Around 1922 Birmingham became subject to the requirement of compulsory land registration. This means that your ownership of your property is registered with the Land Registry in an electronic format instead of having a bundle of paper documents which need to be very carefully safeguarded.

Compulsory registration is triggered by a relevant disposal. For example the sale or purchase of a
property post 1992.  Where you have owned your home or any parcel of land since before the compulsory registration dates, you have the option to register your land voluntarily with the land registry and they offer a discount on their registration fees for anyone who would like
to do this.

There are many benefits of choosing to voluntarily register your property or any parcel of land. Registered land is a far more secure and the title is guaranteed. The Land Registry are aware of your ownership and have the means to contact you in the event that any claim is made against your land by a third party. This enables you to attempt to stop any such application as soon as you receive notice of it. Where land is unregistered the Land Registry hold no details of who owns the land and therefore making contact with the landowner can be near impossible.  It also means that there is no risk of losing your title deeds which for unregistered land are your only proof of ownership.

If you are interested in voluntarily registering your property or land we will require the complete bundle of your original title deeds in order that we may review the same before submitting the application to the land registry on your behalf. If you would like any further information or an informal discussion please do not hesitate to me on 0121 726 4999 or you can email me at Lucie@pickfordsolicitors.com