Most buyers encounter the Land Registry title for the first time when their solicitor sends it over during conveyancing — buried in a 60-page pack of documents, in legal language, with a tight timeline to review. It's intimidating, it feels technical, and most buyers either ignore it or ask their solicitor to "flag anything important."
That approach is fine, but it means you're relying entirely on someone else's judgment about what matters. And a solicitor's job is to identify legal problems, not to interpret whether a restrictive covenant will affect your renovation plans, or what a right of way means for your garden use in practice.
Understanding the title register doesn't require a law degree. Here's what it tells you, what each section means, and what to look out for.
What is the title register?
The Land Registry holds the official record of land and property ownership in England and Wales. When a property is registered (all properties transferred since the 1990s must be registered, and most older ones are too), a title register is created. This is the definitive public record of who owns the property, what it consists of, and what legal interests are attached to it.
You can download any property's title register for £3 from HM Land Registry's website. You need the title number, which appears on the property's listing or which your solicitor can provide. The register is split into three sections: A, B, and C.
What the property is and where it is
The A register describes the property itself. It includes the address, a description of what's included (the land, any buildings, any associated areas like garages or gardens), and usually refers to a title plan — a map showing the registered extent of the land.
Check the title plan carefully. Does the boundary on the map match your understanding of where the boundaries are? Are there outbuildings, garages, or parcels of land you expect to own that might not be included? Boundary discrepancies between the title plan and the physical property are one of the more common issues that emerge in conveyancing.
The A register also notes if the property has the benefit of any rights — for example, a right to use a shared driveway, or access to a communal garden. These are rights in your favour and are generally positive.
Who owns it and any restrictions on ownership
The B register confirms who currently owns the property (the registered proprietor), when they acquired it, and the price they paid. This is useful context — you can see how long the current owner has held the property and what they paid for it.
More importantly, the B register records any restrictions on the proprietor's ability to dispose of the property. A common restriction is something like: "No disposition of the registered estate by the proprietor of the registered estate is to be registered without a written consent signed by [a lender or third party]." This means the current owner can't sell without getting sign-off from whoever imposed that restriction.
In most cases, these restrictions relate to mortgages (the lender's consent is needed before the property can be sold) and are straightforward. More unusual restrictions should prompt a question to your solicitor about what they mean in practice.
Mortgages, covenants, and rights over the property
The C register is where the most important buyer-relevant information lives. It records any charges (mortgages) secured against the property, and any covenants or rights that burden the property.
Mortgages and charges will be discharged when the property is sold, so you don't need to worry about those. The more important entries are the covenants and rights.
Restrictive covenants
A restrictive covenant is a legal obligation that runs with the land — meaning it binds whoever owns the property, not just the person who agreed to it. They're often very old (some date back to the Victorian era) and they can significantly restrict what you can do with the property.
Common examples include:
- "The property shall not be used other than as a single private dwelling house"
- "No building or extension shall be erected without the written consent of [an adjoining owner]"
- "No trade, business, or commercial activity shall be carried on from the property"
- "No caravans, commercial vehicles, or boats shall be kept at the property"
Some of these are effectively unenforceable in practice — if a covenant was imposed in 1902 and the original beneficiary no longer exists, there's no one to enforce it. But many remain enforceable, especially where neighbouring properties share the same covenant from a common developer.
The question to ask your solicitor isn't just "is this covenant enforceable?" but "does this covenant prevent me from doing what I want to do with this property?" If you're planning a loft conversion, an extension, or a home office, check whether any covenant would require consent before you proceed.
Rights of way and easements
An easement is a right that someone else has over your property. A right of way is the most common: it means someone (your neighbour, a footpath user, the public) has a legal right to pass over part of your land. This is different from trespassing — a right of way is a proper legal entitlement.
Rights of way and easements are worth understanding carefully, because their practical impact can vary enormously. A right of way across the back of a garden used by one neighbour once in a while is very different from a public footpath running through the property, or a maintenance access right allowing utility workers to enter at short notice.
When you see an easement in the C register, the questions to ask are: who benefits from it, how is it exercised in practice, and does it affect the parts of the property you care most about?
Leasehold properties: the additional layer
If you're buying a leasehold property — most commonly a flat, but sometimes a house — the title register situation is more complex. You'll have both the freehold title (owned by the landlord) and the leasehold title (what you're buying, being the right to occupy for the remaining lease term).
The leasehold title register shows many of the same elements, but there are additional things to check.
Remaining lease length
The title register records the original lease term (commonly 99, 125, or 999 years) and the start date. From these, you can calculate the remaining term. This is critical: most mortgage lenders require a minimum of 70–85 years remaining on the lease at the point of purchase. Below 80 years, lease extension costs escalate significantly (because "marriage value" kicks in). Below 70 years, mortgage availability is severely restricted.
Ground rent clauses
Some older leases contain ground rent clauses that double at regular intervals — called "doubling ground rent" clauses. These became notorious because properties with doubling ground rents became unmortgageable and unsaleable as the rent escalated. Following legislation in 2022, new leases are restricted to peppercorn (zero) ground rent, but existing leases with doubling clauses still exist.
If you see a ground rent in the lease, check: what is the current amount, when does it review, and how does it review? Annual reviews tied to RPI are manageable. Doubling every 10 years is a red flag.
Service charge and management structure
The title register won't show you historical service charge accounts, but it will identify the landlord and management company. Before you exchange, your solicitor should obtain the last three years' service charge accounts and any notice of planned major works. A building with £80,000 of outstanding roofing works has a very different cost profile than one without.
Land Registry title documents are £3 each and available from the Land Registry portal at Gov.uk. For a flat, order both the freehold title and the leasehold title. Reading both before you've instructed solicitors means you can ask informed questions from day one — and potentially spot deal-breaking issues before you've committed any costs.
The practical takeaway
You don't need to be a solicitor to read a Land Registry title. You need to know what questions the document is answering, and what should prompt a follow-up conversation with your legal adviser.
The three things that most often catch buyers by surprise are: restrictive covenants that prevent planned renovations, lease issues that affect mortgageability, and rights of way that affect practical use of the property. All three are visible in the register. All three can be flagged before you've spent a penny on surveys or conveyancing fees.
The register costs £3. Read it before you fall in love with the property — not after you've already told six people you're buying it.