What does ”absolute title” mean on T1 land registry form

[Bannedontherun]

My daughter and son in law staircase mortgaged to buy out the final portion of their shared owned property in 2023.

The property sits on a development of freehold properties with a row of shared ownership which they live on.

They believed they acquired the freehold on the final purchase.

The T1 form states title absolute, which i thought was the same as freehold, but they are being told by their current solicitor that it is still lease hold and they are now the head Lease holder.

Their house was sold under the assumption that the property was freehold so this issue has now cropped up.

Advice would be appreciated.

"Title absolute" simply means that your ownership cannot be legally contested.

Normally with a shared ownership property you get the freehold when you buy 100% of the shares. However, that isn't always true. For example, if you are in a protected area lease the property remains leasehold even when you get to 100%.

They need to get their solicitor to clarify why they don't own the freehold.

thank you so much bridge i have advised them to ask the solicitor to explain this and how they can acquire the freehold. How does one do that?

Only their solicitor can tell them whether it is possible and, if so, how.

It might be possible (emphasis on might). I had a client who persuaded their HA to sell them the freehold with a similar sounding title set up. It was fiddly and took ages. Also, you’d probably be looking at a transfer of part. The Land Registry are taking over a year on average to register those.

They need to work on the basis they are selling a leasehold.

Thanks so much for the replies.

What has now transpired is that there is the landowner, a school which is a trust,

Who seemingly leased to a HA who sub leased to a developer, or it could be the other way around.

The trust was not aware that they still owned parts of the land, and it is not clear if they will pass title to my daughter or the developer or HA.

The solicitor for my daughter a conveyancing solicitor.

My question is should my daughter instruct a specialist solicitor to unravel this, and if so what would the name of the specialism be? Land law?

A conveyancing solicitor is a specialist in residential land law so she should be using her same solicitor. If the solicitor is a junior ask whether there is a partner or senior associate who could advise.

Thank you

Your daughter needs to either be prepared to delay selling for at least year to try to get this sorted or to sell her property now as a leasehold.

It’s an unusual situation to obtain the freehold with a title like hers. Even if all the parties involved agree, there is so much to unpick. Plus the Land Registry delays. Their average time to register a transfer of part is 14-18 months.

Update. The land owner has agreed to grant the freehold without any cost. It was a paperwork error.