What is the difference between house deeds and land registry?

Answer 1

The terms house deeds and land registry title have been intermixed for 150 years.

If we focus on the last 50 years the easiest way to explain it is that

• For an unregistered property ownership is invariably proven by the 'deeds' which would normally consist of a series of deeds (conveyances, abstracts, mortgage deeds etc) which establish how the property has changed ownership and been mortgaged over the years.
• a land registry title is created when the unregistered property is registered for the first time. In the past this would be triggered by the sale of the property but over the years more triggers have been created e.g. when a property owner dies and the property passes to their beneficiary. After registration the old deeds are invariably returned to the applicant and the record of the title is then held centrally.

In the past the term 'deeds' could be applied to the old pre-registration deeds, the land registry title document or a combination of both. The term was often used as an embrace all definition as often the 'deeds are with the bank' and few owners ever had sight of them until their mortgage was paid off some 25 years later.

However, the key fact to now note is that when a property has been registered it is the Land Registry title which is the central record of ownership and the evidence upon which buyers, sellers, lenders etc will rely.