Restriction on Deeds to house - No disposition by a sole proprietor......

Corinnejanes

Hi.  Hoping somebody might be able to advise me on a House Deeds question. 

·       My mum and I bought a house together in 1995. My mum passed away in 2020 and the deeds were updated to be registered in my name.

·       There is a restriction which has not been removed: ‘No disposition by a sole proprietor of the registered estate (except a trust corporation) under which capital money arises is to be registered except under an order of the Court’.

·       My mum was married when she passed away.  My stepfather did not contribute to the house and will be moving abroad to be near family.  He does not want any part of the house or monies made from it.  He has always known that my mum and I bought the house as an investment for us both should anything happen to one or other, and the house is now mine.

·       My mum died without a will.  We both assumed that if one of us passed, the house would be owned by the surviving other.  I do not remember discussing any clause/restriction at the time of buying.

·       The house is mortgage free.

·       My question is; how do I remove the restriction if I wish to sell/rent the house.  Can I sell with the restriction?  Does the restriction mean that my stepfather has a benefit on the house?

·       My stepfather and I have an excellent relationship and we are both keen to ensure that the house is mine and he does not need to do anything prior to moving abroad.

Any help gratefully received as I have no idea what steps I need to take.

Thank you so much.

RedFraggle

That clause means you own the property as tenants in common rather than joint tenants. In that scenario it doesn't automatically default in the event of a death (sorry for your loss) to sole ownership by the other owner and if that was intended it should have been defined in a will. 
Have you consulted a solicitor? I'd have expected the conveyancing solicitors at purchase to have highlighted that. 

FatherTireseus

If your mum died without a will but was married at the time of her death, then on the face of it, your stepfather inherits the first £270k of the estate. They also get an absolute interest in half the remainder,  the rest being split between your mum's children. 

You don't say what you think the house is worth (and indeed the rest of your mum's estate), or whether you have siblings.  But on the face of it, it's likely your stepfather actually owns half the house or a significant minority of it, if the value is well over £540k.  If you have brothers or sisters then they should share equally in the remaining half of the estate over £270k too.

I think this might be one of those cases where specialist legal advice would be advisable.  Things could get quite messy if your stepfather was to pass away unexpectedly - has he made a will?  If not then any children he might have could potentially inherit his estate under the laws of intestacy, including his share of your house.  

Flugelhorn

Not sure that this is clear - you say "you bought the house together" - was your name on the deeds at any stage? Was there a written agreement - just wondering if this is what the restriction is still showing for some reason?

Keep_pedalling

It always amazes me why so many people make assumptions where so much money is at stake. The correct way to deal with such a purchase would have been to buy as TIC and both of you make a will to deal with the property on the first death. Holding as joint tenants would have worked for you but would have caused a major problem if you had died first.

When exactly did your mother die? If it is within 2 years it is still possible that your step father could do a deed of variation which would give you his share of the estate that he is entitled too under intestacy rules. If over 2 years he could simply gift you the share he has inherited but that could leave his estate some IHT issues if he ended up staying or returning to the UK.

Did anyone apply for letters of administration?

You really need to take professional advice as a matter of urgency.

ChasingtheWelshdream

We have a similar situation whereby a relative simply assumed they automatically inherited the ‘other half’ of the house. As tenants in common, they didn’t. The issue is there was no will to be found  and intestacy rules should have applied. It appears although the relative legally owns the house, they may not have inherited 100% of the beneficial interest.

@LandRegistry were very helpful with my questions. 

My understanding is this: The restriction can not be simply removed, but a co-trustee can be appointed to sell the house. That trustee needs to be sure the proceeds are distributed correctly. 

In our case we are having to seek legal advice now we have the original Deed of Trust (obtained from Land Registry archives) as to how to proceed when the time comes to sell the property.