Amalgamation of Two Titles

My wife and I own and occupy two adjacent terraced houses, and have done for some years. They are freehold with no mortgages in place, and we are joint owners of both. We both claim 25% single occupier discount on council tax. We have recently knocked through to make them physically one dwelling  and removed one of the kitchens. We would now like to amalgamate them so we can have them valued as one dwelling for council tax and insure them as one property. Can we do this with form AP1?

Peter - form AP1 is the correct form

An amalgamation is the joining of two or more parcels of registered or unregistered estates affecting different extents of land under a single registered title.

We do not amalgamate titles unless some positive advantage accrues to a number of prospective purchasers (such as an amalgamation of areas of land comprising a housing development), or the request does not add unnecessarily to our workload.

Amalgamation can only happen where: 

• the estates are of the same kind [for example, freehold title] 
• the estates are owned by the same proprietor[s] and in the same capacity [for example, if an owner holds one title as joint proprietor and another as sole proprietor, amalgamation of the two cannot take place]
• the impact upon any encumbrances on individual titles, such as mortgages, have been accounted for  

If you wish to apply for amalgamation you will need to complete and submit:

• Form AP1
• a covering letter outlining the reasons for the request along with any supporting evidence [If you are being refused insurance, for example, then you should include a copy of that refusal with the application]
• a sufficient description or plan of the land being amalgamated 
• a fee of £40.00 [cheques/postal orders to be made payable to HM Land Registry]

Thanks for your prompt reply Adam.

Will our reasons for wanting to make this change be acceptable to Land Registry?

Peter - it's a reason that some have used previously but colleagues will only consider the application and request as a whole once submitted. You have your reasons for requesting same and if the property is now a single one instead of two I am sure they will consider it