Buying land from the Crown

Navigating Crown property purchases with an experienced specialist

Land that has reverted to the Crown due to “escheat” or “bona vacantia” can be acquired in certain circumstances.

Land can fall into Crown ownership when someone has died with no next of kin or if a company has been dissolved without first transferring the property that it owns.

At Hopkins Solicitors, we can guide you through the process, liaising with the relevant Crown bodies and dealing with the unique issues that arise in this esoteric area of legal practice.

What’s Involved

We act for clients purchasing land from the Crown Estate, Bona Vacantia Division or other Crown bodies. Our service typically includes:

• Reviewing title and background circumstances – understanding how the property has fallen into Crown ownership helps us identify the relevant Crown body and any special restrictions, processes or consents.
• Dealing with the Crown body – liaising with the Treasury Solicitor, Crown Estate or other Crown body legal department and fulfilling procedural conditions.
• Drafting and negotiating the contract – including any reserved rights, any “overage” or “clawback” provisions (whereby the seller or any previous owner may have reserved the right to a proportion of any future uplift in value) and any other transfer obligations.
• Post-completion registration – including first registration where appropriate.

It is important to involve your other professional advisers – agents, accountants, surveyors – and we can then work closely with these to ensure the transaction progresses smoothly.

Things to Consider

It’s useful to think about:

• Timescales: Crown sales can take longer due to internal procedures.
• Title quality: Are there gaps in documentation or unusual restrictions? The relevant Crown body is unlikely to have any information about the property and you may not get the sort of warranties that you might get on a private sale.
• Consent procedures: Crown entities may require internal approvals or impose specific contract terms – we’ll help you meet these.
• Unregistered land: Crown land may not be registered – we can assist with the first registration and any associated title issues.
• Use and development: Additional consents may be needed for a change of use or future plans.

Let’s get started

Please get in touch with a member of our team – we’ll be happy to explore this specialist area with you.