What is a Qualified Title on a UK Property?
- Qualified Titles are granted when there is a specific defect or condition on the rights to the property, which has been identified and stated in the register.
- They are the rarest and least desirable form of Title, after Absolute Title, Good Leasehold, and Possessory Title.
- It is only possible to upgrade them if you can prove that the issue has been remedied.
Why would a qualified title be granted?
There are countless reasons that a title may be classed as qualified, as it is essentially a bit of a catch-all for 'there's a problem' and can range from minor issues to major ones, which can severely impact your rights to benefit from the property. Some examples include:
Breach of Trust
Where there is evidence of a breach of trust, a qualified title may be granted where a proprietor would take ownership in the land subject to the interests of any beneficiaries under the trust.
Non-compliance with planning conditions
On a newly built property or estate where the planning conditions have not been met, there is a risk of enforcement action from the council. This may result in a qualified title class being granted on first registration.
Boundary dispute
Where the neighbour claims they bought part of the garden from a previous owner, but they are unable to present any documents to evidence this, the title may be downgraded to the qualified title, as the neighbour could later find and present the receipt of the transaction, claiming the disputed part of the land for themselves.
Can you get a mortgage on a qualified title?
This will be at the lender's discretion and will depend on the level of risk associated with your specific qualifying issue. If the lender believes the qualified title will prevent them from recovering their loan in the event of repossession, they may refuse to lend at all. If they do lend on the property, the greater their risk, the less favourable your terms will be.
Our brokers will present the best options available to you, for any type of mortgage, including:
- First-time buyers, home movers and buy-to-lets;
- Employed; self-employed or director mortages;
- Mortgages for non-UK residents or non-UK citizens;
- Bridging loans;
- Bad credit mortgages;
- Guarantor mortgages;
- Joint borrower, sole proprietor mortgages; and
- Absolute, Possessory, Good, or Qualified Title.
Can you upgrade a qualified title?
You can only upgrade a qualified title if you can prove additional evidence to the Land Registry that the reason the qualified title was granted has since been remedied.
Some qualifying issues can be remedied more easily than others, so this will depend on your specific circumstances. Speak to your conveyancing solicitor to find out what would be required to upgrade your title.
Complete form UT1
Download the form and fill it in.
Panel 8
Give the class of title to which you are applying to upgrade (If leasehold, good or absolute; if freehold, absolute title).
Panel 9
Give your capacity to apply, you must be either:
- the registered proprietor;
- a person entitled to be registered as proprietor, such as personal representatives where the registered proprietor has died or someone who has just completed the purchase of a registered estate;
- the proprietor of any registered charge affecting the estate; or
- a person interested in a registered estate that derives from the registered estate to be upgraded
If you are neither the registered proprietor nor a registered chargee, you'll need to include evidence of the entitlement to apply when you post the form.
Panel 11
Give your confirmation that there is no adverse claim which is still enforceable under the existing class of title.
Post with Fee
Post the form to:
HM Land Registry Citizen Centre
PO Box 74
Gloucester
GL14 9BB
Along with the correct fee (currently £40 for postal applications)
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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.
