Land Registry TR1 Form

The underlying legal point of the Land Registry, to whom Form TR1 is sent on completion, is that it is the prime government agency where all properties are registered alongside all deeds pertinent to a particular registration, such as a copy of a leasehold agreement (if applicable), any direction that a Deed of Trust is involved and, of course, the title deeds themselves.

NB Sometimes the information on this form which relates to joint ownership (see below) is dealt with in a separate form called Form JO. Whether this latter form is used depends purely on your solicitor's policy and isn't a matter for concern.



Prior to the last few decades, affairs were far more chaotic and frequently people held onto and exchanged physical title deeds when buying and selling homes: this was dangerous not least because deeds might be lost, altered or stolen. Having a central, up-to-date records centre and repository for these deeds arguably makes the conveyancing process far more reliable, even if there are backlogs while the Land Registry gets fully 'up-to-speed'.

Nowadays it is standard and mandatory to update the Land Registry of changes in property ownership in the UK and all associated details. There are still a large number of ancient properties which have never been registered and, of course, new builds must be registered for the first time.

In residential conveyancing, on the vast majority of occasions, the TR1 form is prepared by the selling side's conveyancers (or yours if you are the party selling) who complete the form properly in order to transfer the legal ownership of a house or flat from seller/s to buyer/s and the actual buyers and sellers (other than the seller providing a signature) have no reason to get further involved in this. The cost of the form and of completing it is normally absorbed within the overall costs of conveyancing.

You can fill out and complete this form by yourself without legal assistance however 1) if the other side has a lender involved, the lender is likely to insist that you have qualified legal representation regarding the completion of the TR1 form, among other matters and 2) you may be asking for trouble and entering a minefield which might even under up ruining you...braver souls should read Can you do your own Conveyancing?

As such, much of this article is a discussion of the form itself, what it does and what its place is in your Conveyancing Process - in the vast majority of cases, it'll just be down to vendors in a transaction to state their credentials on it and sign it and when the sale has completed, the solicitor in question simply mails it to the Land Registry where it is dealt with.



This article considers the anatomy of such a Land Registry TR1 form and addresses some matters concerning it. It may be of use, therefore, to examine a sample TR1 Form - you can do this via PDF below - as this is what we'll refer to in our discussion.

What must you/your solicitor do before you use a TR1 Form?

Check if the property has previously been registered before with the Land Registry

This is a highly important first step because it affects the information needed to be sent over. To do this your solicitor can use this find a property service (click, opens in new window) or carry out a search of the index map (click, opens in new window). Additionally if the property has not been previously registered, you have to pay double the standard Land Registry fee for its first registration.

Check what is in the register

It's worth noting what entries there may be against the property because these might affect the ease - or not - of its transfer.

Click to view a copy of the register or click to get an up-to-date official copy of the register

What might turn up in the register?

You might find:

• a restriction: an entry requiring action before registration of the transfer can take place, such as getting consent to transfer from a person named in a restriction, or a certificate complying with conditions in a specified deed
• a unilateral notice/agreed notice/caution: you may need to apply for its cancellation or removal
• a clause in the lease (if the property is leasehold) requiring the landlord to give their consent, or at least to be informed the consent of the lender if the property is mortgaged, or evidence of the mortgage’s discharge if you are paying it off

You should consider every entry in the register and get the evidence you need before you send your application to the Land Registry.

When must you use a TR1 Form?

You use the form to transfer the whole of the property in one or more registered titles and/or if a property is being registered for the first time with the Land Registry.

NB If you just looking to sell/transfer part of a registered title, Land Registry Form TP1 is used instead.

What does a TR1 Form consist of?

In this section we examine the form piece-by-piece, taking alongside the Government's official guidance - you can view this in its official form by clicking on Guidance: How to Complete Form TR1.

The form questions of various questions in 'Panels' on the left hand side and empty block on the right hand side where you must fill in the answers as truthfully and fully as possible.

1: Title Numbers

Insert the title number(s) of the property you are going to transfer (this is noted at the top of the first page of an official copy of the register). You can use one form for more than one title number. If the property is not registered, leave this panel blank.

Using this form of transfer will result in the transfer of all the property in the registered title. If you only intend to transfer part of the property in the title, use form TP1 instead (see above).

2: property

Insert where shown a brief description (including the postcode) of the property you intend to transfer. If the property is registered, you will find this at the beginning of the Property Register as shown on the official copy of the register and it will normally be the postal address of the property.

3: date

Insert the date of completion in this panel (see panel 12: execution, below). Do not do this until after the transfer has been executed.

4: the transferor(s)

Write here the full names (including all middle names) of all the person(s) who are going to transfer the property. This must be the name(s) of the registered owners in the register, or someone who can prove they can act on their behalf (such as an executor).

If the information you put in this box does not match what appears in the register, you must supply the Land Registry with evidence as to why. This might be a deed poll or marriage certificate for someone who has changed their name. If one of the joint owners has died, you will need to send the Land Registry the death certificate or grant of probate.

If the transferor is a company, you must complete the additional fields in the panel.

5: the transferee(s)

Insert the full names of all the people to whom the property is to be transferred (maximum of four). Do not include the titles “Mr" or “Mrs", but if you have any other title, please include it.

If a sole proprietor (such as Mr A) wants to transfer the property to two (or more) people including himself (such as both Mr and Mrs A), his name will need to be included as well. He cannot transfer just a share of the property.

If the transferee is a company, you will need to complete the additional fields in the panel.

6: address

Each transferee needs to supply the Land Registry with a correspondence address, which must be a postal address either in the UK or abroad. Please remember to include any postcode or overseas equivalent. You may also supply up to two other addresses, which may be a postal, email, box number, or UK document exchange address.

Keeping your address up to date is very important because the Land Registry may have to send important notices that could affect your rights.

7: transfer

This statement is appropriate in all cases; do not add to, or otherwise amend this panel.

8: consideration

Enter the amount paid for the property being transferred where shown (first box). If the transfer is to be by way of gift, select the second box. If the transfer is for any other consideration, select the third box and enter the details.

9: Title Guarantees

In providing these guarantees the transferor(s) give certain binding promises about their title to the property. There are two types, though either may be modified. These guarantees impose obligations, which will continue to bind the owner even after completion of the transfer. This area is complex and if you have any doubts we recommend you seek the advice of a solicitor or other professional, as we cannot provide you with legal advice.

The types of guarantee are:

• Full title guarantee: the transferor(s) guarantee, to the best of their knowledge, that there are no financial charges/encumbrances (such as mortgages) or other third party interests (such as rights of way/leases) which affect the property other than those already revealed to the transferee(s)
• Limited title guarantee: a more restricted set of promises by the transferor(s). This guarantees that the transferor(s) have not themselves created, or allowed to be created, any charge, encumbrance or third party interest that still exists at the date of the transfer.

10: Declaration of Trust

This panel should be completed if there is more than one transferee. Joint ownership is a difficult area of the law.

It can lead to disputes when a joint owner dies or the relationship between joint owners breaks down. Recording the joint owners’ intentions in panel 10 of the transfer or in a separate Form JO(click to find out more and discussed below) may help to avoid such disputes later on but this is only a starting point as the joint owners’ intentions may change over time.

If there is more than one transferee, as joint owners they will automatically hold the property on trust for themselves and/or anybody else who has a beneficial interest in the property. Joint owners can hold their beneficial interest in the property as joint tenants or as tenants in common.

Beneficial joint tenants do not own specific shares in the property. If one of them dies, their interest passes automatically to the surviving beneficial joint tenant(s) even if they have made a will leaving it to someone else. Beneficial tenants in common own specific shares in the property, which may be equal or unequal and they can leave their share to someone else in their will. Unless it is clear, at the time of acquisition, that the joint transferees intend to hold the beneficial interest on trust for themselves alone as joint tenants, the land registry is duty-bound to enter a restriction in Form A in the register.

The effect of this restriction is that the registry will not register a sale or mortgage of the property unless there are at least two registered proprietors, as trustees, to jointly receive the sale or mortgage monies. This means the last survivor of tenants in common is not permitted to sell the property without proving that the trust has come to an end or appointing a new co-trustee. If the joint transferees intend to hold the property on trust for themselves alone as joint tenants, they should place an ‘X’ in the first box.

Alternatively, if they intend to hold the beneficial interest as tenants in common in equal shares, they should place an ‘X’ in the second box. They should place an ‘X’ in the third box if they intend to hold it in unequal shares, or for themselves and others (whether in equal or unequal shares), or under the terms of a separate existing trust deed or will, and in each case they should also add the relevant details. As an alternative to completing this panel, you may use the trust information form JO. Form JO contains the same options as panel 10 but is designed as a separate form to assist in providing the relevant information and ensuring that each joint transferee signs a declaration of trust (see panel 12 below.)

If the declaration of the trust on which the transferees will be holding the property is already contained in a separate deed or will, a conveyancer may include details of it in, and sign, the form JO instead of the transferees. If neither panel 10 of the transfer nor a form JO are completed and lodged with the application to register a transfer to joint transferees, the Land Registry will enter a Form A restriction by default. If you have any doubts about what is required, you should seek professional advice before you proceed.

11: additional provision