Restrictions on Title: Why Property Owners Should Think Twice

If you are a property owner, you could be asked to place a restriction against the title of your property to protect someone’s interest/s. This may seem generous at the time, but it may lead to serious consequences later on as restrictions can prevent you from selling or dealing with your property as you wish. If you’re unable to satisfy the condition/s of the restriction, locate the party with the benefit of the restriction or, if they refuse to cooperate, you may be forced to make an application to the Land Registry to either disapply, withdraw or cancel the restriction.

Disapply

A Land Registry application to disapply a restriction is in the form of an RX2. This is correct choice of application if you can’t locate the party with the benefit of the restriction or, if they refuse to engage. However, the application itself is not straightforward. You will need to prove that you have sufficient interest in the restriction and provide evidence that you have tried your best to comply with the terms of the restriction and/or contact the party with the benefit of the restriction. You will also need to show that the restriction is no longer justified and serves no purpose. Even then, although the restriction may be ‘disapplied’ it could remain on the register, putting prospective buyers off.

Withdraw

You can make an RX4 application to withdraw a restriction in circumstances where you have consent from the party with the benefit of the restriction. Sounds straight forward but, this application is not suitable for all types of restrictions e.g. if the restriction is pursuant to a court Order.

Cancel

If a restriction is no longer required e.g. the conditions have been fulfilled, the correct application is form RX3. You will need to provide sufficient evidence with your application to prove that the conditions of the restriction have been satisfied.

Conclusion

Land Registry applications can be very tricky for those unfamiliar with the forms and the Land Registry decision makers have a strict checklist of what needs to be satisfied before they can grant an application. If your Land Registry application is rejected (which happens often) an application to the first-tier tribunal (property chamber) will be the next lengthy and costly step.

To save yourself unintended problems, think carefully and get some advice.