Registered & Unregistered Land 

You may have heard land being referred to as being registered or unregistered.  Both residential or commercial property can be either registered or unregistered.

The terms refer to the two different systems for recording property ownership in the UK.

Whether you are buying or selling land, the status of the land’s registration is important. 

If land is registered is registered, it means that the legal records relating to it, are held by HM Land Registry (HMLR).   Established in 1862, HMLR is a government registry which, by 2024, maintained records of nearly 27 million registered titles across the UK.

Registration of land has become compulsory in the United Kingdom since 1990, and this means that almost every transaction relating to land will require either registration for the first time or the updating of the register.

Registered land

All registered properties will have a unique reference number which is assigned based on geographical location.  For example, properties in Northamptonshire will usually start with ‘NN’.  The office copy register for a property is the ‘title document’, and the register is generally made up of three sections: –

• The property register (section A).  This describes the property by an address and with reference to a plan on which the property will be shown.  It will note if the property is freehold or leasehold.

Sometimes there are rights and restrictions which affect the property, and these will also be recorded in this section of the register.  Examples of this may include a right of way over part of the property, or a restriction which means that the owners of it cannot keep livestock.

• The proprietor register (section B).  This will record the name(s) and address of the legal owners. 
• The charges register (section C).  This will record mortgages or other charges affecting the property.

It is possible to obtain a copy of the title document from HMLR by requesting official copies of the register (which are often called ‘office copy entries’).  HMLR charges a modest fee for this – usually around £15.00 if you want a copy of the plan too.

The benefits of land being registered is that the key information about the ownership and extent of it are contained in one document and can be verified easily.  Title Deeds are held centrally and electronically and cannot be lost or unknown. The government gives guarantees in relation to the information contained in the register.

Transactions relating to the land are generally easier and have lower legal costs.  There is security in knowing that HMLR hold the information and this gives protection against fraud and also the loss or destruction of key documents.

Unregistered land

If land is unregistered, it will be revealed by an Index Map search.  All the important information about the land will not be contained in one document and/or centrally registered. 

Instead, historic deeds and documents will establish where the land is, the extent of it, rights and restrictions and the chain of ownership.  Ideally, that information should be available and go back at least 15 years to establish what is known as ‘root of title’.  If it does, it means that the information can be relied on.

If land is unregistered, it is important that the owners keep all deeds and documents safe and secure as otherwise, it can be difficult to establish title.

Although transactions of land will trigger first registration of unregistered land, it is advisable to voluntarily register land.  There are benefits of this; it will make transactions in the future easier, quicker and more cost-effective because first registrations can take HMLR between 13 – 15 months to process. 

The prevention of fraud is also key consideration as to register land, a solicitor will be involved, and they will carry out identity checks on you and establish the root of title.   This helps to prevent the fraudulent creation of deeds and documents to try to sell a property by someone other than its legal owner.

HMLR charge a fee to register a property.  The fee generally depends on the value of it/the transaction but there is a discount available for voluntary first registrations.

For more information about registering a property, contact one of our property lawyers at [email protected]