THOSE who have had unregistered land in the family for generations may wonder what benefits there are to registering it – but failing to do so can create potential issues.

Samuel Peake, property solicitor and member of the agriculture & rural affairs team in the York office of Andrew Jackson Solicitors, says there are many benefits to voluntarily registering your land.

He says that HM Land Registry figures show approximately 15 per cent of land in England and Wales is currently unregistered. Most is farmland, which is owned and has been worked by farming businesses for many generations, without a ‘trigger event’ occurring to force a compulsory registration.

Without an event such as the transfer of land, assents, or first legal mortgage, there is no legal requirement to register land voluntarily. However, there are considerable commercial advantages of doing so.

The first is that it provides an opportunity to review exactly who owns the land legally and who is entitled to an underlying beneficial interest. It is not uncommon for a client’s understanding of who owns, or has an interest in, the land, to be different to the position reflected within their title deeds.

He said: “Buyers increasingly insist that land is registered before they commit to a deal. If it cannot be registered within their timeframe the transaction may fall through. HM Land Registry does not always process applications very quickly and buyers often grow impatient.”

Owners of unregistered land are at greater risk of losing portions to third parties who make claims for adverse possession. Through this process a person who is not the legal owner can become the legal owner by physically occupying the land for a specified period of time. Where land is unregistered, the legal owner is less likely to receive notification of a squatter’s claim and will lose the chance to formerly object to the squatter acquiring legal title to the land.

Mr Peake explained that proving ownership to unregistered land can be difficult, as owners must rely on their hard copy title deeds to evidence an unbroken chain of ownership stretching back years. If title deeds are lost or destroyed it can be extremely difficult to prove ownership. Once the land is registered you do not need to retain old deeds as all relevant information is held electronically and can be viewed online.

He said: “Owners of unregistered land are at higher risk of identity fraud as it is easier for criminals to attempt to sell or mortgage the land without the owner’s knowledge. Unregistered title deeds can be forged and presented to an innocent buyer as being the genuine article.

“Once land is registered the property is given a state-backed title guarantee which provides access to a scheme to compensate those who suffer loss because of a mistake in the register maintained by HM Land Registry.”

The benefits of voluntarily registering land are not limited to the above – HM Land Registry also offers reduced charges for voluntary registrations.

Email samuel.peake@andrewjackson.co.uk or call 01904 275 261 for details.