Although registered interests in land and property are now all documented online in ‘dematerialised’ form at the Land Registry, certain older interests will not always be recorded in this way and will only be shown by the paper deeds.
Most mortgage lenders also now opt to keep only dematerialised records so return any original deeds to the borrower.
Certain information can however, still only be properly ascertained from the paper deeds. Boundaries are not usually shown in exact form on the Title Plan owned by the Land Registry but only in a more general way. Therefore, in a boundary dispute, it may be important to have access to the paper deeds to ascertain the detail of exactly where the boundaries lie.
The paper deeds can also be fascinating as historical documents showing the different owners and interests in the property throughout the years.
This is why it is important for property-owners to keep any paper deeds that they have in a safe place. For further advice, please contact a property solicitor.
