If you’ve ever played Monopoly, you’ll have heard the phrase ‘title deed’. But what is a title deed? What is it used for and where do you find it? In our quick guide, we take you through the basics of this essential legal practice for buying and selling property in the UK.
FAQs
What is a title deed?
A ‘title deed’ is the legal term for the different documents that record the ownership of a property. These include contracts of sale, and legal agreements regarding the lease, mortgage and conveyancing of the property.
Title deed meaning: What do they tell you?
Together, the various legal documents that make up the title deed(s) form the legal proof of who owns the property. They tell you who currently owns it, as well as previous owners from whenever it has changed hands.
Title deeds also provide information about the extent of the land boundaries around the property. They may also include information about conveyancing works previously carried out on the property, and its ‘tenure’ (freehold or leasehold). Finally, title deeds should mention any right of access considerations – such as the inclusion of public footpaths on the land, for example.
Consult our dedicated guides for more information about conveyancing and different types of leases.
What are title deeds for?
Title deeds are used to prove who owns the property prior to a sale, or during a legal dispute. For example, divorce proceedings sometimes require title deeds to establish ownership of disputed property.
Property owners also use title deeds to establish who should maintain boundary areas, such as fences or hedges.
Where can you find your title deeds?
If you do not currently have your title deeds to hand, it’s possible that they are being held by the solicitor or conveyancer who helped you buy the property. If you have a mortgage, the title deeds may be lodged with your mortgage provider.
You may also be able to get copies of title deeds through HM Land Registry.
How can you get copies of a title deed?
If your property has been registered with HM Land Registry, then it will have electronic copies of the title deed. You can apply for copies of a title deed through the HM Land Registry website.
It costs £3 to download a copy of the title register. It costs £7 for an official copy of each document that makes up the title deeds to a property.
Bear in mind that the Land Registry only holds electronic copies of title deeds, not originals. You can find out more about its expanding digital services here.
What happens if you lose your title deed?
If you haven’t stored the title deeds with a solicitor or mortgage provider, or if you have lost/misplaced them, you can still get copies from HM Land Registry. You don’t need the original title deed to prove ownership of the property if it has already been registered.
The only problem is if you don’t have the title deeds and your property isn’t registered with HM Land Registry. If this is the case, proving ownership will become much more complicated and may require costly legal assistance.
Can you sell a property without a title deed?
You can sell a property without its title deeds, as it’s not a legal requirement to produce them when selling. However, it will be more complicated, as you will still need to prove ownership to the buyer’s solicitors. Also, without the title deeds, buyers may view the purchase as being a higher risk, which might affect your bargaining position on the sale price.
What can you do to keep title deeds safe?
If you currently hold your title deeds, keep them safe by storing them in a secure place that is cool, dry and only accessible to you. File them in a way that will make them easy to find whenever you need them.
Alternatively, you can pay a small fee to your solicitor to store your title deeds for you. Some mortgage lenders also offer this service.
If you need any more information on the legal process of buying or selling a property, consult our guides section. Also, as well as finding title deed copies, through the Land Registry you can also find out when a property was built.
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