FLK2 · Property Practice

Investigation of title (freehold & leasehold)

SQE1 revision notes — the key rules, leading cases and common traps for this topic, in plain English and current to 2026.

PP.01 — Investigation of Title (Freehold & Leasehold)

The task. Confirm the seller can transfer what's being sold, free of undisclosed defects, and report anything that affects value, use or enforceability to the buyer. Caveat emptor applies — the seller need not volunteer defects (subject to no misrepresentation), so the buyer's solicitor must investigate.

Registered title (the norm — LRA 2002)

Investigate via official copies of the register (Property, Proprietorship, Charges registers) + title plan, ideally with an official copy of documents referred to.
Official copies must be less than 6 months old (and pre-completion an OS1 priority search gives a 30-working-day priority period).
Class of title: absolute, qualified, possessory, good leasehold. Absolute title is not a promise that the property has no covenants or other binding interests; inspect the register and applicable overriding interests.
Good leasehold: the tenant's title to the leasehold estate is registered, but the landlord's right to grant it is not guaranteed. Registration does not affect the enforcement of any estate, right or interest affecting, or in derogation of, the landlord's title to grant the lease; lease covenants and obligations still bind the estate (LRA 2002 ss.10(3), 12(4), (6)). Investigate the freehold and any intermediate superior titles. To upgrade to absolute leasehold, satisfy the registrar as to the superior title under s.62(2), applying on Form UT1 with the evidence required by LRR 2003 r.124. This may include missing superior-title documents or consents. It is not an automatic upgrade after a fixed number of years. Check the particular lender's requirements before proceeding; do not assume the class is acceptable to every lender. Consider suitable defective title indemnity insurance where appropriate: it transfers covered risk but does not cure the title.
Check the Proprietorship register for restrictions (e.g. a Form A restriction = beneficial tenancy in common, so a second trustee must be appointed to overreach under LPA 1925 ss.2 & 27).

Unregistered title

Prove a good root of title — a document at least 15 years old dealing with the whole legal/equitable interest, with no doubt as to identity (typically a conveyance/legal mortgage).
Examine the epitome of title / chain of conveyances; check stamping and execution.
Search the Land Charges Register (LCA 1972) against names of past estate owners (registration is name-based) — Class C(iv) estate contracts, Class D(ii) restrictive covenants, Class F (home rights).
Compulsory first registration concerns an unregistered estate. A transfer of an unregistered freehold, or a lease with more than seven years remaining, for value, by gift, under a court order or by assent normally triggers registration; LRA 2002 s.4 also covers specified lease grants and protected first legal mortgages. Check the statutory exceptions rather than treating every dealing as a trigger. Apply within two months of the triggering event, unless the registrar extends the period for good reason (s.6).
Failure to register: if a transfer within s.4(1)(a) or (b) is not registered within the required time, it becomes void as a transfer of the legal estate; that estate reverts to the transferor on bare trust for the transferee. For grants or creations within s.4(1)(c)-(g), the failed grant or creation instead has effect as a contract for valuable consideration to grant or create the estate. A later extension under s.6(5) treats the earlier invalidity as not having occurred (s.7(1)-(3)).

Issues to raise (both)

Easements (rights of way, drainage) and restrictive covenants — note breaches; consider restrictive covenant indemnity insurance (don't contact the beneficiary if insuring).
Mortgages/charges — confirm redemption on completion (undertaking from seller's solicitor).
Co-ownership — joint tenants (survivorship; one survivor can sell) vs tenants in common (overreach needed).

Leasehold extras

Investigate freehold/superior title too. Check the lease: term, rent, service charge, repairing/alienation/user covenants, forfeiture.
Ground rent escalation and building safety post Building Safety Act 2022 / Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 issues.
Apportionments, consents to assign, deed of covenant, licence to assign.

Common traps

Root must be 15 years (title) vs official copies 6 months old.
Two trustees required to overreach — one isn't enough where a Form A restriction/tenancy in common exists.
Land Charges searches are against names, not addresses; clear searches certificate is conclusive.
Indemnity insurance is for risk transfer, not cure — never approach the covenantee before insuring.

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A woman is the treasurer of a small amateur football club. Members pay £20 each month in cash. Under the club rules she accepted on becoming treasurer, she must bank the subscriptions into the club's dedicated account within seven days. One month she receives £200 in subscriptions and spends the cash on her own gas bill that same day. She intends to replace the money from her wages before anyone notices, and pays an equivalent £200 into the club account two weeks later. Which statement best explains how section 5(3) of the Theft Act 1968 applies to the subscriptions when she pays the gas bill?

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