Missing title deeds

Moe_The_Bartender

I am in the process of buying a house and have been advised by my solicitor that the title deeds are missing. It is believed that there are restrictive covenants but have been unable to ascertain their nature. Our solicitor has asked the vendors to arrange a Lost Title Deeds indemnity which is OK up to a point but can’t insure against the hassle. We want to extend the property but would worry about being obliged to demolish it.

We’re undecided whether or not to proceed and would appreciate forum members' opinions.

user1977

I've never heard of anyone, anywhere, ever, having to demolish an extension because of covenants they didn't know about.

Even if someone did have the benefit of such a covenant, why would they decide to take exception to your extension and go through all the hassle and cost of making you demolish it?

GoogleMeNow

If you are talking about some historical deeds that are missing, because the vendor doesn't have them nor the Land Registry, then the likelihood of someone turning up objecting to an unknown covenant is remote, particularly the older the missing documents is, but the indemnity policy will cover you financially if that were to happen.   

If the solicitor and lender are ok with the policy, then I don't think you need to worry.

Moe_The_Bartender

Additional context. The house is built on the footprint of a barn and was built in 2002. The present owners are the original occupants.