My partner and I are in the process of remortgaging. When we bought the property five years ago the solicitor we used put an anti-fraud restriction on the title.
We were inexperienced first-time buyers and didn’t know a lot about it, but it seemed like a good idea at the time so we agreed.
As it turns out, it has made remortgaging a nightmare. We were told we just needed to get an anti-fraud certificate signed, but we visited two local solicitors and neither would do it.
We have gone back to the conveyancer who we used for the purchase but they said we’d need to pay £250 to certify that we are our home’s rightful owners.
This all seems like a racket to me. Are we going to have this problem every time we want to remortgage? Is there even any point having an anti-fraud restriction on the title?
Some friends told us that we can set up alerts on the Land Registry for free which will alert you to any applications to change ownership or register a mortgage. Should we just pay to remove the anti-fraud restriction?
Stuck: Our reader has tried and failed to convince two solicitors to sign the anti-fraud certificate they need in order to remortgage
Ed Magnus of This is Money replies: This sounds like an utter nightmare as well as an unexpected cost to bear.
This anti-fraud restriction on your property’s title stops the Land Registry from registering a sale or mortgage on your home, unless a conveyancer or solicitor certifies the application was made by you.
While it may be tempting to remove the anti-fraud restriction, it may be worth the hassle and keeping it in place.
This is because it’s possible for a criminal to steal a homeowner’s identity and use it to make an application to the Land Registry.
A successful fraudster could forge a transfer of ownership, take out a mortgage on the property or even sell it without your knowledge.
The fact you’re struggling to get anyone to certify the document shows it must be quite an effective defence mechanism, and a good deterrent to fraudsters.
However, the extra hoops it requires you to jump through can be annoying.
The Land Registry advises that an anti-fraud restriction on the title is likely to slow down the process of selling or remortgaging.
Your friends mentioned setting up a property alert on the Land Registry, which is a different thing.
It means you will be notified of certain types of activity on the register in relation to your property, which you can rapidly respond to if necessary.
This service currently has more than 1.25 million active alerts protecting properties across England and Wales, and giving homeowners greater peace of mind.
For expert advice we spoke to Olivia Egdell-Page, partner and head of the property department at law firm Joseph A Jones & Co, and Andrew Boast, co-founder of SAM Conveyancing.
Olivia Egdell-Page, partner and head of property department at Joseph A Jones & Co
Do they need the anti-fraud restriction?
Olivia Egdell-Page replies: The anti-fraud restriction is a protection to you as the homeowner. It requires a certificate in to confirm you are the true owner of the property you are purporting to sell or mortgage.
Usually, this means a solicitor who is acting for you in connection with a property will be required to obtain evidence of your identity, not only to comply with their own professional and regulatory obligations, but also to be able to submit an application to the Land Registry on your behalf.
I wonder, on that basis, how and why the solicitor who is acting for you in connection with the mortgage is not able to produce this certificate. That would be my expectation and is usual practice, certainly in my firm.
Andrew Boast adds: The restriction requires a qualified conveyancer to provide a certificate of compliance confirming the people who are remortgaging, or updating the Land Registry, are the same as those named on the title deeds.
They do this by meeting the client, seeing their ID, such as a passport or driving licence, and checking the signature on the mortgage deeds matches the ID provided by the client.
The Land Registry will only accept specific wording within the certificate, and will reject any with the slightest of errors.
The problem is the anti-fraud restriction offers an almost foolproof anti-fraud protection, which is a pain for you whenever you need to remortgage or sell.
The issue is that it needs to be completed every time you remortgage, or when you sell the property.
Andrew Boast, co-founder of SAM Conveyancing
Is £250 too much?
Andrew Boast replies: The cost of this service varies from £150 to £300 and you pay more, the more names there are on the title deeds.
You can complete the service remotely from your own home or work using a solicitor who offers video calls.
Olivia Edgell-Page adds: The firm who acted for you when you purchased would be required to open a file, renew their ID checks and provide the certificate, so whilst £250 seems steep, the amount of time this will take inevitably incurs a fee.
How long should the process take?
Andrew Boast replies: The meeting with a solicitor is very short; a maximum of five to 10 minutes.
The solicitor then drafts and posts the certificate of compliance to the client or their solicitor and then they are able to complete the remortgage or sale.
If a meeting was booked in today, they’d have the certificate tomorrow or the next day, post dependent.
We suggest special delivery for any cases where time is really critical.
What is the Property Alert service?
Olivia Egdell-Page replies: If you are concerned about the impact of the restriction moving forwards, an alternative is to activate the Property Alert service, a tool which is offered by the Land Registry.
This is a monitoring tool which will enable you to receive email alerts when any activity occurs in respect of any property you have registered with the service.
If you receive an alert about activity which seems suspicious you would then be able to take action.
Andrew Boast replies: The Land Registry offers another solution to protect against fraud called the Property Alert.
You’ll be informed if someone applies to change the register of your property, however, it doesn’t block them from doing so.
This is where an anti-fraud restriction is better. It doesn’t tell you the fraud is taking place, it stops the fraud from happening.
You have to weigh up the benefit of knowing no one can impersonate you to sell or remortgage your home, against the logistics of obtaining the certificate and the cost.
How else can they make themselves more secure?
Olivia Egdell-Page replies: In order to protect your interest in the property, it is also recommended that you inform the Land Registry if you change your address at any time.
Update this on the title to the property to ensure that this remains current and therefore means that the Land Registry can contact you if they have any concerns.
