Does a Deed of Trust Need to be Registered?
When you jointly own a property and have drafted a Deed of Trust to confirm your beneficial interests, a common question is whether the document itself must be registered. The answer depends on which government body you are dealing with: HM Land Registry or HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Failing to register your trust with HMRC can result in severe financial penalties, while failing to register a restriction at the Land Registry leaves your capital exposed if the property is sold without your knowledge. This guide explains how to register a Deed of Trust with the Land Registry, when you are legally required to declare it to HMRC, and the associated registration costs.
- The deed itself is not registered: HM Land Registry does not store trust deeds. Instead, you inform the Land Registry that there is a trust by registering a legal restriction (such as a Form A or Form B) against the property title.
- Restrictions protect your money: A Land Registry restriction prevents the property from being sold, gifted, or remortgaged until the exact financial conditions of your Deed of Trust are satisfied.
- Strict 90-day HMRC deadline: You may be legally required to register your trust with HM Revenue and Customs via the Trust Registration Service (TRS) within 90 days of creation to avoid severe financial penalties.
- HMRC exemptions are limited: Co-ownership trusts are only exempt from HMRC registration if the legal owners on the title deeds and the beneficial owners named in the trust are the exact same individuals.
- Risks of inaction: Failing to register a restriction at the Land Registry leaves your capital entirely exposed if the property is sold without your knowledge.
Do you register a Deed of Trust at the Land Registry?
You do not register the physical deed at HM Land Registry because they do not store trust deeds. Instead, you register a restriction (such as a Form A, Form B, Form N, or Form LL) against the property's title. This restriction prevents the property from being sold, transferred, or remortgaged unless specific conditions are met.
While the Land Registry requires a copy of the deed to approve the restriction, they will not hold onto it and will return the original once the restriction is active on the title register. The primary reason to apply a restriction is to protect the money invested in the property, though a deed is also heavily utilised for tax purposes, such as transferring rental income to a spouse on a buy-to-let.
What types of deeds of trust are there?
The type of Deed of Trust you have dictates both the type of Land Registry restriction required and whether you must register with HMRC:
- Fixed-percentage deed: Specifies an unchangeable split of the equity (e.g. 60/40 or 70/30) regardless of future payments. Usually protected at the Land Registry with a standard Form A restriction.
- Floating (variable) deed of trust: Adjusts the beneficial ownership over time based on ongoing mortgage repayments, capital improvements, or maintenance costs. This requires a bespoke Form B restriction to ensure future solicitors calculate the fluctuating payout correctly. Read more: Floating Deed of Trust Guide.
- Sole owner with non-owner interest: Created when one partner is on the legal title deeds, but a non-owner contributes funds and holds a beneficial share, such as a Deed of Assignment. This requires a Form B or Form N restriction and mandatorily triggers the 90-day HMRC Trust Registration Service (TRS) requirement .
What is a Land Registry restriction?
A restriction is an entry on the title of the property that prevents you from selling, transferring, gifting, or registering a new mortgage on the home (collectively known as a "disposition") until the conditions within the restriction are satisfied.
Here are the primary restrictions applied to notify future conveyancers that a Deed of Trust exists:
- Form A (Restriction on dispositions by sole proprietor): This confirms the property is held as tenants in common. The wording states: "No disposition by a sole proprietor of the registered estate (except a trust corporation) under which capital money arises is to be registered unless authorised by an order of the court". This ensures a single owner cannot sell the property alone.
- Form B (Dispositions by trustees—certificate required): This can be applied even if you are not a legal owner. It states: "No disposition... is to be registered unless they make a statutory declaration, or their conveyancer gives a certificate, that the disposition... is in accordance with [the trust deed]." This prevents a sale without a solicitor certifying the deed's terms have been correctly actioned.
- Form N: This restriction states: "No disposition... is to be registered without a certificate signed by [PARTY 1]... that the provisions of [the deed] have been complied with." The property cannot be disposed of unless Party 1 officially confirms the clauses have been adhered to.
- Form LL: This is an anti-fraud clause stating: "No disposition... is to be registered without a certificate signed by a conveyancer that the conveyancer is satisfied that the person who executed the document... is the same person as the proprietor." The property cannot be sold without a solicitor verifying the ID of the parties named on the title. Read more: What is the Land Registry Anti Fraud Restriction?
How to register a restriction at the Land Registry
You typically instruct a conveyancing solicitor to register the restriction for you. The process varies depending on the form:
Restriction to Register | How to Register at the Land Registry |
Form A Restriction | If you are applying a Form A restriction, the property is currently held as joint tenants. The process to sever the joint tenancy and apply a Form A Restriction is detailed here: How to change from Joint Tenants to Tenants in Common. |
Form B Restriction | To apply a Form B restriction, your drafted deed must include the specific wording of the Form B restriction before you apply to the Land Registry. If the Form B restriction is not explicitly noted in your deed, you will need to provide further evidence before the Land Registry will accept the registration. |
Ensure you store your original Deed of Trust securely and retain a digital scan for your records, as you will need to produce it during any future remortgage or sale enquiries.
- Change to tenants in common or registering a restriction.
- Fast online applications to the Land Registry
- Fixed fee including all disbursements of £260 INC VAT
What could happen if you don't register your deed at the Land Registry?
Failing to register a restriction at HM Land Registry leaves your financial investment entirely unprotected. Without a restriction on the legal title, future conveyancers have no formal notice of your trust's existence. This exposes you to severe risks:
- Selling without your knowledge: The legal owners can sell or remortgage the property without informing you or seeking your consent.
- Losing your agreed share: The buyer's solicitor will distribute the sale proceeds directly to the legal owners named on the title. You risk receiving absolutely nothing or being denied the specific financial share protected in your deed.
- Costly litigation: If your share is withheld by the legal owners, your only recourse is to take expensive and lengthy court action to legally enforce the terms of the unregistered deed.
Partner & Conveyancing Solicitor
HMRC Trust Registration Service: The 90-day deadline
While the Land Registry does not require the registration of the document itself, you may be legally required to register your Deed of Trust with HM Revenue and Customs through the Trust Registration Service (TRS).
Critical Risk: Failure to register. If a trust must be registered and you fail to do so within 90 days of creation, you could face severe financial penalties from HM Revenue and Customs.
Moderate Risk: Identifying exemptions. Co-ownership trusts holding property as tenants in common are only exempt from registration if the legal and beneficial owners are exactly the same people. If a sole legal owner shares the beneficial interest with a non-owner spouse, the trust must be registered regardless of tax liability.
You must adhere to the strict 90-day deadline. You can complete the registration yourself directly via the GOV.UK website. If you require our legal team to complete the TRS registration on your behalf, this requires a separate instruction and an additional fee.
Example: Peter & Jill (Joint legal owners)
Peter and Jill own a buy-to-let property. They want to create a Deed of Trust to share rental income in unequal shares. This Deed of Trust does not need registering at HMRC through the TRS because they are tenants in common and are both named legal owners at the Land Registry.
Important: If Peter and Jill are married, they must declare the Deed of Trust using the HMRC Form 17 Income Tax Declaration within 60 days of signing. Failing to do this means the deed can be disregarded and the income tax calculated on a strict 50/50 equal share.
Important: If Peter is the sole legal owner and executes a deed with Jill, who is not a legal owner, he must register the Deed of Trust using the Trust Registration Service (TRS) within 90 days.
Andrew Boast FMAAT is a qualified accountant, conveyancing specialist and author with over 25 years of experience in the UK property sector. Since beginning his career in 2000 within established SRA and CLC-regulated conveyancing solicitor firms, Andrew has overseen the legal journeys of more than 75,000 clients.
He is the self-published author of the first-time buyer guide: How to Buy a House Without Killing Anyone, and a frequent contributor to mainstream UK media on legislative updates, property law, first-time buyer guides, conveyancing best practices, and stamp duty changes. Andrew specialises in resolving complex title issues, property conflict disputes, and property tax options, streamlining the enquiry process to reduce transaction times and maintaining a client-friendly focus.
Amanda Ambler is a highly accomplished conveyancing specialist with over 15 years of dedicated experience across residential property law, legal compliance, and practice management. Having held senior roles, including Head of Legal Practice and Head of Conveyancing at established UK law firms, Amanda possesses a profound, hands-on understanding of the technical intricacies of the property market.
As the designated Legal Content Reviewer for SAM Conveyancing, Amanda ensures that every guide, legal update, and resource published meets the absolute highest standards of accuracy, regulatory compliance, and factual integrity. Her rigorous review process guarantees that complex property legislation and industry processes are communicated clearly, transparently, and safely for home buyers and sellers alike.
Latest Deed of Trust Tips & Guides
