn't really want to get involved. Help! Thank you!

Land_Registry

Silkers said:

Hello, this is my first time on the forum, I could really do with some advice please! I am a leaseholder of a flat I bought in 2003, which was sold to me with a small courtyard attached, my conveyancing solicitor did not question this. The area appears outlined in the original lease from 1987. I have new neighbours moved in next door who are claiming that half of this land belongs to them, and looking at land registry plans the line does look like it goes through the middle of the courtyard. However I can prove sole use of this space which is fenced off, and have confirmation from previous owners back to 1997 that they too had sole ownership of the area. My neighbours have said they will oppose any application to land registry to have the area changed... but where do I stand with this? Who is right? They are about to have building work done to their wall (which runs along one side of the courtyard) so the perimeter fences will be taken down and I don't know how I will be able to get them back up again - they will see this as an opportunity to claim the land. It's only a really small area and not worth going to court over financially, but I would like to keep it and it adds value to the flat. I have engaged a solicitor, but it's obviously expensive at a time when I'm not working due to C19 and I'd really appreciate any advice on what I can do myself to protect this bit of land. The freeholder has written to my solicitor but is being a bit cagey and doesn't really want to get involved. Help! Thank you!

It’s your legal advice you need to rely on here as to what you/your neighbour own and if you don’t own it what legal rights you have re any claim.
You have the facts as you see them so a conveyancer familiar with legal and claimed ownership should be able to assess and offer advice. The time and cost increases should you pursue anything so weigh up your options and then decide. 

We can all offer ideas and comments on a forum but the devil will be in the very specific details involved so well worth a timed meeting at a specific cost to decide on options which then enable you to decide where best to focus your time, money and legal resources