Voluntary Land Registrations

auditgal

I am trying to do a voluntary first registration at the Land Registry. I have read the guidance and watched the help webinar. What I am unsure about is what figure I should use when providing a value for the land. Should it be the value of the land and the property, i.e  the whole estate,  or should it just be the value of the land as these are two different entities. The webinar video talks about value of the LAND, and the Land Registry forms do not make it clear EXACTLY  what should be recorded.

I also wondered what happens if your application is rejected because of a lack of information or clarity of the application. Is the fee paid refunded or do you have to pay again when you reapply with another application having supplied further information?

Any advice would be welcome.

propertyrental

Assuming this is freehold (no tleasehold) the land includes everything on it ie what it would sell for.

You could not sell the land without also selling the property on it, unless, as I say, the property was on a separate leasehold title.

I believe in the first instance, if there were information missing, the LR would request whatever additional info they needed. If it were not available, they might register it subject to a possessory or qualified title.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/upgrading-the-class-of-title/practice-guide-42-upgrading-the-class-of-title

p00hsticks

There is a very helpful representative from the Land Registry on this forum 
This should attract their attention to this thread @Land_Registry

Land_Registry

auditgal said:

I am trying to do a voluntary first registration at the Land Registry. I have read the guidance and watched the help webinar. What I am unsure about is what figure I should use when providing a value for the land. Should it be the value of the land and the property, i.e  the whole estate,  or should it just be the value of the land as these are two different entities. The webinar video talks about value of the LAND, and the Land Registry forms do not make it clear EXACTLY  what should be recorded.

I also wondered what happens if your application is rejected because of a lack of information or clarity of the application. Is the fee paid refunded or do you have to pay again when you reapply with another application having supplied further information?

Any advice would be welcome.

Land is land hence we register land. If there’s a building on it then it becomes property. So if you are applying to register land with a building on it there’s no separate entity and you’d provide the current market value of the property, so land plus building. 

If an application is rejected or cancelled the registration fee is refunded. 

auditgal

Thank you for the feedback. Is anyone also able to confirm whether proof of identity is required for voluntary first registration? I have the original deeds from the last conveyance in 1970 and the land is freehold.

Thank you 

Land_Registry

auditgal said:

Thank you for the feedback. Is anyone also able to confirm whether proof of identity is required for voluntary first registration? I have the original deeds from the last conveyance in 1970 and the land is freehold.

Thank you 

If voluntary and with deeds then No re identity verification being needed when submitting the application 

auditgal

Thank you for your help. Another question for the Land Registry representative; could you give an estimate of how long a voluntary first registration application takes, providing that there are no issues or problems with the application.

Also, are the deeds from the last conveyance in 1970 sufficient proof of root of title, or do you need documents relating to all changes of ownership since the property was built on the land if these are available?

Land_Registry

auditgal said:

Thank you for your help. Another question for the Land Registry representative; could you give an estimate of how long a voluntary first registration application takes, providing that there are no issues or problems with the application.

Also, are the deeds from the last conveyance in 1970 sufficient proof of root of title, or do you need documents relating to all changes of ownership since the property was built on the land if these are available?

A long wait at present - roughly 14+ months 
See PG1 for guidance as to what we require. It goes through how to establish/prove a root of title 
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/first-registrations

auditgal

Oh dear, 14 months is an incredibly long time to wait. I can not wait that long so I won’t bother and the purchaser of the property will have to register the land.

Land_Registry

auditgal said:

Oh dear, 14 months is an incredibly long time to wait. I can not wait that long so I won’t bother and the purchaser of the property will have to register the land.

If you are selling and have a buyer then you can apply and request expedition. That reduces the wait time to a couple of weeks but everything then has to be in order of course. 

You may find your buyer is happy to buy unregistered and then register themselves. But if they’ve got a mortgage then they most likely can’t complete until it’s registered first 

ribble_valley_swimmer

Land_Registry said:

auditgal said:

Thank you for the feedback. Is anyone also able to confirm whether proof of identity is required for voluntary first registration? I have the original deeds from the last conveyance in 1970 and the land is freehold.

Thank you 

If voluntary and with deeds then No re identity verification being needed when submitting the application 

Thanks for clarification. 
Additional questions for Land Registry representative:

Re no ID verification for voluntary first registration, does this mean that on Form FR1, Boxes 14/15/16 are therefore all left totally blank?

Also, the land we are registering was acquired through 3 separate conveyances (2 adjoining cottages/gardens and an additional adjoining plot of land), but as a result of renovation are now 1 entity (eg only one main entrance, only 1 staircase). Is it fine to submit this as a single registration? We have conveyance documents to support root of title back to 1957, and an Abstract of Title dated 1957 that traces the title back to 1900 for all three parts. Does any additional explanation need to be submitted? And if so, how is appropriate to do this?

Thanks in advance.