Are you a home owner? If so, is your ownership registered with the Land Registry? If your answer is no, then are you sure your Title Deeds are safe?
If not, then this cautionary tale should be read by anyone who is holding their Title Deeds at home…
I recently acted for a client who had bought their house new in 1967. Back then, it was not a legal requirement to register ownership of a property at the time of purchase and although my client had a mortgage, the Building Society held the Title Deeds.
In 1981, when they finished paying off their mortgage, the Building Society sent them their original Title Deeds. Not realising the importance of the Deeds, they kept them in a folder at the bottom of their wardrobe along with other papers and documents, assuming they would be safe.
Many years after, they went away on holiday and unfortunately whilst they were away, their house was broken in to. Neighbours rallied and check to see what was missing and arranged for new locks to be fitted. My client tried not to let it spoil their holiday and came home three weeks later as planned.
After returning home and checking through their missing items, they soon realised that the thieves had not only stolen obvious items like jewellery, they had also taken the Title Deeds and other important documents. They contacted me immediately to ask what they should do.
As the thieves had already been in possession of the Title Deeds for over three weeks, I was very concerned. The documents that were stolen could have been used to fake their identity, sell their house or even take out a mortgage in their name.
I immediately made checks with the Land Registry and luckily, no one had yet tried to register either a sale or mortgage of the property. I immediately prepared a Statement and made an urgent application to the Land Registry to register my clients’ true ownership on the basis that the Title Deeds had been lost/stolen.
My clients’ title and ownership of the house has now been registered, so they will now be officially notified if anyone else tries to use the stolen Deeds to sell or take out a mortgage.
The experience however, has cost my client a lot of stress and worry, as well as legal costs and fees. The situation could have easily been avoided.
To ensure that your Title Deeds are safe, you can either:
- Keep your unregistered Title Deeds in a safe or at the bank
- Ask Buckles Solicitors to store your Title Deeds for you (a small fee is payable)
- Ask Buckles Solicitors to arrange for your title and ownership to be registered at the Land Registry
If you are at all worried about having your Title Deeds at home or are not sure whether your ownership has been registered at the Land Registry or want to have your Title Deeds registered, please contact Jo Wood on 01733 888804 or email jo-wood@buckles-law.co.uk.
