PLP WK 2

Question 1

What is the process of deducing title?

Answer 1

It involves the seller’s solicitor compiling title documents to prove the seller’s ownership of the property and their legal right to sell.

Question 2

What are the key documents used to deduce title?

Answer 2

Land Registry official copies of the register, the Land Registry title plan, and copies of any documents referenced in the official copies, but not included.

Question 3

What is the process of investigating title?

Answer 3

It involves the buyer’s solicitor examining the provided documents to confirm the seller’s ownership and ensure the title is clear of issues that might affect the buyer.

Question 4

What are the three registers included in the official copies from the Land Registry?

Answer 4

The property register, the proprietorship register, and the charges register.

Question 5

What information is included in the property register?

Answer 5

The property register describes the property and any rights that benefit it.

Question 6

What is the tenure of the property, and where is this information found?

Answer 6

The property register states whether the property is freehold or leasehold.

Question 7

What should the buyer’s solicitor confirm using the title plan?

Answer 7

The buyer’s solicitor should confirm the title plan matches the buyer’s understanding of the property’s size and location.

Question 8

What are extracted rights?

Answer 8

Extracted rights are rights, such as easements, that are fully extracted in the property register.

Question 9

What are filed documents?

Answer 9

Filed documents are documents that contain rights which have been mentioned but not fully extracted in the property register.

Question 10

What are some examples of rights benefiting the property?

Answer 10

Some examples of rights benefiting the property include rights of way, service media, rights of light, and excluded rights.

Question 11

What is a right of way?

Answer 11

A right of way allows access over land.

Question 12

What are service media?

Answer 12

Service media are rights for things like gas, water, electricity, or optic fiber cables that may pass through the land.

Question 13

What is a right of light?

Answer 13

A right of light protects the access of natural light to windows.

Question 14

What are excluded rights?

Answer 14

These are rights that are excluded. For example, this may be the exclusion of mineral rights under the property.

Question 15

In addition to being registered in the property register, where else must the burden of a right be registered to be enforceable?

Answer 15

It must be registered against the servient land, the land over which the right passes.

Question 16

In relation to the adequacy of a right, what should be checked?

Answer 16

Check whether the right is legally and physically suitable for the property’s intended use. For example, a right of way for cars may not be sufficient if the buyer needs access for lorries.

Question 17

What is the general position in relation to the maintenance of a right of way?

Answer 17

Users of a right of way are generally required, by common law, to contribute to its maintenance.

Question 18

What is an adopted highway?

Answer 18

An adopted highway is a public road that is maintained by the local authority at public expense.

Question 19

What information is contained in the proprietorship register?

Answer 19

The proprietorship register contains key information about the property owner (registered proprietor), class of title, and other details affecting ownership.

Question 20

What is the class of title, and why is it important?

Answer 20

The class of title reflects the Land Registry’s level of guarantee of the proprietor’s proof of ownership, which is important because the Land Registry guarantees its titles with compensation.

Question 21

What does the class of title ‘Title Absolute’ indicate?

Answer 21

Title Absolute is the best and most common class of title. It indicates that the owner has full, undisputed ownership.

Question 22

What does the class of title ‘Qualified Title’ indicate?

Answer 22

Qualified Title indicates there is a specific defect in the title, such as missing documents (for example, deeds showing covenants or easements).

Question 23

What does the class of title ‘Possessory Title’ indicate?

Answer 23

Possessory Title is granted where the owner can prove possession but lacks title deeds, or claims ownership via adverse possession (squatters’ rights).

Question 24

What does the class of title ‘Good Leasehold Title’ indicate?

Answer 24

Good Leasehold Title applies to leasehold titles where the leaseholder lacks evidence of the landlord’s title.

Question 25

When can the title be upgraded from Good Leasehold Title to a better class of title?

Answer 25

The title can be upgraded if the landlord’s title is registered later.

Question 26

What should a buyer’s solicitor do if the class of title is anything other than Title Absolute?

Answer 26

Inform the client and explain the implications, check the stance of the mortgage lender, consider title indemnity insurance, and explore the potential for upgrading to title absolute.

Question 27

What is the maximum number of individuals or entities that can be listed as proprietors on the proprietorship register?

Answer 27

Four

Question 28

When buying a property from a company, what should the solicitor verify?

Answer 28

The solicitor should verify the registered office of the company with a Companies House search.

Question 29

How do co-owners sign the contract and execute the purchase deed?

Answer 29

All co-owners typically sign the contract and execute the purchase deed.

Question 30

From what date are prices paid recorded in the proprietorship register?

Answer 30

If the property was acquired on or after 1 April 2000, the price paid is recorded.

Question 31

What are indemnity covenants?

Answer 31

An indemnity covenant is given by the registered proprietor to observe positive covenants on the property.

Question 32

Where are restrictions on the right to sell the property recorded?

Answer 32

The proprietorship register.

Question 33

In the context of co-ownership of land, what is a trust of land?

Answer 33

When a property is owned by more than one person, a trust of land is created. Co-owners may hold the legal title as joint tenants, but the beneficial title can be held either as joint tenants or tenants in common, depending on how they declare it to the Land Registry.

Question 34

How is the legal title of co-owned property always held?

Answer 34

As joint tenants.

Question 35

What is the difference between joint tenants and tenants in common?

Answer 35

○ Joint Tenants: Both legal and beneficial titles are held jointly. This means that on the death of one owner, the property automatically passes to the surviving co-owner.

○ Tenants in Common: The co-owners hold distinct shares in the property, which can be passed on through a will or intestacy. No automatic transfer of ownership occurs upon death.

Question 36

How do co-owners declare how they wish to hold the beneficial interest in the property?

Answer 36

When the property is transferred, co-owners can declare how they wish to hold the beneficial interest (joint tenants or tenants in common) using the TR1 form.

Question 37

What will be added to the proprietorship register if co-owners choose to hold as tenants in common?

Answer 37

A restriction. This restriction ensures that the Land Registry cannot process certain transactions (for example, sale, mortgaging) without complying with the terms of the restriction.

Question 38

How can you tell how co-owners hold the beneficial interest from the proprietorship register?

Answer 38

○ If there is no restriction on the proprietorship register, co-owners hold as joint tenants.

○ If there is a tenancy in common restriction on the proprietorship register, co-owners hold as tenants in common.

Question 39

What happens upon the death of a joint tenant?

Answer 39

Upon the death of a joint tenant, the right of survivorship applies. The surviving co-owner automatically becomes the sole legal owner and the Land Registry will update the register accordingly.

Question 40

What is the difference between how the beneficial interest of a joint tenant and a tenant in common is dealt with upon death?

Answer 40

○ Beneficial Title - Joint Tenant: The surviving joint tenant also acquires the beneficial title to the property without any restrictions.

○ Beneficial Title - Tenant in Common: The right of survivorship does not apply. The deceased’s share passes to their beneficiaries according to their will or intestacy rules. The surviving co-owner retains their share, while the deceased’s share is managed separately.

Question 41

What steps must a surviving tenant in common take to sell the property?

Answer 41

They must appoint a second trustee, often the solicitor, to sign the contract and execute the transfer deed, and provide a certified copy of the death certificate. This is necessary because a tenancy in common restriction prevents a sole proprietor from selling the property without meeting specific legal requirements.

Question 42

What steps must a surviving joint tenant take to sell the property?

Answer 42

They must sign the contract and transfer deed and provide a certified copy of the deceased’s death certificate.

Question 43

What is overreaching?

Answer 43

Overreaching is the legal process where the beneficial interests in a property are transferred to the money paid by the buyer. This allows the buyer to take the property free from any beneficial claims, as long as the purchase is executed by at least two trustees and the buyer pays the purchase price in good faith.

Question 44

Where are interests and rights that burden the property listed?

Answer 44

The charges register, which is Section C of the official copies, lists all interests and rights that burden a property. These include mortgages, covenants, easements, and leases.

Question 45

How are mortgages registered?

Answer 45

They are registered in the charges register.

Question 46

What is the effect of failing to register a mortgage?

Answer 46

If a mortgage is not registered, the lender (mortgagee) does not have a legal interest in the property and a buyer could take the property free of the mortgage.

Question 47

Do modern mortgages transfer ownership of the property to the lender?

Answer 47

No, they create a security interest (legal charge).

Question 48

What does the typical mortgage entry in the charges register look like?

Answer 48

The typical mortgage entry in the charges register includes two entries. The first is the date of the mortgage, and the second is the name and address of the mortgagee (lender). An example is:

REGISTERED CHARGE dated 17 June 2005 registered on 1 July 2005 to secure monies, including further advances. Proprietor: Redminster Building Society, 28 High Street, Redminster.

Question 49

What is the typical mortgage entry in the proprietorship register?

Answer 49

There is often a restriction added to the proprietorship register to prevent the owner selling the property without the lender’s consent. An example is:

No disposition by the proprietor of the land is to be registered without the consent of the mortgagee.

Question 50

What steps should a buyer’s solicitor take in relation to mortgages on the property?

Answer 50

○ Make early enquiries to ensure that the seller has sufficient funds to redeem the mortgage.

○ Make it a term of the contract (before exchange) that the mortgage will be redeemed on completion.

○ Obtain an undertaking from the seller’s solicitor to redeem the mortgage from the sale proceeds on completion.