I have lost my title deeds, can I still sell my house?

Is your property title registered?

If your property is registered, you won’t need to worry about lost title deeds as Land Registry will hold the necessary official copies of all the documents required to sell a property.

If your property title is unregistered you will need to provide a buyer with the title deeds as part of the formal transfer of ownership. The documents are just as vital for prospective buyers because title deeds will reveal crucial information that might affect their interest in purchasing the house – such as mortgages, applicable wills, leases, covenants, easements and more.

If you have lost your title deeds it is not impossible to sell your house, although there are several steps you will need to go through in order to re-construct the title.

What options are available for finding missing deeds?

Sometimes the simplest option is the best, and that’s true for trying to find your deeds because you should start by searching thoroughly throughout your house, office, and other locations where you might possible have had the documents since buying the property.

If you have had a mortgage on the property in the past, you might be able to contact the lending company to see if they are in possession of the deeds. Often lenders will take the deeds for the duration of the mortgage, and it’s possible through oversight they neglected to give them back to you once the loan was paid off. Getting the documents back can be as simple as giving the lending company a call. And the same applies if you currently have a mortgage with a firm, because you can get in touch with them to ask whether they have your home’s deeds.

Before selling your home

If your property is not registered with HM Land Registry and you, your lawyer or mortgage company are in possession of your deeds, you can go through the process of registering the house or flat before selling your property.

If your deeds are missing, you can make a reconstitution of title with HM Land Registry, a process that in effect creates new deeds listing you as the owner. This can take a long time and is not ideal for homeowners who might be looking to sell their property quickly.