Land Registry/Mortgage Question

My sister-in-law in the UK is renting a house to the mother. We want to use that address as where we will be living. Is a copy of the Land Registry document downloaded from the website sufficient to show ownership, or do we need a certified copy? Is a copy of the mortgage necessary?

thanks!

I'm a bit confused about who owns the house and such.

Your SIL rents a home to your mother?  Is it a formal arrangement?

If formal and there is a lease, you'll need a copy of the lease and a letter from the landlord (SIL) granting permission to live there with a description of the property.

If informal and no lease, you'll need a letter from the home owner (SIL) and a copy of the land registry showing she is the owner (and therefore the appropriate person to grant permission).  A mortgage statement is advisable but not mandatory.

The SIL owns the house. I'm not really sure if there is an agreement or not between mother and daughter! What about the original versus downloaded copy of the Land Registry??

If the property is let, the mortgage needs to be a buy to let mortgage. I have seen at least 1 tribunal case where the lack of authority to let the property has caused the Home Office to refuse the application.

Interesting. Someone who is going to rent a property, should check the landlord has permission from the mortgage company to let it anyway.

How does the HO know the landlord hasn't got permission to let?

The SIL owns the house. I'm not really sure if there is an agreement or not between mother and daughter!

Does the mother pay rent to her daughter or does she claim Housing Benefit to pay her daughter the rent? If it is the latter, then there must be a tenancy agreement.

It comes up if it is a family, renting to family, and they submit a mortgage statement, as suggested here.

Shame it isn't every tenancy check, to try to stamp out the practice of letting without permission

The best solution is to sign an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, however this exposes the landlord to prosecution in certain circumstances if immigration is denied and they do not kick out their family member under the latest immigration act.

Wouldn't they be liable for prosecution anyway under the Immigration Act 2016 for havng an illegal in their property? I didn't think it mattered whether the illegal was on the tenancy agreement or not?

The SIL owns the house. I'm not really sure if there is an agreement or not between mother and daughter! What about the original versus downloaded copy of the Land Registry??

It's likely an informal agreement.  I would submit a letter of permission from the SIL that states who lives in the home, how big it is (bedrooms, reception rooms, etc.), that you can live there, etc.  The land registry is downloaded online for £3 and is considered original. 

RE the Land Registry - if a interest in property is registered, then you can get what is called an 'official copy' of the title register extract from them (which is what I presume you mean by Land Registry 'copy'). There is no original of this as this is a central register - the downloaded copy is sufficient to show title from a legal perspective.

However, it is not clear to me if you are asking about your SIL's title to the property (which is presumably registered and freehold) or the lease to your mother. If the lease to your mother has been entered into formally and is longer than 7 years, then that too should be registered at the Land Registry and you can get an office copy of that title too. In that instance there would be two titles, the freehold one and the leasehold one, both of which official copies would be available for.

In addition to that is the lease document itself (if formally entered into). If that is registered, then you should be able to also request a copy of that from the Land Registry if you cannot find the original. That may or may not suffice for your purposes, but I would have thought it would suffice if submitted along with the official copy registers showing the relevant ownerships.

If the lease is not registered or is too short to be, then you are going to need to original or a certified copy of it to show entitlement.

I'm not completely clear as to what the plan is however, are you intending to enter into another lease with the mother, or share occupation with her under her lease? You'd need to make sure that her lease allowed that under its terms if so.

If its an informal arrangement, then pps have made suggestions in relation to that.

Hope that helps.

It is an informal agreement between the mother and the daughter (owner). So then a copy of the Land Registry and a letter from the owner indicating her mother currently lives there and we will be allowed to stay there as well is what we need?

It is an informal agreement between the mother and the daughter (owner). So then a copy of the Land Registry and a letter from the owner indicating her mother currently lives there and we will be allowed to stay there as well is what we need?

Exactly.  A mortgage statement would be nice but not mandatory.