Land Registry Title Plan Information
When land is registered at the Land Registry, two documents are produced – the register of title and the filed plan. The register of title contains all of the pertinent information about the land such as a description or if the land has a building on it, the address, the name and address of the registered owner and details of any rights, covenants and charges affecting the property. The filed plan, which is referred to in the description, shows an outline of the boundaries of the property as well as, where necessary, other features.
The filed plan is an OS map plan. It will show an outline of the property itself and will also show surrounding streets. It will be drawn to scale and will have a north point. The boundaries of the property will be outlined in red. It will be produced when the land is first registered based on a plan taken from the title deeds. Unlike the register it will not be updated each time there is a change of ownership but rather, only when there is a change in the extent of the property such as if a part of the land is sold off or a boundary is repositioned. Click here to order a copy of the title plan for any property.
Accuracy of the Land Registry Filed Plan
The filed plan shows the general boundary only (for those are interested this is set in [insert rule] of the Land Registration Rules 2003). Although it is a very good guide it is not intended to be exact and the Land Registry cannot be held liable for any loss suffered as a result in reliance on it. It cannot therefore be used to settle a boundary dispute and where a dispute arises you will still need to look to the pre-registration title deeds.
Determination of the Boundary by the Land Registry
It is possible to make an application to the Land Registry to determine the exact line of the boundary using Land Registry form DB. This will involve them looking at any pre-registration title deeds that are available and any physical features. If sufficient information is available to make a determination then the plan will be updated as appropriate and the title register will be noted to show that the boundary has been determined. The plan can then be relied upon.
Where there is insufficient evidence for the Land Registry to make a determination then the exact line of the boundary can only be determined by the Courts.
Land Registry Colouring on the Filed Plan
The Land Registry use a number of different colours to identify features on the filed plan and any colouring should be explained in the title register. The property itself will always be edged red. If the property is a flat or maisonette, so that not all of the floors of the building on the land belong to the property, the footprint of the flat itself will be tinted blue and the description in the title register will read something like “as to the part tinted blue on the file plan, only the nth floor is included in the title”. Blue, yellow and brown are all used to identify various rights of way and pink is often used to identify areas which are subject to covenants.
Where land which was previously part of the property has been removed (for example part of the land has been sold off) it will be edged in green and if it has been registered with its own title this will be written on the plan.
Preparing a Title Plan for First Registration
When registering a property for the first time or when registering the title to a piece of land which has been split from a larger plot, unless the boundaries are clearly identifiable from the OS map, it is necessary to provide the Land Registry with a suitable plan from which to prepare the filed plan. The plan supplied must be drawn to a recognised scale and have a north point. If copying the plan you must be careful not to resize it (for example by copying it from A3 size to A4 size) as this will of course distort the scale and render it inaccurate.
The plan is usually taken from the title deeds though occasionally, particularly when the property is in question is new build and part of as development, a plan will need to be drawn up, preferably by a professional draughtsman.
