Selling a house without the deeds?

[The Gauge]

Will soon have to think of putting my deceased parents house up for sale. However we can’t find the deeds anywhere. They won’t have been digitised at the Land Registry as they’ve lived in it since the 1960’s and I think that only happens if something were to have happened to the house in more recent times.

They could be with a bank but I’ve no idea which one as I think the mortgage got paid off in the 70’s.

So, is there a method of selling a house with no deeds?

[Acuity30]

I think you could maybe get new deeds created but this is a question for a competent legal professional

[Dave _]

You’ll definitely need a decent solicitor.

https://www.bishopslaw.co.uk/can-you-sell-house-wi...

[OutInTheShed]

First thing to do would be look on the land registry dot gov dot uk website and download the title register if you can.

[konark]

It's unlikely to be registered but you should at least check. Then check with their bank and the building society they had a mortgage with or any solitor they used .

[PhilboSE]

If the property is registered (very likely - just check land registry) then in nearly all cases the deeds will have been scanned and stored there. In which case you don’t need the physical deeds, as all changes will have been recorded digitally.

It’s only if you’ve got a very old property that has never been registered and where a mortgage hasn’t been needed for a very long time that the physical deeds would be the only thing proving ownership.

TL;DR it’s very likely you don’t need the physical deeds and your solicitor will be able to advise.

[Jobbo]

It’s optimistic to say it’s very likely to be registered at the Land Registry. If they bought in the 1960s and paid off their mortgage in the 70s there is a very strong chance it isn’t registered - compulsory first registration was introduced gradually across the country from 1925 but only finally covered everywhere from 1995.

Finding the original title deeds would be a very good thing if it’s unregistered. Invariably a mortgage lender would send them to the borrower or their solicitor when the mortgage is paid off, so start with mortgage lender and any solicitor - bearing in mind that firms do merge and change name over time.

[melsim]

I have just been through this with deceased relatives. I was informed that the house had never been registered due to the fact it was built and purchased in the early 60s. I undertook a first registration process with the LR and was fairly painless albeit slow.

[Pit Pony]

My parents bought a house in 2001 which had been empty for 5 years years and the deeds lost.

The seller (son of the deceased) paid for an insurance indemnity policy, which would protect my parents until 12 years was up.

I don't know the details, because the only discussion I had about the house went something like "Why retire to Anglesey when your grand children are a 3 hour drive away" and "Please don't buy this house covered in mould"

12 years later they got new deeds and then got planning permission for a house on the 1/3 of her garden and sold the plot for more than they paid for the house.