Colour codes on title plan?

Troy_af

Hello all.

I have just been sent the title plan for the home I'm buying. The boundaries are edged in red as expected, but the area within the red edged boundaries (including the house itself) are shaded into 3 areas. These are pink at the front half of the property, yellow for the rear which slightly extends to the garden, and brown for the rest of the garden. The previous home I bought had just the red outline on the plan and no colour coding, so I was wondering what the reasoning for this is and is it something to be concerned about. The plan has not come with any notes explaining what the different colours mean, although I suppose I could get them on a later date.

Thanks for any help.

bbat

I have a leasehold flat and so my plan is colour coded. The title document (with text) explains the colour coding. Ask your solicitor for that? Or if this is before solicitor engaged download a copy from Land Registry for £3.


For me the colours showed where I had right of access (hallway to flat) and the colour colour was the upstairs balcony and steps which extend over the garden (so that part of garden is in my lease, but I don't own the balcony above it). 

UnderOffer

Is the pink area to a driveway? Is it indicating the Local Authority/Highways responsibility part of access before entering your property?

My friend had 3 colours at front of her home, from what I recall, 1 indicated LA owned land, 2nd was right of way/access rights, 3rd colour was her land that she was responsible for. 

Section62

Troy_af said:

I have just been sent the title plan for the home I'm buying. The boundaries are edged in red as expected, but the area within the red edged boundaries (including the house itself) are shaded into 3 areas. These are pink at the front half of the property, yellow for the rear which slightly extends to the garden, and brown for the rest of the garden. The previous home I bought had just the red outline on the plan and no colour coding, so I was wondering what the reasoning for this is and is it something to be concerned about. The plan has not come with any notes explaining what the different colours mean, although I suppose I could get them on a later date.

Somewhere in the (written) deeds there will be information about the meaning of the colours - for example that there is a covenant or right of way applying to part of the land.

The colours are specific to your title - the colours used on other people's land won't necessarily have the same meaning.

The time to be concerned is if there really is nothing within your title documents explaining what the colours are. At that point it will be a case of detective work (e.g. examining neighbouring titles) to try to reconstruct the meaning.  If you still can't get an answer, an indemnity policy may be needed.

user1977

Section62 said:

Troy_af said:

I have just been sent the title plan for the home I'm buying. The boundaries are edged in red as expected, but the area within the red edged boundaries (including the house itself) are shaded into 3 areas. These are pink at the front half of the property, yellow for the rear which slightly extends to the garden, and brown for the rest of the garden. The previous home I bought had just the red outline on the plan and no colour coding, so I was wondering what the reasoning for this is and is it something to be concerned about. The plan has not come with any notes explaining what the different colours mean, although I suppose I could get them on a later date.

The time to be concerned is if there really is nothing within your title documents explaining what the colours are. At that point it will be a case of detective work (e.g. examining neighbouring titles) to try to reconstruct the meaning.  If you still can't get an answer, an indemnity policy may be needed.

Is there an implication that unexplained markings on the title plan mean anything? I would regard them as superfluous - surely any rights, covenants etc need to be narrated elsewhere to have effect?

Section62

user1977 said:

Section62 said:

Troy_af said:

I have just been sent the title plan for the home I'm buying. The boundaries are edged in red as expected, but the area within the red edged boundaries (including the house itself) are shaded into 3 areas. These are pink at the front half of the property, yellow for the rear which slightly extends to the garden, and brown for the rest of the garden. The previous home I bought had just the red outline on the plan and no colour coding, so I was wondering what the reasoning for this is and is it something to be concerned about. The plan has not come with any notes explaining what the different colours mean, although I suppose I could get them on a later date.

The time to be concerned is if there really is nothing within your title documents explaining what the colours are. At that point it will be a case of detective work (e.g. examining neighbouring titles) to try to reconstruct the meaning.  If you still can't get an answer, an indemnity policy may be needed.

Is there an implication that unexplained markings on the title plan mean anything? I would regard them as superfluous - surely any rights, covenants etc need to be narrated elsewhere to have effect?

I agree, albeit someone carefully colouring a plan with three different colours is strongly indicative that there is something narrated elsewhere, and the deficiency is in the search for that information.

I think it quite possible in a situation of that kind that a lender and/or solicitor may insist on an indemnity policy - given these days they are asked for in all kinds of (quite minor) situations, and the cost of an indemnity policy may well be less than the cost of the research into what significance the colours might have.

Tiglet2

This is a rough idea, but you do need to read the title register in conjunction with the title plan as the register may explain what the colouring refers to.

Coloured Tints and Coloured Hatching as follows:

• Brown - Benefit of Easements such as rights of way or rights of drainage
• Pink - Covenants
• Light Blue - Different Covenants
• Light Blue - Burden of Easements
• Yellow - Right of Pre-emption
• Green - Green edging is used to denote land removed from the Title

Troy_af

Tiglet2 said:

This is a rough idea, but you do need to read the title register in conjunction with the title plan as the register may explain what the colouring refers to.

Coloured Tints and Coloured Hatching as follows:

• Brown - Benefit of Easements such as rights of way or rights of drainage
• Pink - Covenants
• Light Blue - Different Covenants
• Light Blue - Burden of Easements
• Yellow - Right of Pre-emption
• Green - Green edging is used to denote land removed from the Title

Thanks, I will look into obtaining the title register. Is this something my solicitor should be providing?

p00hsticks

Troy_af said:

Tiglet2 said:

This is a rough idea, but you do need to read the title register in conjunction with the title plan as the register may explain what the colouring refers to.

Coloured Tints and Coloured Hatching as follows:

• Brown - Benefit of Easements such as rights of way or rights of drainage
• Pink - Covenants
• Light Blue - Different Covenants
• Light Blue - Burden of Easements
• Yellow - Right of Pre-emption
• Green - Green edging is used to denote land removed from the Title

Thanks, I will look into obtaining the title register. Is this something my solicitor should be providing?

I'm not sure the solicitors usually feel the need to share the title, although they will have got a copy. (They share the plan so that the buyer/seller can confirm that it relates to the actual area being sold, as the solicitor will never actually see the property they are dealing with in person).

For speed, you can easily obtain a copy yourself from the Land Registry for £3

https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry