Property Document and Deed Register

Who this is for

A register of the paperwork that belongs to the property rather than to you. Each document gets a line: what it is, its reference and date, who holds the original and whether you have a copy.

Owners who inherited a folder of paper with the house, executors and families sorting out a property, and sellers assembling what a buyer's solicitor will ask for.

What this helps you track

• Which documents exist for the property and what each one is
• The reference or number to quote when asking for a replacement
• Who holds the original — a solicitor, a lender, a registry, a safe
• Whether you hold a copy, and where that copy is
• What is missing, which is usually discovered far too late

How to use it

1. Write the property, the owner and who is keeping the register at the top.
2. Go through every folder, drawer and safe and list what you find, one document per line, with its date and reference.
3. Say who holds the original. For anything lodged with a registry, a lender or a solicitor, write the firm and the reference they use.
4. Tick the copy box if you hold a copy yourself, and write where it is — a named folder is more use than 'the study'.
5. Add lines for documents you know should exist but cannot find, and leave them unticked; those lines are the job list.
6. Update the register whenever work is done on the house, since guarantees and certificates usually arrive weeks after the tradesperson leaves.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Which documents belong on it?

Anything a future buyer, lender or insurer might ask to see: title deeds and plans, searches, planning and building control paperwork, installation and safety certificates, guarantees and warranties, party wall agreements, leases and service charge accounts.

Do I need the original deeds?

That depends where the property is and how title is held — in many places the register held by a land registry is what counts and paper deeds are historic. Ask your own solicitor or registry rather than this sheet.

What if a document is lost?

Write the line anyway with what you know. Most issuers can produce a copy, and the register tells you who to ask. A gap you have written down is a task; a gap you have not is a surprise at the point of sale.

Should the register live with the documents?

Keep the register where you can find it and the originals where they are safest. Many people keep a copy of the register in a home binder and another with the person who would act for them.