Obtaining an Epitome of Title

Obtaining an Epitome of Title

What is an Epitome of Title?

An Epitome of title is often found with the bundles of deeds and documents comprising an unregistered property title, i.e. where the property has not yet been registered for the first time with HM Land Registry. The epitome is a bound bundle of copy deeds and searches showing a good root of title for the unregistered property.

What is a Good Root of Title?

A good root of title requires an unbroken and unfettered chain of ownership for a period of at least 15 years, ending with the current owner. This is established by producing conveyances, transfers, assignments, assents, probates, powers of attorney and/or mortgages linking each owner, and producing official and bankruptcy searches to prove the owners appearing in the chain of ownership were not bankrupted during their respective periods of ownership.

Information in an Epitome of Title

As you might expect, a bundle of documents holding copies of so many deeds and documents would be expected to host a vast treasury of historic property information, which would include the identities of property owners, property prices, boundary detail, rights of way detail, restrictive and positive covenants, easements, and so on.

How to Obtain an Epitome of Title

The most obvious source in which to look for an epitome of title is with the pre-registration deeds, if the property has now been registered, or the current deeds if it has not.

Where the property has been registered, and there is no pre-registration bundle of deeds and documents discoverable by you (i.e. they are not with you, your mortgagee, solicitor or bank) the Land Registry will most likely have copied some of the deeds and will have made those copies available for purchase.

You can obtain copies of any such deeds using our Associated Documents Search. A single fee of £29.95 will allow you to obtain from us copies of all deeds copied by the Land Registry for any particular property.

Associated Documents Search