How to Remove Restriction on Property
What is a restriction on a property title?
Property is legally registered at Her Majesty's Land Registry and they hold the title deeds of each property in England and Wales. The deed of a property show the location, general boundaries and history of legal ownership.
Restrictions on a property title will appear in section B of the title deed and are entered for a range of specific purposes, which can prevent you from making a 'disposition', including a sale, a transfer of equity, or a mortgage (or remortgage). These can be absolute or depend on a condition - for example, you cannot register the sale & purchase of the land without the consent of a third party.
Most often, applications to place a restriction on a property are made by solicitors on behalf of the proprietor (the legal owner) or their mortgage lender. However, the registrar has the power to enter necessary and desirable restrictions themselves for one of three specific purposes:
- 1
- 2
- 3
If this happens, the proprietor will be notified of the entry.
What if my property is unregistered?
If you take ownership of, or mortgage, a property which is not yet registered, you should, and in many cases must register it yourself.
You can do this by making a Land Registry first registration.
How do I remove a restriction from my property?
You will need to provide evidence for why the restriction is no longer required.
If you are the beneficiary (or have the beneficiaries consent):
You can apply to withdraw a restriction using RX4.
If you are not the beneficiary:
You can apply to cancel a restriction using RX3.
Forms and fees must be sent to to HM Land Registry's Standard Address.
Is removal different for different types of restriction?
There are over 30 different standard form restrictions, including the Form A Restriction.
Each one will require a slightly different approach, and many are best tackled with the help of a property solicitor. We break down the top 4 that we deal with most often below.
Need help to remove your restriction?
For a fixed fee of £99 Inc VAT, our solicitor, will review your restriction to help you determine your next step. This service is designed to save you paying for full removal, in case the evidence you have will not be sufficient to have the restriction removed or you are unsure of which service you require for your specific type of restriction:
- Review all of the Land Registry restriction/s, restriction documents and any other supporting information
- Meeting with a solicitor to discuss with you what you need to do to remove the restriction (lasts no more than 15 minutes). The cost for removal will be an additional fee.
How to Remove Mortgage Restriction on Property
Mortgage restrictions block you from making a disposition without your lender's consent. The same restriction can also be used to protect the interest of other non-owners who have the right to benefit from the sale, for example, a 'second charge' - where the property has been used to secure a loan.
Mortgage restrictions are often absolute and so become problematic when the lender fails to remove the restriction after you have paid the amount owed in full.
Step one: Write to the lender
Request them to remove the restriction, providing copies of supporting documents. This is most effective when drafted by a solicitor.
Step two: Apply to Land Registry
If the lender refuses or does not respond, submit evidence of discharge and removal request directly to the Land Registry and supporting documents. This is often most effective when handled by a solicitor, as the Land Registry has specific requirements which must be met. It may also require a statutory declaration.
Remove a Mortgage Restriction
For a fixed fee of £260 Inc VAT, our solicitor will review your Land Registry restriction and draft a letter to your lender, including supporting documents, requesting that they remove the restriction.
Evidence of this will be required if your lender refuses or fails to reply. In which case, we can submit the evidence of discharge and request for removal directly to the Land Registry and reply to further requisitions in response for an additional fee of £360 Inc VAT.
"(DATE) RESTRICTION: No disposition of the registered estate by the proprietor of the registered estate is to be registered without a written consent signed by the proprietor for the time being of the Charge dated DATE in favour of LENDER referred to in the Charges Register."
How to remove Form A Restriction on property
Form A restrictions block a sole proprietor from making a disposition without court authorisation. They are entered when co-owners buy or register a property as tenants in common. When removing this restriction you will need to execute a deed to establish your intentions and register it with the Land Registry.
Step one: Apply to Land Registry
As well as RX3, you will also need ST5.
Step two: Define your interests (Joint Owners only)
SAM Conveyancing highly recommends that you also have a Deed of Trust executed to protect both parties' interests in the property.
"No disposition by a sole proprietor of the registered estate (except a trust corporation) under which capital money arises is to be registered unless authorised by an order of the court."
How to remove Form LL Restriction on property
Form LL is a restriction which means that the proprietor must have their identity verified by a solicitor before they can make a disposition or, in some cases, register a charge. This is a security measure to prevent someone from pretending to be the owner in order to sell or mortgage a property that doesn't belong to them.
Step one: ID Verification and Certificate of Compliance
A solicitor will need to verify the proprietor's ID - with advances in tech, this can now be done by video conference for ease and convenience. The solicitor will issue a certificate of compliance if they are satisfied that the person in question is the legal proprietor.
Step two: Apply to Land Registry
Submit form RX3. This can be done by your solicitor.
"No disposition of the registered estate by the proprietor of the registered estate is to be registered without a certificate signed by a conveyancer that the conveyancer is satisfied that the person who executed the document submitted for registration as disponor is the same person as the proprietor"
How to remove Bankruptcy Restriction on property
This restriction is entered into the title when one or more legal owners have been made bankrupt. The applicant must register a disposition (or their conveyancer) to first notify the debtor. It cannot be removed until the debtors have been repaid.
Step one: Write to debtor
Sometimes, the debtor simply needs a nudge to remind them to remove the restriction. Include supporting documents to evidence that the debt has been settled.
Step two: Apply to Land Registry
If the debtor refuses or does not respond, you will need to apply to the Land Registry for removal of the restriction, including evidence of discharge and of your request to lender for removal.
This can result in further requisitions from the Land Registry, especially where the debtor disputes the settlement of the debt. It is best to instruct a solicitor to handle this.
Remove my Bankruptcy Restriction at the Land Registry
For a fixed fee of £260 Inc VAT, our solicitor will review your Land Registry restriction and draft a letter to your lender, including supporting documents, requesting that they remove the restriction.
Evidence of this will be required if your lender refuses or fails to reply. In which case, we can submit the evidence of discharge and request for removal directly to the Land Registry and reply to further requisitions in response for an additional fee of £360 Inc VAT.
Caragh is an excellent writer and copy editor of books, news articles and editorials. She has written extensively for SAM for a variety of conveyancing, survey, property law and mortgage-related articles.
