Deeds

Deeds are legal documents that show who owns a property or a piece of land. They are also sometimes referred to as property deeds or title deeds. According to the official description at HM Land Registry, they are:

“Paper documents showing the chain of ownership for land and property.”

Many people assume the title deeds are always in paper format and are stored and preserved by HM Land Registry. However, this is not typically the case. Their records are now digital, so copies are securely held in that format instead. They may have the original paper forms of the deeds upon first registration of a property or piece of land, however. Once those papers have been used to create the entry in the register, they are sent back to whoever forwarded them for use to start with.

Do you need to have a copy of your deeds if you are selling a property?

No – in fact, it is very unlikely you would have them. Most buyers would not request these as all records are held on the Land Register, as mentioned above. Since this is available online, you can search for the property deeds to confirm whether the property is registered. If it is, a copy of the deeds held for that property can be requested. There is a charge for each document you require a copy of. It is also possible to obtain official copies of said documents if required, although this is not normally needed unless ownership of the property or land is in dispute.