Land Registry Question

[whatkungfuthat]

I have just realised that my DM hasn't done anything about changing the ownership of her house into her sole name after my father died 7 years ago. AFAIK she hasn't actually registered it at all and keeps the deeds in the house. I understand from looking at the LR website that it makes her vulnerable, they have owned it for about 30 yrs with no need to change anything previously.

Can she (with a lot of help from me) do this herself or would she need a solicitor? I have looked on the website but I don't want to start the process and do it wrong somehow.

I'm not a conveyancer but I think she'd need to fill in AP1 form, and send it with the registration fee, a copy of the will and a copy of the grant of probate.

however this is guesswork on my part and you'll find that the staff at the LR office are incredibly helpful and if you phone them they will tell you what to do.

Thanks, I will call them on Monday

Not sure if you have rung us yet but all the initial information you need is available via our Public Guide 13 www.landregistry.gov.uk/public/guides/public-guide-13 - this is likely to be what our Customer Support team will refer you to.

The guide refers to the documents (deeds) we would require and the necessary forms to complete, which are also available online. I would recommend reading the PG 13 and forms. Issues around supplying evidence of identity would also need to be considered.
If any questions arise then Contact Us as per the online contact details www.landregistry.gov.uk/contact-us

A few additional points to add re your original post as well which may be of interest if the property is unregistered and in England & Wales

1. If the property was in joint names i.e. the last deed to change ownership (most likely a conveyance) was to them both and they held it as joint tenants then the ownership has automatically passed to her. In such cases adding the official copy of the death certificate to the 'deeds' demonstrates this and there is no legal requirement to register the property.

You can register voluntarily though and often people rely on a solicitor/conveyancer to do this as part of their dealings with the deceased's estate as often the property and estate are intertwined.

1. Owning a registered property, in our view, can help prevent property fraud mainly because it takes away the reliance placed on the 'deeds' to the property which could be stolen or claimed by a fraudster to have been 'lost'.

1. If your DM is living in the property then the potential for fraud is often reduced simply because anyone attempting to sell the property fraudulently is likely to need to show a purchaser round and with your DM living there this should throw up a few ?s for any prospective purchaser. Proeprty professionals, including lenders, will have their own additional checks in place to try and prevent fraud.

Thanks so much, this clarifies things. I hadn't had the chance to call this week so this is great

The Land Registry are very helpful in my experience and you should be able to do this without a solicitor.