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Welcome to issue 20 of Practice and Process, and hello to all the Landnet readers who may be seeing the newsletter for the first time. We've sent it to you because it includes a number of important updates we want to tell you about as soon as possible, particularly about our new Royal Mail and DX addresses for business customers and a change to our practice on personal covenants. If you were previously a Landnet-only reader and you like what you see, please do subscribe to Practice and Process.

Anonymous: I am dealing with a matter where a freehold Title is owned jointly and subject to a Form A Restriction. My Client is 'buying out' the 50% interest of his former partner. The Form A Restriction will be cancelled as the TR1 will be from both registered proprietors to my Client. There is a further Restriction which was entered by my Client's late mother pursuant to a Declaration of Trust which was prepared in 2007 when my Client and his former partner purchased the property. The Dec of Trust recites details of the financial assistance provided by her to the purchase price paid by my Client and his former partner and provides for her to be entitled to a share of the balance net sale proceeds after paying off the mortgage. The mortgage was paid off some time ago. The Restriction states that "No disposition of the registered estate by the proprietor of the registered estate is to be registered without a written consent signed by [name and address of my Client's late mother".

The issue I have is that my Client's mother passed away in 2014. Probate to her estate was granted to my Client and her brother (my Client's Uncle).

My Client is the beneficiary under his late mother's Estate. My question is can my Client and his Uncle, the co-executor, sign a Land Registry Form RX4 application to withdraw the Restriction supported by a certified copy of the Grant of Probate to my Client's late mother's Estate?

Adam: The late mother’s interest, as protected by her restriction, may form part of her estate and therefore may not have come to an end. We cannot assume that an interest protected by a restriction ends upon the death of a named restrictioner so a form RX3 will be required, along with supporting evidence to explain the nature of the interest protected by the restriction and show how this has come to an end.

Sections 3.7.3 and 4 of practice guide 19: notices, restrictions and protection of third-party interests provide guidance.

The Form A restriction would not be automatically cancelled in the way you have suggested. We cannot automatically assume that the trust of land has come to an end in such a scenario as one of the current registered owners, your client, is the transferee and remaining on the register. You would need to show that your client has become the sole beneficial owner and any trust under which the property was held has come to an end. There could also be other beneficial interests, or one of the former or current proprietors could have charged or otherwise encumbered their share. We can only cancel the restriction where we are satisfied the trust(s) have come to an end.

Section 6.2 (first bullet point) of practice guide 24: private trusts of lands explains how a Form A restriction can be cancelled and I would draw you to the reference to a conveyancer’s certificate being an option that may fit your specific scenario.

* With regards to the late mother’s restriction, it’s important to match the form of restriction with the right guidance. Both practice guide 19 and practice guide 24 cover the different scenarios regarding the cancellation/withdrawal of restrictions.

Anonymous: I have a client who has purchased a property from a mortgagee in possession via a TR2. In addition to the mortgage on the property, there are two entries for Equitable Charges which relate to different lenders than the mortgagee in possession. There are no related restrictions on the title. Will the TR2 over-ride these Equitable Charges, or will they carry over onto my client's title on registration?

Adam: Equitable charges are protected by a notice in the register and their consideration is dependent on when they were noted. If they were noted after the registration of the transferor’s charge, we will generally cancel the notice automatically on registering the transfer.

If they were noted before the registration of the transferor’s charge, we will not automatically cancel these and an application in form CN1 (for a charge protected by an agreed notice) or form UN4 (for a charge protected by a unilateral notice) must be lodged.

Please see section 2.2 of practice guide 75: transfer under a chargee's power of sale  for guidance on when such charges will be automatically cancelled.

HM Land Registry training

Our training hub provides access to a wealth of free, easy-to-find and easy-to-follow guidance and training materials on hundreds of topics – all in one place – to help you prepare and submit complete and correct applications, and make the best use of HM Land Registry services.

Along with practice guides, you'll find links to webinars, videos, podcasts, checklists and flowcharts.

We’re continuously growing and developing our training offering, adding new content as soon as it becomes available.

Essentials

Our self-service training package HM Land Registry Essentials will help you with the basics – whether you’re new to conveyancing or just need a refresher. What does HM Land Registry do? How do we fit into the conveyancing process? And how do you avoid requisitions when submitting applications to us? Find out the answers to these questions and more.

Video guides

A number of ‘How to’ video guides, designed for sharing with your clients and with colleagues new to conveyancing, are available on YouTube, as part of our Public Guidance playlist. These include easy-to-follow guidance on completing forms AP1, AS1, ID1, ID3 and TR1, plus how to find property details using Search for land and property information and Search of the Index Map.

Workshops

Look out for our free online workshops! Including live Q&As with HMLR experts, polls and knowledge checks, these are not your typical webinar.

A few places are still available for our next workshop on avoiding requisitions, taking place on Tuesday 19 November at 10am. Sign up here: Application Support Workshop.

And on Thursday 5 December at 11am, we’re collaborating with IQ Legal Training to deliver a webinar on restrictions. Find out why they generate so many requisitions and put your questions to HMLR’s experts. Remaining places are limited, but there’s still time to sign up at: https://iqlegaltraining.com/events/land-registry-restrictions.

Don’t miss out! Our popular, live workshops ‘sell out’ very quickly. Subscribe to Customer training to make sure you receive invitations and alerts.

Coming soon

‘How to’ video guides about dealing with land and property when someone dies.