Epitome of Title for Unregistered Land

An Epitome of title is evidence provided to the Land Registry to prove a title absolute for the first land registration in England and Wales. The Land Register contains more than 26.5 million property titles; however, 11% of the land mass is still unregistered.

To prove you own the absolute title, you must provide evidence to the Land Registry. If the evidence within the Epitome of Title isn't adequate enough to register with an absolute title, you may only be granted a lesser Possessory or qualified title.

What if you don't have the title deeds?

Confirming the legal owner of unregistered land is much more difficult if you do not have the original title deeds and evidence of your purchase. Title deeds are an owner's only proof of ownership; without them, you won't be able to sell or otherwise deal with the property. You can reconstitute the title following the loss of deeds, but this is expensive, difficult and without any guarantee of success.

Additionally, you'll acquire a possessory title only, which is subject to challenge in the future if someone with a better claim to the land, with the deeds, comes along. This would mean the benefit of rights crucial to the enjoyment of the property may be lost.

How to prove ownership of unregistered land?

The root of title means the title ownership from today's date going back over the last 15 years; this is known as a good title. Anything less than 15 years means you can only register a possessory title.

For most unregistered land, it is becoming more common for the original land owners to be deceased, so the route of title needs to follow from the deceased's probate through to the beneficiaries of the estate. For example:

• Mr & Mrs Jones bought their home in 1960, before the Land Registry centralisation of registered property.
• Mr & Mrs Jones passed away in 2020, leaving their property to their only daughter, Jayne.
• Jayne is now trying to register the property to sell. She will need the deed from her parent's purchase, evidence of probate proving she is the sole beneficiary and providing an ID for herself.

What happens if there is a broken chain of ownership?

The original deed for the transfer is used alongside evidence of how the property has been transferred to the current owner looking to sell the unregistered land. Where the names on the deeds differ to the current owner, evidence needs to be provided as to how they became the owner.

Here are some examples of where there may be a break in the root to the title:

Deceased Proprietors and Former Proprietors

Where one or more of the previous owners may have died, the current owner needs to prove how the current owner had the property transferred to them. To do this you'll need to provide evidence of an Epitome of Title:

• Death certificate
• Grant of Probate or Letter of Administration
• Will or intestate rules to prove the benefit in the property

Where several beneficiaries have died from the deeds to the current owner, you must provide the above for each part of the ownership chain.

Separation/Divorce

In this example, the owners, even though separated, should still be named on the original title deeds of the transfer. There is however the need to prove equitable interest in the property IE who got the property as part of the separation.

• Decree Absolute - known now as the Final Order.
• Court Order for the DIvorcees.

What if there is a mortgage on the unregistered title?

Your solicitor has to check the deeds for any mortgages you or former owners have taken out as far back as the buyers of the root conveyance: a buyer needs to see these. Your solicitor checks if these are properly 'vacated'. When a mortgage of unregistered land is paid off, the lender should add a note to the mortgage deed to confirm that the debt has been repaid, signed, and/or sealed by the lender. This is known as a vacating receipt.

Any outstanding mortgages may still be binding on the land. If there is any doubt about this, your solicitor has to make enquiries of the lender/s involved, and if no debt is outstanding, the lender must confirm this on the deed (known as 'sealing the deed') and return it. Your solicitor has to do this before the contract is exchanged.

If there is a debt outstanding, your solicitor has to obtain a redemption statement and ensure that the debt is paid from sale proceeds on completion, at which point the deed is sent to the lender to be sealed.

How do you prepare an Epitome of Title?

• Title Plan. You need to obtain a Land Registry-compliant title plan. To satisfy the Land Registry, the plan must be on a reasonable scale (normally between 1:2500 and 1:5000) and contain a north point, making it identifiable on an Ordnance Survey map. Your solicitor can normally find such a plan in a previous conveyance. Read more - Land Registry title plan
• Land Charges Register Search. This search only comes into play with unregistered land and reflects that with unregistered land, you register land charges against the person, not the land. If a land charge is registered, a purchaser is bound by it whether or not a search is carried out.
• Index Map Search. To check that no part of your land has already been registered with the Land Registry. It also reveals any cautions against first registration, which are lodged by someone who believes they have an interest in the land so that they are informed by the Land Registry when an attempt is made to register it.
• Original Deed/Transfer. The original deeds are needed.
• Change of owner evidence. Certified or original change of owner evidence.
• Complete Form FR1. The Land Registry Application for First Registration Form.
• Pay Land Registry Fee. The Land Registry application fee is based on the estimated property value. See Land Registry Fee Scales.