Read the title register and title plan together, then compare them with the property you viewed. The register records ownership and may contain rights, restrictions and references to other deeds. The plan shows the general extent of the registered land. Neither an attractive listing nor a fence on the ground answers every legal question. This guide covers registered property in England and Wales.
Your first task is to identify uncertainties, not to decide a legal boundary yourself. Start a short list of the features that matter to your purchase: the house, rear garden, driveway, garage, parking space and any route to the road. That list makes your conveyancer’s review more useful because it connects the paperwork with the way you intend to use the home.
Get the right documents for the right property
Use the official HM Land Registry search service. At our review date, an online title register or title plan costs £7 each. The free property summary is more limited. An official copy costs £11 per document through the public postal service; the ordinary online download cannot be used as proof of ownership. Your conveyancer can explain which documents they need for the transaction.
- Match the address and map location to the property. Flats, garages and separate pieces of land deserve particular care.
- Save both documents with the title number in the filename. Record the download date so you know which version you discussed.
- Highlight references to transfers, conveyances, leases or other deeds. Ask your conveyancer whether copies are needed.
- Send a written list of everything you believe is included in the sale, alongside the agent’s particulars.
What each document can help you check
| Your question | Starting point | Follow-up enquiry |
|---|---|---|
| Who is recorded as owner? | Title register | Does the seller have the authority needed to complete the sale? |
| Is this freehold or leasehold? | Title register and, for leasehold property, the lease | Which title or titles are being transferred? |
| Does the sale include the garage? | Title plan, register and sale particulars | Is there a separate garage title or a right to use it? |
| Can I cross the neighbouring driveway? | Register and any referenced deed | What route and uses does the right cover? |
| Can I extend or change the use? | Covenants and referenced documents | How do the obligations affect my proposed work? |
| Who maintains the fence? | Deeds, any boundary agreements and seller replies | Is there evidence of ownership or maintenance responsibility? |
Keep access and use questions separate from ownership. A parking area can be outside the house’s title yet subject to a documented right; land inside a title can still be subject to someone else’s rights. Our shared-driveway guide provides questions for that part of the review.
Put the title documents beside the wider evidence
Use HouseDossier to organise your property research, then keep the title documents and your conveyancer’s answers with the same address.
Find a propertyThe red line is a general boundary
Most titles do not record the exact legal boundary or who owns the hedge, wall or fence between properties. GOV.UK’s boundary guidance explains the general-boundaries system and the separate routes for recording a boundary more precisely. A title plan is a starting point for enquiries, not permission to move a fence.
The joint HMLR and Ordnance Survey explanation also warns against measuring the exact boundary from the plan. Mapping records physical features at a particular time; later changes on the ground may not appear. Enlarging a PDF does not turn its red edging into a survey accurate to centimetres.
Worked example: the garage behind the garden
Imagine a listing showing a house, a rear garden and a garage reached by a lane. On your downloaded plan, the red edging appears to stop before the garage. There are several questions to investigate: the garage might have its own title, there might be a right to use it, or the sale particulars might need correction. The plan alone does not choose between those explanations.
Send the conveyancer an annotated copy identifying the garage and the route you used. Ask them to confirm the documents covering both, whether those interests are included in the contract, and whether the access accommodates your intended use. This is more productive than asking simply whether the title is “all fine”. Do the same exercise for any parking space or side passage essential to your purchase.
Before you accept the title report
- Check that every essential feature from your viewing list has a documented answer.
- Read the plain-language report alongside the actual plans, rather than relying on the address alone.
- Ask about any missing referenced deed and what the missing information means for this purchase.
- Record unresolved issues and who is obtaining the answer. Distinguish an explanation from a document still awaited.
- Tell the conveyancer about proposed extensions, parking arrangements or business use so they can review relevant restrictions.
These checks complement the conveyancing searches and building survey. Title records address legal interests; they do not establish the condition of the roof, the quality of an extension or whether a home suits your budget.
Build an address-specific research file
Start with the property’s public data, then add the documents and professional answers that address your own plans.
Find a propertyFrequently asked questions
Does a title plan show the exact boundary?
Usually it shows general boundaries. It should not be scaled to settle the exact legal line or used alone to decide who owns a fence.
Should I order the register or the plan?
They serve different purposes and are best read together. The register may also refer to a lease or other deeds that your conveyancer needs to review.
What if the garage appears outside the title plan?
Ask your conveyancer to investigate whether it has a separate title or a right of use, and whether the relevant interest is included in the sale.