Mortgage paid - Deeds wanted

Obtaining Deeds After Mortgage Repayment

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Article Summary

When the mortgage is repaid you are entitled to have your Ownership Documents, or property Deeds returned to you. Your Mortgagee is not entitled to hold them any longer, and will almost always return them to you after receiving your final payment. But where the property is registered there are no ownership documents or Deeds to return as they are held electronically by the Land Registry on their computers, and they do not automatically send you a copy. So if your property is registered you should apply online for a copy of your Title Register and Title Plan, which are your ownership documents.

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Expiry of Mortgage Term

When the final payment on a mortgage is made (known as mortgage redemption) the mortgagee is no longer entitled to a registered charge on your property, as he no longer requires security for payment of the debt.

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Unregistered Properties

It is standard practice for the mortgagee to forward the Deeds to your property to you upon redemption, if the property has not been registered with the Land Registry, and it would then be for you to decide if you wished to store the Deeds or to apply for voluntary Registration. If you decide to apply for voluntary registration you should instruct a solicitor to do this for you as he would need to demonstrate to the Land Registry that you have a good root of title. A good root of title simply means that you can trace an unbroken chain of ownerships leading to yourself from someone else who owned the property at least 15 years ago. Your solicitor would also have to show that none of these owners lost their right to property ownership, e.g. because of bankruptcy. This is all routine practice for a solicitor, but is usually beyond the acumen of ordinary people like you and I.

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Registered Properties

Most properties, these days, are registered with the Land Registry. If your property is registered the mortgagee has no need to send you the Deeds, although some mortgagees may still do so as they are still useful in certain instances, e.g. where there is a boundary dispute).

Usually, however, the mortgagee will write to you to confirm redemption of the mortgage and suggest that you obtain a copy of the Title Register and Title Plan from the Land Registry. The Title Register and Title Plan are the modern day equivalent of the House Deeds, and have taken their place.

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Title Register and Title Plan

These documents are retained by the Land Registry on-line and you can obtain a copy whenever you wish. It is wise to obtain a copy and keep them somewhere safe in your home, as should anything happen to you, your next of kin will know the property is registered, and have all the details they would need.