Land Registry Query & Rent Charge

NeilR1

Hi all - really interesting thread above.  I am facing a similar situation now.  We were due to exchange on a new house purchase two weeks ago but at the last minute our solicitor confirmed Barclays would not lend on the property due to a historic tithe rent charge (£1 8s 3d a year).  This is dated1933 in the title with no reference to the owner of the rent charge or what it specifically refers to but it does state ‘tithe rent’. 
We contacted the MHCLG and was informed that as this is a tithe rent the Rent Charges Act 1977 does not apply and they cannot support revoking/redeeming it.  They suggested I call Land Registry which I did today and they informed we can apply to have it extinguished via ‘Practice Guide 56’ but the whole process will take 4 months.  Our mortgage offer expires in early Feb - does anyone have any suggestions on how to accelerate things?  And do we know this process will work with a rent charge we have no idea who owns?   Barclays are refusing to budge despite many other lenders apparently now differentiating between current and live rent charges.  This is our final hope but I am worried it will take too long.  

All advice and help very welcome from an absolute novice....

SDLT_Geek

NeilR1 said:

Hi all - really interesting thread above.  I am facing a similar situation now.  We were due to exchange on a new house purchase two weeks ago but at the last minute our solicitor confirmed Barclays would not lend on the property due to a historic tithe rent charge (£1 8s 3d a year).  This is dated1933 in the title with no reference to the owner of the rent charge or what it specifically refers to but it does state ‘tithe rent’. 
We contacted the MHCLG and was informed that as this is a tithe rent the Rent Charges Act 1977 does not apply and they cannot support revoking/redeeming it.  They suggested I call Land Registry which I did today and they informed we can apply to have it extinguished via ‘Practice Guide 56’ but the whole process will take 4 months.  Our mortgage offer expires in early Feb - does anyone have any suggestions on how to accelerate things?  And do we know this process will work with a rent charge we have no idea who owns?   Barclays are refusing to budge despite many other lenders apparently now differentiating between current and live rent charges.  This is our final hope but I am worried it will take too long.  

All advice and help very welcome from an absolute novice....

Take a look at The Tithe Act 1936 https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/legislation/other-archival-legislation/tithe-records/

Baklavalover

I'd like to point out some new legislation regarding land rent charges that was passed in 2024, that means repossession for non-payment is no longer the nightmarish nasty threat it used to be. If you google 'land rent charges' and 'Leasehold Reform Act 2024', then carefully find results that are dated as written in 2025 by legal/conveyancing firms, you will then have to work out if it applies to your own situation.

We are in the process of selling our house and a few days ago the buyers' solicitor suddenly demanded that we pay for an indemnity policy, costing nearly £200, to cover the land rent charges that were noted on our title deeds. We decided to refuse, then my husband thought he remembered paying off the charges many years ago, but couldn't find the paperwork. Then he realsed there is a clause in the Title Register (that he had paid for and downloaded from the Land Registry a few weeks ago), directly below the one detailing the charges, that says they have been extinguished.

I feel quite cross that the buyers' solicitor can just routinely demand we pay for an indemnity policy that is actually unnecessary. I googled the issue quite a lot (and found this thread), and it seems to me that similar demands are probably still being made in many house purchase/sale transactions, regardless of the 2024 legislation. I'm sure that many people who are time-poor would readily agree to pay in order to try not to hold up the purchase process. But it seems very wrong that many people could be being told to pay for something that is completely unnecessary. On the scale of finances involved in house purchase, it is a small amount, but surely everyone could do with saving money when possible? I have no legal qualifications and obviouslyI am not advising against all indemnity policies; I am only saying, even if your solictior tells you to pay for something, make sure you understand whether/why it is necessary before you agree to it. It's amazing what you can find by googling – but check your sources of information carefully and read legitimate up-to-date blogs on websites of trusted legal firms.

Yorkie1

Baklavalover said:

I'd like to point out some new legislation regarding land rent charges that was passed in 2024, that means repossession for non-payment is no longer the nightmarish nasty threat it used to be. If you google 'land rent charges' and 'Leasehold Reform Act 2024', then carefully find results that are dated as written in 2025 by legal/conveyancing firms, you will then have to work out if it applies to your own situation.

We are in the process of selling our house and a few days ago the buyers' solicitor suddenly demanded that we pay for an indemnity policy, costing nearly £200, to cover the land rent charges that were noted on our title deeds. We decided to refuse, then my husband thought he remembered paying off the charges many years ago, but couldn't find the paperwork. Then he realsed there is a clause in the Title Register (that he had paid for and downloaded from the Land Registry a few weeks ago), directly below the one detailing the charges, that says they have been extinguished.

I feel quite cross that the buyers' solicitor can just routinely demand we pay for an indemnity policy that is actually unnecessary. I googled the issue quite a lot (and found this thread), and it seems to me that similar demands are probably still being made in many house purchase/sale transactions, regardless of the 2024 legislation. I'm sure that many people who are time-poor would readily agree to pay in order to try not to hold up the purchase process. But it seems very wrong that many people could be being told to pay for something that is completely unnecessary. On the scale of finances involved in house purchase, it is a small amount, but surely everyone could do with saving money when possible? I have no legal qualifications and obviouslyI am not advising against all indemnity policies; I am only saying, even if your solictior tells you to pay for something, make sure you understand whether/why it is necessary before you agree to it. It's amazing what you can find by googling – but check your sources of information carefully and read legitimate up-to-date blogs on websites of trusted legal firms.

Are you sure that the relevant provisions are actually in force yet?

If you are referring to Part 7 of the Act, it does not yet appear to be in force?