Title plans: What you need to know when buying a property

This is a feature of all land that is registered with the Land Registry. When buying a property, it is important to make sure that the physical boundaries match the boundaries shown on the title plan, or you may not end up with what you thought you were buying.

To avoid this situation when you are buying a house, you should ask your solicitor to send you a copy of the plan as soon as possible and then check this against the actual property boundaries. 

It's important that the buyer of any property takes care to inspect not only the filed plan but also the land surrounding this. Does everything look right? Is there anything unusual? You may even decide to visit the property again.

Any land not enclosed within the red edging is not part of the property. The most common issues arise in regard to garages, parking spaces, gardens and separate plots of land, and special consideration should be given whenever these are involved. 

Similarly, if you are buying a flat, you should check the lease plan, as well as the description in the lease itself, and pay particular attention if you know that there may have been an attic or cellar conversion. 

The lease plan and description can also directly affect the extent of any maintenance obligations, so it is important that any plans are correct from the outset.

There are a number of steps that can be taken to minimise the risk of issues after completion.

Estate agent's particulars

You should already have a copy of the particulars by this stage, and if not, you can obtain this from the estate agent. You should consider the title plan together with the particulars and look for any anomalies. 

In particular, you should look for phrases like 'detached garage' or 'separate parking bay' and ensure that these are reflected accurately on the title plan. Long gardens can also cause similar issues, particularly where boundaries have been moved or have changed in the past.

MapSearch

In addition to obtaining the title plan, your solicitor can also undertake a MapSearch. This is a free to use service from the Land Registry Portal, which allows you to quickly establish whether the land is registered and view its location. 

The added benefit is that it also shows you the neighbouring plots of land and their position, and therefore allows you to quickly see whether there are any gaps or other unusual results. You may also find it useful to view satellite images of the property online – but you should be careful, as boundaries may have changed if the images are outdated.

Address issues straight away

If there are any issues that arise with regards to the title plan, you should tell your solicitor straight away. You shouldn't assume that your solicitor would be aware of these already, as some issues are only apparent on physical inspection of the property.

Enquiries can then be made of the seller to establish ownership of any extra parcels of land and to ensure that these are correctly included in the sale contract. Alternatively, if it turns out that part of the land does not belong to the seller, this could make a significant difference to the price of the property.

Ultimately it will always be worth sorting any problems out before contracts are exchanged, even if this causes a delay. It is better to deal with these matters before you are committed to the property, rather than finding out in the future that you had not bought all the land that you thought you were buying or to have the issues arise again when you come to sell the property.

Contact our property solicitors

Instructing an expert solicitor is essential during any property transaction. Our solicitors and conveyancing specialists are on hand to advise and assist you through the entire process and will be open and up-front about costs. 

SO Legal is based in Eastbourne and has offices in London, Brighton, Hastings and Uckfield.