Transfers and assignments

Section 52(1) of the Law of Property Act 1925 (LPA 1925) requires that a transfer of a legal interest in land is made by deed.

The fundamental objective of the Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002) is 'total registration', where the register of title provides a complete and accurate reflection of the state of the title to the land at any given time. LRA 2002, s 4 requires the buyer of an unregistered freehold or lease with more than seven years unexpired (ie a qualifying estate) to apply for first registration.

The Land Registration Rules 2003, SI 2003/1417 (Land Registration Rules) deal with the background technical detail of registration and HM Land Registry has issued a number of Practice Guides.

Transfers

The Land Registration Rules prescribe the form of transfer that should be used to transfer a qualifying estate. These are:

•
TR1—Transfer of whole
•
TP1—Transfer of part of registered title(s)
•
TR2—Transfer of whole of registered title(s) under power of sale
•
TP2—Transfer of part of registered title(s) under power of sale
•
TR5—Transfer of portfolio of titles (whole or part)
•
AS1—Assent

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

TAKE A FREE TRIAL

Latest Property News

Welsh Government allocates £90m in loans to support housing delivery and improvements

The Welsh Government has allocated £90m in low-interest loans to registered social landlords to assist in the delivery and improvement of affordable housing. These loans, ranging from £5m to £10m, aim to support the construction of 277 affordable homes, with 119 expected to be completed during the current Senedd term, and to facilitate improvement works on 4,397 existing homes.

Court of Appeal decides capital allowances are available for environmental studies (Orsted West of Duddon Sands (UK) Ltd and others v HMRC)

Tax analysis: In Orsted West of Duddon Sands (UK) Ltd and others v HMRC, the Court of Appeal overturned the decision of the Upper Tribunal (UT), holding that the companies were entitled to capital allowances in respect of certain environmental studies undertaken before and during the construction of offshore windfarms.

FTT decides that arrangements involving main residence were not excepted from higher rate stamp duty land tax (Sajedi and others v HMRC)

Tax analysis: In Sajedi and others v HMRC (6 March 2025), the First-tier Tax Tribunal (FTT) upheld closure notices denying relief from stamp duty land tax (SDLT) charged at the higher rate for purchases of additional dwellings. The FTT found that the purchased dwellings were not a replacement for the purchaser’s only or main residence because the purchaser had not disposed of a major interest in that residence.

HMLR publishes three guidance documents and two resource pages

HM Land Registry (HMLR) has published three guidance documents and two resource pages. The documents provide guidance on: (1) obtaining more information about properties in England and Wales; (2) how property professionals can work with HMLR; and (3) how to apply to change or update the register, including changing existing details or registering land for the first time. The two resource pages comprise a collection of guidance documents on using HMLR’s digital services and additional information on working with HMLR.