Most properties in England and Wales are registered with HM Land Registry. However, some land and property may still be unregistered.
If a property is unregistered, HM Land Registry may not hold a Title Register or Title Plan for it. This means official registered title documents may not be available in the same way as they are for registered property.
Unregistered property is land or property that does not yet have a registered title at HM Land Registry.
This does not necessarily mean that nobody owns the property. It usually means that ownership has not been recorded on the modern Land Register.
In these cases, ownership may instead be proved through older paper deeds, conveyances, transfers, or other historic documents.
A property may be unregistered if it has not changed ownership, been mortgaged, or triggered compulsory registration since registration became required in that area.
This can be more common with:
• older properties
• farmland
• woodland
• garages
• private roads
• small parcels of land
• land that has stayed in the same ownership for many years
Usually, no.
A Title Register is only available where a property has a registered title. If the property is unregistered, there may be no Title Register or Title Plan available from HM Land Registry.
If we carry out a search and cannot locate a registered title from the details provided, we will let you know.
Where the requested registered title documents are not available, we may issue a partial refund in line with our refund policy. The retained amount covers the search and administrative work carried out.
Yes. Unregistered land can still be privately owned.
The difference is that ownership may be shown through older deeds and documents rather than a registered HM Land Registry title.
If you need to prove ownership of unregistered property, you may need historic title deeds or legal advice from a solicitor or conveyancer.
We cannot provide legal advice, but we can let you know if a registered title could not be located based on the information provided.