Anyone purchased an unregistered property

[theclampits]

And how long it might take for it to be registered with the land registry with no original deeds? Our vendors are having to send a ‘statement of truth’ to the land registry because their solicitors have lost the original deeds. We haven’t even had the draft contracts and then this has only been discovered in the last couple of weeks. Very annoying !

I wouldn’t exchange until the new registration has gone through. Your vendors may have to pay an expedition fee for this to happen, but that is not your problem. You need to know that you will get an unrestricted title and it needs to be clear what land it relates to. Are there copies of the deeds on file somewhere? If the solicitors who lost the deeds acted on the purchase, their old files may well have relevant copies. It may be that the owners of neighbouring houses can give details of any covenants or restrictions. Otherwise, even when the title is registered, it may well be subject to eg rights of way/ obligations to pay for things. This can be dealt with by way of indemnity insurance but it’s not ideal. In a buoyant market it probably won’t matter, but in a recession it could affect your ability to sell, the price you might achieve, and the speed of the transaction.
This is not an issue for a conveyancing factory to deal with, it’s an increasingly unusual situation and many of the paralegals who deal with residential conveyancing might not fully grasp the implications. Your own solicitor should be able to advise .
Caveat: I was a solicitor conveyancer but haven’t worked in the legal field for 15 years, so my understanding could well be out of date!

I bought an unregistered house but the original deeds were there. I don’t think I’d want to if the deeds were also missing

I don't really understand how this works. Are there not two copies of the deeds ?

If you are buying it and don't have a copy of the deeds, how do you know the deeds don't contain anything you don't want like easement rights ?

I haven’t been told barely anything !! The vendors have some kind of conveyancing thing, which the estate agent said that along with a statement of truth should be fine for the land registry to register the property. They can’t find their deeds, they’ve been there 60 years though. And the solicitors are now trying to say it was never them that dealt with it in the first place. The house was bought in the 60’s.
Im very confused by it all and just want to move now. Our sale is ready !!

It’s not a quick fix. As I said, they need to pay to expedite the registration, then you can go ahead when it’s come through if it’s satisfactory.
Not that it’s your job to sort it out, but it’s possible that the house was mortgaged and the lender kept the deeds, this was not unusual 30 years ago. You could ask whether that avenue of enquiry has been pursued. But it sounds as if the sellers must be very old, so they might not recall or be up to dealing with it.
What does your solicitor say?

The sellers are both 90, so I don’t think they have a clue really lol they are lovely though and we are in direct contact with them and have been since the viewing, old chap is old school and wanted to meet us without the estate agents (which the EA didn’t like!)

What do I need to ask? Sorry if I seem stupid but first time buying and selling and I just haven’t a clue what to do/say! My solicitor hasn’t said much, just that we can’t start the searches until we have the draft contracts.

@DelphiniumBluealso what is paying to expedite the registration?

We completed restoration of deeds at the end of 2024.

The original deeds were lost and we had to put forward a statement to the Land Registry with supporting evidence. It took 18 months for it to be completed. It is a very slow process as it's not a priority.

@theclampits I wouldn't buy this property if I were you until they have confirmed they have title absolute. It's possible that they may only get possessionary title awarded by the land registry which means if someone with a stronger case of ownership turns up you'll have to fight their claim in court.

Don't touch it with a barge pole until they have completed the process or you could end up in a horrible and expensive mess.

This has scared the crap out of me!

The estate agent said they just need to prove they’ve lived there for at least 15 years with bills etc, they’ve been there since the 60’s

So in this sort of case, the vendor’s solicitor will send various forms and as much info as they have along with a statement by the vendor to the Land Registry, who will check everything and if they are satisfied that everything is OK, they will register the house, give it a title number and then that will form the basis of the contract. There is a standard fee for this.
However, if speed is necessary, you can pay the Land Registry a fee and they will do it quicker. It is worth paying this expedition fee, as there are big delays at the Land Registry ( your solicitor should be able to give an indication of how behind your local LR is.) You could even call your local LR yourself and tell them that deeds have been lost for an unregistered property, paperwork is being submitted to them to register it, and you wonder how long it is likely to take.

And remember, the Estate Agent is not a lawyer. Your own solicitor should be guiding you on this.

Just seen that you are a first time buyer, just based on our experience I would strongly advise you don't proceed.

This is a huge financial commitment and you really don't need the stress hanging over you.

Whilst the couple are elderly and have probably owned their property for many years, it sounds like they never digitally registered their property (probably because there was no trigger event such as moving or divorce). The reliance on physical deeds has put them in a legal limbo until they complete the deed restoration process.

They shouldn't really be allowed to proceed legally until they've established ownership, it's not ethical and I'm surprised its got this far.

As a FTB I wouldn't touch any property that doesn't have title absolute registered at the land registry.

Thank you. So it is still possible then? Other posters are telling me not to proceed and it’s shitting me up. This house is the one, we’ve basically already moved in in our heads ! I’m technically a ftb but in the eyes of the law I’m not because I own an unencumbered property, it was inherited from my dad.

What shall I ask my solicitor? She isn’t very forthcoming and when I ring her I feel like she’s pissed off lol

There's a bit more too it than this.

We just finished the process at the end of 2024. Ours was a very straightforward case and it took 18 months to process. There is a huge backlog and no expedite service was offered despite our solicitors constantly chasing.

Once our case got to the top of the pile we had surveyors come out to measure the property and further questions asked by the land registry, which took a long time to push through.

It is not a quick process and has inherit risk, especially if they only award possessionary title.

So you had to wait 18 months? As in couldn’t even move in etc ?

I would strongly advise you don't proceed at this time @theclampits

If you still want the house, tell them you will reinstate the sale once ownership has been confirmed by the land registry (make sure its title absolute ownership, which means they own it free and clear from any other ownership claims).

We bought an unregistered property but the vendor had the deeds. It took 9 months to be registered on Land Registry.

We couldn’t get a mortgage though - no bank would give us a mortgage on an unregistered property.

I'd be surprised if the land registry allowed the completion of sale if the current owners can't prove ownership!

Yes we had to wait 18 months to exchange ownership.

This is a good point. If you're using a mortgage to buy the property have they been informed of the deed situation? its possible the property may be ineligible for a mortgage.

So I rang the solicitor and she said what you have said about a possessionry title, sorry can’t spell it.
the estate agent has asked for me already what title they’re think will be obtained, they have said with the evidence they do have they’re certain it’ll be a title absolute. So it’s kind of just waiting now to see what title it gets ! I asked about the delay they’ve said a couple of months, solicitor and estate agent said the same

The solicitor also said it’s not a deed restoration they’re going for, just the title absolute

There's a bit more too it than this.
We just finished the process at the end of 2024. Ours was a very straightforward case and it took 18 months to process. There is a huge backlog and no expedite service was offered despite our solicitors constantly chasing.
Once our case got to the top of the pile we had surveyors come out to measure the property and further questions asked by the land registry, which took a long time to push through.
It is not a quick process and has inherit risk, especially if they only award possessionary title.

That's why you need to contact the Land Registry and ask if expedition is possible. The title you get depends on how good the information provided is - so the sellers should be able to prove ownership.
I would also speak to the seller, ask them when did they buy, was there. mortgage, have they got any records at all - copies of bank statements, old letters etc, they may well have kept paperwork especially if they re "old school".
If the house is eg mid terrace, it will be a lot easier to show the extent of it ( boundaries in line with neighbouring properties, building the same shape, etc). If it is detached surrounded by fields, it may well be harder to establish boundaries, although possible that owners of neighbouring properties may have info.
There is a lot that needs to be checked, the main issues are proving that the sellers are indeed the owners and are entitled to sell, and then establishing what the property includes and where the boundaries are, and then whether it is subject to or benefits from any rights. The more light the seller can shed on these things at the outset, the better.
You need 2 sets of helpful and knowledgeable solicitors on this to make it happen.

You need to see the title deed and plan before purchasing! Your solicitor shouldn't allow you to proceed otherwise. My friend had to pull out of a purchase because the deeds couldn't be located.

Well we’re not proceeding as it stands, because we have no title for the property ! Until we receive a title we can’t move forwards. So as I stated earlier, we need to see what the land registry decides to give the property. Vendors solicitors are confident with what evidence has been provided it will be enough for the title absolute as it’s clear they own the property and have done for decades.