The vast majority of land in the UK is ‘registered’. This means that Land Registry has created a ‘registered title’ from the key details from the deeds – things like the address of the property, whether it is leasehold or freehold and whether there is a mortgage secured against it.
If a property is unregistered, it is compulsory to register it following a transfer of ownership or if you secure a mortgage on the property. The fact that it is not currently registered does not mean there is a problem with it, simply that there has not been a transaction to force the property’s registration since it became compulsory to do so.
However, transactions involving unregistered properties can be significantly slower than those of registered properties. That’s because the vendor has to produce the physical title deeds. If these have been lost, then evidence will need to be provided to Land Registry explaining why they cannot be produced, and demonstrating why the person claiming ownership is the true owner. This can be both complicated and time consuming.
Things are much more straightforward with a registered property. If a copy of a registered title is lost, then you can get a duplicate from Land Registry in no time.
How do I register?
If your property is unregistered, it’s a good idea to register it with Land Registry ahead of when you may need to do so, for example, if you plan to sell.
You can choose to do so at any time, and while there is a fee to pay, this is reduced if you are voluntarily choosing to register rather than being compelled to do so. The size of the fee will also vary depending on the value of the property.