Owners in common

Hi, I am trying to establish what I need to do to get confirmation that the original joint ownership has been changed to ownership in common. This request was completed back in 2016 by solicitors. But have no hard copy from the L/R of this being completed. I have been online and paid for a digital copy of the registry. But makes no mention of this fact. So, does anyone know what is needed to get confirmation? Thanks Vanessa

Hi Vanessa - HM Land Registry registers only legal estates so we would not specifically state if the proprietors hold the property as beneficial joint tenants or tenants in common. Those are matters that relate to beneficial ownership. We would enter a Form A restriction when the registered proprietors severe the beneficial joint tenancy and register themselves as tenants in common. On receiving an application for Severance of Joint Tenancy, we will enter the Form A restriction on the title. The wording of the restriction reads as: “No disposition by a sole proprietor of the registered estate (except a trust corporation) under which capital money arises is to be registered unless authorised by an order of the court.” Apart from this, we will not indicate anywhere whether the proprietors own the property as joint tenants or tenants in common. You should obtain a copy of the title register and check the B: Proprietorship Register to confirm the entries. Guidance on our website on GOV.UK explains how you can get a copy of the title register for a small fee - Search for land and property information - GOV.UK I would, however, point out that people often think that the Form A restriction on their title register means that they are tenants in common. That is not always the case as the same restriction can be registered for other reasons. You can find more information on our website on GOV.UK under Joint property ownership - https://www.gov.uk/joint-property-ownership - as well as our Practice Guide 24 - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-trusts-of-land-pg24 . The Practice Guide is primarily written for legal professionals. Hope this helps.