Residential Transfer of Equity Lawyers

A Transfer of Equity is a property transfer service – in some ways similar to a sale – but a Transfer of Equity does not normally involve a stranger-buyer (as an “arm’s length” sale normally would do), but rather:

(1) the person who gets the property is normally someone who knows you, or is otherwise connected with the property in some way,

and one of the following:

(2a) is paying a non-market rate for the property title,

or

(2b) is paying nothing to get onto the property title. A Transfer of Equity for non payment is like getting a sale for free – essentially a gift.

Unlike our normal conveyancing product a transfer of equity has no need to (so doesn’t) include sale searches (including priority searches), reports or certificates. There are different processes required, however, and these depend on whether the Transfer of Equity involves:

  • Payment: An SDLT return may be required, and we will have the complexities involved in transferring funds, as in a normal sale.
  • Non-payment: Uusally, no SDLT is required and we don’t have the additional complexities involved in transferring funds around that we have in a normal sale.

Please note that many ‘charges’ on the property, such as mortgages, may prevent the title to a property being transferred. Some charges will not prevent a transfer, but will remain applicable to the property after the property has been transferred.

English & Welsh law does not allow property to be owned, legalyl, by individuals who are aged 17 or younger.

The product is for the transfer of a complete title – not part of a title; see our Transfer of Part product for part-title transfers.

We also do a Transfer of Equity for no consideration product, and also a Transfer of Equity and trust product bundle you may also wish to consider.

How long will the Transfer of Equity take?

Once our expert solicitors have completed to necessary paperwork, a completed transfer will need to be submitted to HM Land Registry for registration. The time HM Land Registry take to process such a registration varies greatly, depending on how busy they are. Some applications are processed very quickly, up to “next day”; however, most applications appear to languish awaiting HM Land Registry attention; in 2021 many applications were taking about 6 months to be registered – and some types of application can take even longer than that, unfortunately. However, once submitted HM Land Registry process applications on any title in order of submission – so their delay ought not to affect the priority of your application relative to other matters on that title.

Money Matters

We are CLC-regulated, and customers may be able to reclaim VAT. The charges for a Transfer of Equity depend on whether there is a payment involved:

  • For a Transfer of Equity where there is a payment involved: We charge £525 + VAT = £630 + HMLR Fee
  • For a Transfer of Equity where there isn’t a payment involved: We charge £450 + VAT = £540 + HMLR Fee

There is more about our fees on our website here

If you have any questions or require any further information, please don’t hesitate to Contact Us.