The report on title is a document written by a purchaser’s solicitor which sets out they will report on the status of the property to the buyer and, if applicable, to the buyer’s mortgage lender.
The report usually contains the following:
- a summary of the title to the property, eg freehold, leasehold (inc details of lease, service charge, ground rent)
- notes on anything registered on the title at the Land Registry which may impact the purchase and use of the property afterwards, eg rights of way, restrictions, obligation to maintain fences
- results of any searches eg flood, environmental
- planning history, esp any planning permission/refusal, building regulation approval (eg new boiler)
- replies from the seller to the buyer’s pre-contract enquiries, eg which fixtures, fittings and chattels are included/excluded
- summary of the contract including the deposit payable, whether sold with vacant possession
- details of stamp duty (SDLT) payable
Finally, if all is well, the report on title will say something along the lines of:
“The Property has a good and marketable title and that on the basis of our review of the documents, there is no reason why you should not proceed with your purchase of the Property.”
