Buying an unregistered property in Scotland - are there any risks?

breadandbutter5

We just found out that the property we're buying is not registered on the Land Registry. The current owner has had it since 2001 and we're due to move in 5 weeks. I asked the solicitors to send me the title deeds to check that the boundaries etc are as expected and instead we were sent a document that states the property is not registered (and nothing around boundaries or anything to do with the property really). We're trying to get our heads around what this means for us and what we should do. Ideally we would like the current owner to register the property and pay for any associated costs as we're not willing to take up unnecessary risks. My understanding is that it's been a legal requirement to register since the 80s, yet somehow this property was last sold in 2001 and wasn't registered. The property has a garden which we're concerned about, as we've not seen any proof as to the boundaries of the garden. I've seen a lot of posts with answers that suggest it's not a good idea to take on the risks and we should push for the seller to register it before the sale but I think most of them refer to England and I'm not sure if Scotland is different when it comes to this?

We're still to discuss this with our solicitors but wanted to be armed with as much information as possible when we go into that, as I have a feeling they'll push for us to go ahead as it is.

user1977

You're worrying over nothing. There is no additional risk worth speaking about. 

sheramber

A  house near me was bought when not registered.
 18 months later it was still waiting in a queue to be registered. 

I moved away then so don’t know if or when it was finally done. 

brianposter

So how do you know where your boundaries will be ?

user1977

brianposter said:

So how do you know where your boundaries will be ?

They're referred to in the deeds. There'll (probably) be one with a plan. Sometimes that needs replaced with a new one for the purposes of first registration in the Land Register.

Also note that "unregistered" is a confusing term here, as it just means "registered on the old register" - the deeds will be on the Register of Sasines. 

user1977

breadandbutter5 said:

 My understanding is that it's been a legal requirement to register since the 80s, yet somehow this property was last sold in 2001 and wasn't registered.

On this point:

* whereabouts is the property? The Land Register went operational on a county-by-county basis with the final ones only starting in 2003 (https://www.ros.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/96823/new-land-register-counties-v4.pdf).

* for the most part, only arms-length sales trigger registration. So eg an inheritance or gift wouldn’t have required first registration of the property.

breadandbutter5

brianposter said:

So how do you know where your boundaries will be ?

I don’t! I mean, I know what the owner said the boundaries are, but do far I have no proof that’s correct.

breadandbutter5

user1977 said:

brianposter said:

So how do you know where your boundaries will be ?

They're referred to in the deeds. There'll (probably) be one with a plan. Sometimes that needs replaced with a new one for the purposes of first registration in the Land Register.

Also note that "unregistered" is a confusing term here, as it just means "registered on the old register" - the deeds will be on the Register of Sasines. 

Apologies, I don’t know much about the legals of property, however ‘Unregistered Property’ is literally the title of the legal document my solicitor sent me.

I will keep asking for the deeds. I fear they don’t have them.

user1977

Why do you “fear” they don’t have the deeds? Even if they don’t, copies are readily available online from the registers. None of this is a problem.

What is the “legal document” you’re talking about?

breadandbutter5

user1977 said:

Why do you “fear” they don’t have the deeds? Even if they don’t, copies are readily available online from the registers. None of this is a problem.

What is the “legal document” you’re talking about?

Because I asked to see it to check that what I’m buying is what I’ve been told I’m buying (with regards to the garden boundaries, common repairs, who owns the loft etc). It’s an upper villa so there are some shared areas.

I asked my solicitor to send me the deeds and what they sent instead is a document called ‘Legal Report - Unregistered Property’. The document says nothing about the property itself but rather that it’s ‘not registered’ and the 2nd half of it is a ‘property enquiry certificate’. My solicitor is now on holiday but I will ask them when they’re back.

brianposter

It is the absence of of deeds that would be unusual, not the absence of registration.