Traditionally, the deeds to land have been held by the banks or mortgage lenders as security against the borrowing of the farm.  Once the borrowing is paid off, the deeds are often left at the bank for safekeeping or used for further security, or they may be held in safekeeping by professional firms.

With so many local branches now closed or closing and professional firms merging and moving offices, do you know where the deeds to your farm are kept?  The records are most likely to be centralised and sent off to a security centre somewhere.  A situation often arises where the ownership deeds are lost, mislaid or destroyed by fire.  If the property is registered, the Land Registry can obtain copies for you for as little as £30, usually within the hour, so this is not a problem.

The problem arises if the old mortgage has been paid off a long time ago and the farmer wishes to do a sale or first registration with the Land Registry.  There have been numerous cases where farmers wish to sell all or part of this old land, or transfer ownership and the deeds ‘cannot be found’.  Legal support was needed to insist the security centres or professional firm trace them.

If the deeds cannot be found,  you will need to find any evidence that the land was purchased by you or your parents/grandparents.  The land registry may be able to grant a possessory title based on this evidence.  You would then have to wait 12 years,  during which time the value of the land is reduced due to the uncertainty of ownership.  After which, if the ownership is unchallenged the Land Registry will update it to an absolute title.  If, however, someone else argues they have a better claim it could become very costly.

Deeds often contain a full history with old maps of the land, not just who owns it.  So maybe it is time to track them down and make sure you know where they are for when you need them.

Speak with your solicitor in the first instance as they will have last transferred or updated any deeds when a mortgage or charge was last put on the land.