Keeping House Deeds

[feder1]

Please:

Is it necessary to have paper house deeds for a house bought 30 years ago?

Where to keep them?

Can an executor manage to sell the house without paper deeds?

[newlyretired]

Is it necessary to have paper house deeds for a house bought 30 years ago?

Where to keep them?

Can an executor manage to sell the house without paper deeds?

You don't need paper deeds if the property has been registered with the Land Registry. However CK certainly recommends keeping them and handing them on to the new owner when you sell the property.

When my deeds came back from the building society after paying off the mortgage I lodged them with the solicitor who I used for the original purchase - and I kept photographs of them on my computer.

If the property is registered then the executor would not have a problem. If not registered then the absence of the deeds would make life more complicated.

newlyretired

[pochisoldi]

Please:

Is it necessary to have paper house deeds for a house bought 30 years ago?

Where to keep them?

Can an executor manage to sell the house without paper deeds?

If the title is not registered they are essential as the documents together form a chain of ownership which proves who has the absolute right to sell the property. http://www.in-deed.net/epitome-title

If the title is registered then they may have historical value for future owners. (For example I have a trail of ownership for the plot my house was built on from 1893 until the title was first registered in the 1970s).

Pochisoldi

[Clitheroekid]

Is it necessary to have paper house deeds for a house bought 30 years ago?

It depends whether or not the title is registered at the Land Registry. If the deeds include a Land Certificate then it is registered, and although the deeds may well be useful and / or interesting you don't actually need them to prove title.

If you bought in 1987, and if it's in a rural area, then it's possible that compulsory registration didn't apply at the time, in which case the deeds are vital to prove title.

You can find out if the title's registered here - https://www.gov.uk/search-property-info ... d-registry

Where to keep them?

Again, it depends on whether the title's registered. If it is, the deeds aren't desperately important, but my personal view is that they should be retained by the owner of the house and handed over to the new owner on each sale.

If it's not registered then it's essential to keep them somewhere safe from accidental destruction / loss. Unless you have a fireproof safe it's risky to store them at home. Banks may store them, though they'll charge, and if you have a regular solicitor they would probably store them free of charge (it's not entirely altruistic - they'd be hoping you'd instruct them if you decided to sell!)

Can an executor manage to sell the house without paper deeds?

If registered, yes; if unregistered it would be possible, but complicated and expensive, as you'd need title indemnity insurance.