Splitting a freehold title and registering it at land registry

 

 

A quick guide to splitting a freehold title , usually you might want to split a title if you want to sell of some of the property land or buildings or if you are splitting into two house for example if you have the land and planning permission to do this . Unlike a leasehold property freehold is when you own everything the land and the property, the title is attached to the ground that is described in the borders at land registry and cannot be floating.

As mostly all properties in the UK are registered at HM land registry ( the govt body that looks after all property registrations so ownership of a property is securely registered . When you sell a property or land the conveyancer will change the details at the registry to the new buyer and have you as the seller removed. The property is registered with a title number and usually holds a plan of the property and its boundaries, each freehold property is given a number called a title number , if you split the property to sell or retain but as two spate properties , the old part that is being retained will keep the same title number but the new bit will receive a new title number . It is important to note that the plot isn’t just cut in two, the new part is taken out of the original part and becomes a new title. 

One important point to note is a property can only be split vertically not horizontally. It can therefore only be split across along the ground rather than separating the top and bottom of a building. If you want to rent out or sell a floor of your property, for example a flat on the first floor, a straightforward title split of the freehold is not possible.

Its s recommended you use a good solicitor who is knowledgeable in this area, when the solicitor, whoever put the application in to the land registry it’s not always accepted the registry might deem it unnecessary eg the land is too small or doesn’t qualify as it’s a floor of a building and will need a new lease and not a title number.

 With your application, we will prepare a transfer document which details exactly what part of the property is being taken out of the original title. The important addition here is plans. The plans submitted need to show exactly what is going to remain as part of the original title and what will become the new title. These plans need to be detailed and it is recommended that these are drawn up by a surveyor or architect, the area being sold or split will need a plan of the new boundaries and be accurately measured , this part can be expensive so it’s worth shopping around for a decent architect and surveyor who is reasonably priced .