A title plan is the official map held by HM Land Registry that shows the extent of a registered property. It’s one of the key documents involved in buying and selling a home, alongside the title register, which sets out who owns the property and any rights or restrictions attached to it.
Together, the title plan and title register make up the registered title. Your solicitor or conveyancer will examine both closely during a purchase, since between them they confirm exactly what land and buildings you’re buying, and on what terms.
Here’s what to look out for on the plan when you are buying or selling.
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What does a title plan show
A title plan is based on an Ordnance Survey map, with the extent of the registered property marked out in red edging. This makes it possible to see where a property’s boundaries lie in relation to the surrounding area, along with any attached land such as a garden, driveway, or garage.
Title plans can include other markings too. Some show T-marks along a boundary line, small letter T shapes that traditionally indicate which neighbour is responsible for maintaining a particular fence or wall, though not every title plan includes them. Where a property has gained or lost land over time, such as through a small boundary agreement or the sale of part of a garden, this can also be reflected with additional colour edging on the plan.
It’s worth knowing that a title plan doesn’t pin down the exact legal boundary to the centimetre. Under what’s known as the general boundaries rule, set out in the Land Registration Act 2002, the red edging shows roughly where a boundary sits rather than its precise legal line. If there’s ever a genuine dispute over exactly where a fence or wall should sit, a title plan alone usually isn’t enough to settle it. In that situation, either party can apply for a determined boundary, a more detailed, surveyed process that fixes the exact legal line rather than relying on the general position shown on the standard plan.
Title plan versus title deeds
It’s easy to confuse a title plan with title deeds, but they’re not the same thing. Title deeds are the older, paper-based documents that historically proved ownership before land became centrally registered. Since HM Land Registry now holds the definitive record electronically for the vast majority of properties in England and Wales, the title plan and title register have effectively taken over that role for registered land, and original deeds are largely of historical interest rather than legal necessity.
That said, some older or original deeds can still hold useful information, such as historic rights of way or covenants, so they’re sometimes kept and referred to alongside the modern registered title rather than discarded entirely.
Related: What’s the difference between a title and a deed?
How do I get a title plan for my house
You can request an official copy directly from HM Land Registry, using either the property’s address or its title number, and there’s a small fee to pay for the document. The request can be made online, and the copy you receive is an accurate, up-to-date reflection of the current register at the time of the request.
If you’re going through a solicitor or conveyancer, they’ll typically obtain this for you as a standard part of the buying or selling process, so you may never need to request one yourself. It’s also something worth having on hand if you’re planning building work near a boundary, since it gives a clear starting point for understanding where your registered land ends.
What is a lease plan
If you own or are buying a leasehold property, such as a flat within a larger building, you may also come across a lease plan. Rather than showing the boundaries of an entire title, a lease plan defines the specific area covered by an individual lease, sometimes just the inside of a flat, and it’s referred to within the lease document itself.
This matters because the building usually has its own title, often held by a freeholder or management company, with its own title plan covering the whole site. Each individual flat then has a separate leasehold title, and it’s the lease plan, not the building’s title plan, that defines exactly what that lease covers. Understanding this distinction is especially useful for flat owners, since it clarifies where your own responsibility begins and ends within a larger, shared building.
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When a title plan matters most
A title plan tends to come into play at a few key moments. It’s checked closely during a purchase to confirm what’s included in the sale, referred to by mortgage lenders as part of assessing the security for a loan, and consulted whenever a boundary question arises, whether that’s during an extension, a fence replacement, or a disagreement with a neighbour. Keeping a copy on hand, or knowing how to request one quickly, can make these situations considerably easier to navigate.
If you have questions about a title plan or lease plan for a property you’re buying or selling, your local Whitegates branch can point you in the right direction.
