A restriction is any entry on the title register of a property which controls what dispositions can be registered against the property.  Dispositions could be a lease, sale, a mortgage or a legal agreement with a third-party.

An example of this is a compliance restriction. This form of restriction usually occurs when the owner of a property (Party A) enters into an agreement with another person or company (Party B) to do something specific. In these circumstances a restriction may be entered onto the title register which requires a certificate of compliance, from Party B, to confirm that the conditions of the agreement have been complied with. The certificate would be required in order for Party A to be able to lease, sell or re-mortgage their property.

There are many reasons why a restriction on title is no longer required. For example, the agreement to which a restriction relates may have expired or lapsed, it may only be enforceable between the original parties, or it may have already been fully complied with.  Restrictions are not automatically removed from a title register when they are no longer enforceable – they need to be removed by submitting a form to HM Land Registry. Many people do not realise that a restriction is still on their title until they come to sell or re-mortgage their property.  It is always a good idea to check your title register every so often to make sure there is nothing on there, which is no longer required – or which you were not expecting. This helps to avoid any delays or issues when it comes to selling or re-mortgaging a property. Here at Best Solicitors, we can offer you a “Title MOT” to ensure everything is in good working order.

There are also instances where people want to enter their own restriction onto a title register. There have been some unfortunate instances where properties have been fraudulently sold or re-mortgaged without the owner’s consent. A property is more at risk of this if it is not currently mortgaged, it is rented out or the owner lives abroad. There are some ways that you can help try and minimise the risk of this happening. For example:

1. You can sign up to the UK Government’s property alerts. This tracks changes to a properties title register. The current link to this service (at the time of writing) is https://www.gov.uk/guidance/property-alert
2. You can also register a restriction on your title register. Similar to the certificate of compliance example above, a written consent signed by you would be required in order to make any application to change the title register at HM Land Registry. Although we can never fully protect a property against fraud, the restriction is an extra layer of protection which makes it more difficult for someone to defraud your identity and carry out a lease, sale or re-mortgage of your property.

If you would like to discuss the Title MOT or Proprietors Consent Restriction in more detail, please get in touch with us here at Best Solicitors and we would be delighted to help you.