Land Registry title register question

alri08

My father in law is moving into a care home and his house will need to be sold to pay for his care. I looked up the property title on the Land Registry website and discovered that it has a restrictive covenant. Can anyone tell me what this means? Will it create any complications with the sale?

RESTRICTION: No disposition by a sole proprietor of the land (not being a trust corporation) under which capital money arises is to be registered except under an order of the registrar or of the Court.

Thanks

loubel

It means that FiL owns the house in trust and someone else might be entitled to some of the equity. Is there a MiL?

alri08

No MIL anymore, she died last year.

The  date of the restriction is a very long time ago, when FIL and MIL were joint owners.

Flugelhorn

they held the property as tenants in common - who did she leave her "half" to?

alri08

She left her half to him. It's all his now.

Flugelhorn

alri08 said:

She left her half to him. It's all his now.

OK - so the normal thing when people are TiC is that they leave there share of the property to someone else eg a child in the will and when they die a trust is formed, the spouse continues to live in the house and when it is sold for care home fees etc then the child gets 50% and the spouse 50% (or whatever has been agreed) - in this case it sounds like she left no will or left it to the husband which meant there was no benefit 

I suspect that the solicitor would be able to sort this out at the time of the sale. They may need to see  probate / LoA for MiL to show that the house is wholly his now. 

guess @Land_Registry would know the definitive answer 

alri08

Yes, it will certainly be for the solicitor to sort out. 

They bought the house in the 1960s, before their youngest child was even born. They wouldn't have been thinking about care home fees or anything like that. 

Land_Registry

I'm sure the solicitor will sort it out but for info the restriction (not a covenant) you refer to is known as a form A restriction. Joint owners often apply for it when they sever their joint tenancy or draw up their wills in the way others have posted. The term 'tenants in common' is often associated with the restriction as well although the register is not definitive re such matters as many believe. You can still be TIC without a form A restriction although most do apply as mentioned. See Joint property ownership: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Many joint owners do as your FIL and Mother did and if she left her beneficial share to your FIL then he/you can apply to update the register by applying to cancel the form A restriction using forms RX3/ST5. The ST5 is a statement of truth as to what has happened re their beneficial shares and how he became the sole beneficial owner. Those forms plus form DJP and a certified copy of her death certificate can all be submitted to update the register to put it in his sole name and cancel the restriction.
If he is selling then there are alternatives such as appointing someone to act with him in the Transfer (sale/purchase deed) and then together they transfer to the buyer. The buyer will also need a certified copy of the death certificate.
Perhaps more than you asked for but hopefully that covers the OIP and a little bit more for you safe in the knowledge that the solicitor will deal with it as part of the sale or do the RX3/ST5/DJP first and then sell but if speed is of the essence then the other option exists