When looking to sell your home, there are some documents you’ll need to provide and some disclosures you’ll need to make about the property.
In her latest article, Chartered Legal Executive Natalie Neil outlines what these documents and disclosures are and answers any other questions you may have.
What documents do I need to sell my house?
As well as proving you own your home, you will also need to clarify its condition before selling.
Both of these can be done with the following documents:
- The Land Registry title register and plan – this can be obtained from the Land Registry here
- An in-date Energy Performance Certificate
- Lease (if applicable)
- New build warranty (if applicable)
- Any guarantees, gas safe check documents, electrical and window certificates
How do I find my deeds to my house?
Under current law, every property in England and Wales needs to be registered at the Land Registry. This means its relatively easy to obtain the deeds for your house.
For registered land, your conveyancer will download an Official Copy of the Register and Title Plan from Land Registry together with any documents that are referred in the Register.
This could be an old Conveyance or Transfer that grants rights over the property or contains covenants.
How do I prove ownership of unregistered land?
For any property that is unregistered, the original deeds would have been provided to you when you purchased the property. If you purchased the property with a mortgage, then your lender may hold the original deeds so you may wish to check with your lender.
Note: If your land is not registered with the land registry, you may be more at risk of property fraud. Read our sperate article on how you can protect yourself here.
Can I sell house without deeds?
Yes, it is possible to sell your house without your deeds if you are able to prove that you are the legal owner of your home without them.
Assuming your property is unregistered and neither your lenders, mortgage provider nor solicitor hold the deeds; you can prove ownership through other means.
You should look to register your ownership with the Land Registry. This can be done by instructing a solicitor and gathering evidence of:
- How your deeds were lost (if known)
- Your ownership of the property, using mortgage payment records, bills, insurance details, estate agent and solicitor records etc.
In the full article, Natalie answers more questions around the documents and disclosures you need when selling your house. Read it here.