Lost deeds

eskimalita7

Hello
i live in a block of 4 flats, all with equal share of freehold. Each flat has its own deeds. (All 3 other flats have a copy of their deeds at the land registry).
When I purchased in 2009 the deeds couldn’t be found. We have a letter from the land registry confirming this. There was discussion with my solicitor about taking out indemnity insurance, but this didn’t happen. Unfortunately I simply can’t remember what we did. I have a feeling the paper deeds were found subsequent to the land registry letter and before exchange. If they were found, they have since been lost again (before we discovered my husband had ADHD he would regularly bin anything that got on his nerves so lots of my paperwork was lost in that way. Admin means nothing to him so it was all down to me to try to manage everything).
Had the deeds been found at the time, should my solicitor at the time have scanned a copy and sent them to the land registry? The firm she worked for has since been wound up (due to the owner being struck off). Do the law society keep records?
does anyone have any ideas of what I can do?

Mickey666

By 2009 it was a legal requirement to register all changes of property ownership with Land Registry.  LR is the legal record of property ownership and once a property is registered the original paper deeds are no longer required to prove your title to the property.

I'd be very surprised if your solicitor allowed completion of your purchase unless the sellers title was proved and transferred to you.

In short, if your property is registered at Land Registry then the loss of paper deeds is not a problem.

You can search for your property on the Land Registry website and for £3 you can download a copy of your title.

eskimalita7

Sorry. It’s a copy of the 1958 lease that’s missing. Not the deeds. Sorry. Here’s the correspondence from the land registry.

teachfast

eskimalita7 said:

 If they were found, they have since been lost again (before we discovered my husband had ADHD he would regularly bin anything that got on his nerves so lots of my paperwork was lost in that way. Admin means nothing to him so it was all down to me to try to manage everything).

Just to say these are not really symptoms of ADHD.  Impulsiveness might make it happen once but it is unlikely to result in paperwork meaning nothing to someone, or with all paperwork being binned regularly.

eskimalita7

Thanks Teachfast. Are you an ADHD specialist? My husband has poor executive functioning and has developed poor habits as a result of years of not being diagnosed. Dr Barkley has an excellent YouTube video explaining how some ADHDers don’t have the executive functioning to learn from mistakes so they just keep doing the same thing over and over (eg getting into debt).
My life is stressful as I have to do a lot of the things my husband can’t do, hence why I have a lot on my plate and can’t remember much about 2009!!

eskimalita7

Anyway, back to the original query. Can anyone help with how I go about finding the missing lease from 1958? Thanks!

AdrianC

eskimalita7 said:

Anyway, back to the original query. Can anyone help with how I go about finding the missing lease from 1958? Thanks!

You can't. If it's been lost, it's been lost.

TBagpuss

If the deeds are lost, then they are lost. Other the LR records there's no central record. 

However, you can download copies of the documents for the other three flats - your lease is probably the same as theirs.
also download your own, if you haven't already - I would expect the actual office copies to include a record of any relevant restrictions etc.

you can also contact the SRA https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/solicitor-closed-down/intervened-firms/ to see which firm took over the papers of the firm who did your conveyancing. They will be able to tell you whether your old file was retained, and if it was, you will be able to request the file or a copy of it (there may be a charge for this) to see whether the lease was found and if so, whether it, or a copy, was retained. However, most solicitors firms only keep files for a limited period of time due to GDPR and the costs of storage, so they may not have it any longer.

Deed are typically keep for longer but since they are not normally needed once a property is registered, I would expect the originals to have been returned to you rather than held by the solicitor.  

What are you trying to find out? If you are planning to sell then the fact that the property is now registered ought to mean you are fine 

Mickey666

TBagpuss said:

If the deeds are lost, then they are lost. Other the LR records there's no central record. 

However, you can download copies of the documents for the other three flats - your lease is probably the same as theirs.
also download your own, if you haven't already - I would expect the actual office copies to include a record of any relevant restrictions etc.

Plus, if you can get a copy of the lease for the other three flats they should contain the contact details of the freeholder.  You could then contact them directly and request a copy of the lease for your specific flat.
I'd be surprised if the freeholder hasn't got a copy of your lease.

eskimalita7

Mickey666 said:

TBagpuss said:

If the deeds are lost, then they are lost. Other the LR records there's no central record. 

However, you can download copies of the documents for the other three flats - your lease is probably the same as theirs.
also download your own, if you haven't already - I would expect the actual office copies to include a record of any relevant restrictions etc.

Plus, if you can get a copy of the lease for the other three flats they should contain the contact details of the freeholder.  You could then contact them directly and request a copy of the lease for your specific flat.
I'd be surprised if the freeholder hasn't got a copy of your lease.

The freeholder is the 4 flats themselves. We have no managing agent. We each own 25% of the freehold.

Tiglet2

eskimalita7 said:

Mickey666 said:

TBagpuss said:

If the deeds are lost, then they are lost. Other the LR records there's no central record. 

However, you can download copies of the documents for the other three flats - your lease is probably the same as theirs.
also download your own, if you haven't already - I would expect the actual office copies to include a record of any relevant restrictions etc.

Plus, if you can get a copy of the lease for the other three flats they should contain the contact details of the freeholder.  You could then contact them directly and request a copy of the lease for your specific flat.
I'd be surprised if the freeholder hasn't got a copy of your lease.

The freeholder is the 4 flats themselves. We have no managing agent. We each own 25% of the freehold.

Does one of the freeholder's take the lead in arranging maintenance and the sinking fund?  If so, maybe they have a copy of your lease?  If not, the solicitor who acted for you when you purchased the property must have found a solution otherwise you would not have completed.  As advised above, contact the SRA to find out who has taken over the solicitor files and then ask them if they have it - they may make a charge for searching through their archives.

Are you absolutely certain that Land Registry don't have a certified copy (a copy, not the original) on file?  You would have to apply via an OC2 form and a copy would be sent by post a few days later.  Costs £7.