NatWest lost friend's Dad's deeds, Can he request a DSAR?

buel10

Hi, as above, this is causing issues with selling. My friend would is Executor but can he request a DSAR on behalf of his Dad (who has passed away) to see any internal memos, emails, etc on the subject of them losing the deeds?

user1977

I expect so, on the basis that the estate is the data subject. But I'm not sure what the point would be - if they've lost them then they've lost them, surely? 

Keep_pedalling

Paper deeds are now obsolete if the property is registered with the land registry you can access them from here.

https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-property-and-land/copies-of-deeds

silvercar

Way back in the 1980s, when deeds were stored in paper form, a major building society had a fire in the deeds storage warehouse. They paid the cost of reconstructing the deeds and registering them.

Even if the deeds are obsolete they sometimes contain paperwork that is not registered. I have paperwork for an extension approval that gives permission for the flat roof downstairs extension to be used as a balcony, dating back to 1953. This could prove useful in the future.

buel10

Thank you.
To clarify: My friend found a letter dating back to 2006 where they were charging his dad £23 for items in safekeeping. They are claiming that he signed something to release said deeds but can't / won't provide the evidence.
The difference between deeds and no deeds is the ability to sell 24 acres that they have always 'owned' but the deeds would prove it.

Interestingly, I chatted with a representative from the ICO who said that an organisation doesn't have to provide data on a deceased person but can. They added that 'It may be worth seeking further legal advice, as they may be able to request certain information through the courts'.

k1irk1978

silvercar said:

Way back in the 1980s, when deeds were stored in paper form, a major building society had a fire in the deeds storage warehouse. They paid the cost of reconstructing the deeds and registering them.

Even if the deeds are obsolete they sometimes contain paperwork that is not registered. I have paperwork for an extension approval that gives permission for the flat roof downstairs extension to be used as a balcony, dating back to 1953. This could prove useful in the future.

This was Bradford & Bingley in the 90’s, I had a summer job working with the solicitors that reconstituted these deeds. The ironic thing was many of those whose deeds were destroyed had paid of their mortgages and were paying the building society an annual fee to store revenue deeds safely. It was actually really interesting piecing all the information together, many an hour spent at the microfiche machine 

MWT

k1irk1978 said:

This was Bradford & Bingley in the 90’s, ...

Ours survived, but the package we eventually got back contained so much stuff that would fail GDPR these days

We had the previous owners pension forecasts, and other paperwork from their original purchase included...