The deeds of my house are missing. Can I still sell it?
Q I purchased a house in Dublin in 2008 for €1.5m. The owner – who built the house in the 1990s – had died the year before.
When I bought, the original deeds of the property could not be found and the solicitors acting for the estate of the previous owner purchased a 20-year bond to protect me from any claims on the property and I went ahead with the purchase.
I am now in the position where I may need to sell this property in the next year or so (I did not think this would be the case for 20 years when I purchased).
My questions are: 1) Will the lack of original title deeds compromise my ability to sell the property? 2) Can I have the original title deeds regenerated, and if so, how?
AThis is an anxious time for you and it may be some consolation to know that yours is not an unusual situation.
Usually missing deeds involve old houses that might not have changed hands for generations and it is perhaps understandable that in those situations paperwork can go missing over the years. It is probably a little more unusual for deeds to go missing for a house as relatively new as yours, though it does happen.
We contacted solicitor David Allen from Dublin firm O’Keeffe, Moore Woodcock for advice. According to him the absence of the original Title Deeds to your property should not in any way compromise your ability to sell this house at a future date.
The defective Title Bond that was acquired should give a full indemnity with regard to any adverse claim which may be made against the property, not only to you as the current owner, but also to anyone else who subsequently acquires an interest in this property from you. So, when you do put the house on the market and a buyer emerges then the buyer’s solicitor won’t be in the least bit fazed by the situation, which is good news.
As to the regeneration of the original deeds, Allen goes on to say that on the presumption the title to your property comprises a Registry of Deeds Title, in such circumstances, the original Title Documents cannot be regenerated per se. However, it is possible to obtain attested copies of the Memorials of the various Deeds that constitute the title, from the Registry of Deeds. Each Memorial comprises a brief synopsis of the document that was lodged in the Registry of Deeds for registration purposes and it sets out the parties to that Deed together with a description of the property in question. In order to reconstitute such a Title, it is usual to make an application to the Property Registration Authority for first registration in the Land Registry.
Once such an Application is completed, the title to the property is beyond reproach. The requisite Application, together with the appropriate forms and Declarations will usually be prepared and undertaken by your solicitor.
Your questions
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