When does property ownership begin

[AK2021]

When does the legal ownership of property begin?
In the estate in question there is a gift of a particular property to a single beneficiary.
There are no charges and no debt on this particular title.

Does the beneficiary become the legal owner (and responsible for upkeep)

• On the date of grant of probate
  When the land registry assent is signed
  When the land registry is completed
  Other

[pawncob]

When LR registration is completed.

[AK2021]

Thank you for your reply
Is there anything stopping beneficiary (and executor) moving into the empty house before they are the legal owner?

[AGoodman]

When LR registration is completed.

Is this right? Land law was my worst mark at University so I'm open minded but I thought a legal conveyance (including an assent) would transfer legal ownership.

Just thinking of a regular house purchase, it might take 6-9 months to register a transfer but I'm not aware of any doubt that the buyer is the legal owner from the date of completion.

Happy to be corrected.

[AGoodman]

Thank you for your reply
Is there anything stopping beneficiary (and executor) moving into the empty house before they are the legal owner?

No - not if they have the executor's consent (or, indeed, are the executor)

[pawncob]

https://lawhive.co.uk/knowledge-hub/conveyancing/when-do-you-legally-own-a-property/

[someone]

https://lawhive.co.uk/knowledge-hub/conveyancing/when-do-you-legally-own-a-property/

That's a bit misleading though because any solicitor worth their salt will have done something (I forget exactly what) that prevents anyone else changing the title until the registration has been submitted. Any solicitor acting for a mortgagee will be required to do this to avoid any possibility that the restriction might not be added to the title, I guess where there's no mortgage then it's probably unlikely that the purchaser will have stipulated this explicitly but I expect it would still happen.

So it's certainly true that once your name appears on the title it's definitely yours (and why everybody should register to get updates when the title of a property is accessed because if someone manages to get their name onto the title then you could lose your home even if you're still living in it - and you'll have to pursue HMLR for compensation) but I'm not convinced that it's correct that legal title doesn't transfer when contracts are exchanged.

And if legal title doesn't transfer until registration is complete at HMLR then it's potentially a bit of a nightmare for tax purposes for jointly owned rental property and would require any jointly owned property to be registered at HMRC until the HMLR registration was completed as it wouldn't be a schedule 3A excluded trust.


I'm not exactly sure whether that site you linked is saying that legal title transfers when the registration is submitted to HMLR (which is the key point that the hold on updates to the title is designed to ensure) or when the registration finally is visible at HMLR (which can be a very long time afterwards)

[pawncob]

The recent case of Baker v Craggs is an important reminder of the fact that a buyer does not become the legal owner of a property until its purchase is registered at the Land Registry.

The case concerned a right of way over a farmyard to a barn conversion following the successful sale of two pieces of farmland. The sellers first sold part of their farm to Mr Craggs, but did not reserve a right of way over it to a barn elsewhere on its land. They then sold the barn to Mr Baker and granted a right of way at the same time over the land sold to Mr Craggs.

Ordinarily, a buyer would be protected against subsequent interests such as a new right of way being registered against land between completion and registration by virtue of its Land Registry official search. This grants a priority period within which a buyer can register its property free from any new adverse interests. However, there was an issue with Mr Craggs’ transfer plan that caused the Land Registry to query the application. When Mr Craggs’ solicitor did not respond to the query within the required amount of time (because the sellers delayed in correcting the plan), the Land Registry rejected the whole application and they had to re-apply to register his purchase.

During this interval, Mr Baker successfully registered his purchase, including the right of way over Craggs’ land, at the Land Registry. Mr Baker argued that the right of way had taken priority over Mr Craggs’ application and should be binding on his land. For a variety of complex legal reasons (in particular, the fact that Mr Craggs was in occupation of the property) the Court of Appeal held that the right of way was not binding on Mr Craggs and should be removed from his title, overturning the initial decision.

[AK2021]

Perhaps my use of the words "legal owner" is revealing my lack of knowledge, maybe "beneficial ownership" is the question.
To drill down into the reasons behind the OP
The property in question is farmland
It is currently being farmed rent free by the beneficiaries sibling, as a continuation of the arrangements before the date of death, when it was owned by the deceased but farmed by the family partnership.
In the future it will be rented from the beneficiary.
The question really is at what point is it appropriate to begin charging rent to the new tenant?

Similarly a second field is rented out for springtime car boot sales, the rent was paid into the business partnership after the date of death as a continuation of pre death arrangements. However the beneficiary is no longer a business partner and wishes to keep the rent from her property. At what point is she entitled to the rent in her own right?

[pawncob]

Well, that's a different question.
Rent can be charged from the moment of the owner's death (either by the Executors or the beneficiary)
Whether you choose to charge rent, and from when is at your discretion. If you're Exec then you should charge ASAP. If you're Beneficiary then (at your discretion) from the date you become legal owner.
With regard to the second point, the rent received forms part of the Estate- and will be distributed as per the Will.