Once you, as the Debt Management & Banking (DMB) caseworker,
decide to register notice of a charge, Form 96 may be sent to the
relevant District Land Registry (DLR) by DX or fax.
Explanatory Leaflet no. 9 will show you to which DLR the form
should be sent.
No fee is sent with the form, but the Credit Account box
should be marked X with our key number
(This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the
Freedom of Information Act 2000).
The Land Registry will supply up to 10 title numbers free but
if an office copy of the register is required, a fee of £4
will be charged for each title.
The Land Registry also provides a telephone service on 0845
308 4545. You can use this help-line service for details of title
numbers and copies of filed plans if required. (Obviously, if the
Land Registry requires a plan to assist with identification of the
property, application must be by post.)
They will need our key number and will ask for confirmation
of our address. They then request the address of the property and
prefer to have a postcode and the name of the local authority.
Finally, they will need a contact name and telephone number,
and will tell you which DLR will reply. The telephone service is
quick but if the property can only be identified from a plan, a
postal application will be necessary.
The Form 96 alone is usually sufficient for a numbered house,
e.g. 10 Main Street, Nottingham but if the property only has a
name, attach a plan.
For farmland, a plan and/or Ordnance Survey numbers should be
provided. The District Valuer (
IHTM23002) can usually provide these if
the parties do not assist. To contact the local Valuer you should
send a memo (P166) or in urgent cases telephone the Valuation
Office (
IHTM23002)] (VOA) responsible for the
area in which the property is located.
Before you attempt to register notice of a charge you should
check/confirm that the property(ies) against which you wish to
register a charge have not been sold since the claim arose.
Examination of the file or an enquiry to the parties will
generally provide this information. However, if there is any doubt,
the VOA should be asked to assist.
You can contact the VOA by memo but in most cases you will
need the information urgently and should therefore telephone the
VOA before sending form 96/using the Land Registry telephone
service.
Replies to form 96 will show whether the property is
registered or unregistered land. If the land is registered the
search will provide the title number. It should be noted that since
1990 registration of title is compulsory on the sale or transfer of
land throughout England & Wales.
Possible sales of registered land may also be checked by the
use of Form 109, sent by DX, fax or telephone. Quote the title
number if known.
An office copy of the register is usually the quickest and
most reliable method of discovering whether any transfer has
occurred since the death.
Where the office copy of the register reveals a change in
ownership within 7 years of the date of death it may be
appropriate, in certain cases, to ask the Land Registry to confirm
that the deceased was/was not a registered proprietor during the 7
years prior to death or transfer. Some DLRs will readily supply
this information without question however, where the DLR refuses
the correct way to proceed will be for the case owner to obtain the
information from the personal representatives (
IHTM05012) using the statutory powers
under IHTA84/S219, if necessary.
