If you own a piece of land, such as farmland or garden land, you may be in a position to sell part of it off.

It is possible to sell off a part of your land whilst also retaining ownership of the other part. This is known as a sale of part. The process is similar to any other conveyancing transaction but when it is registered at the Land Registry, the part of land that is being sold off will be given its own unique title number and separated from your retained land’s title.

Before you decide whether or not to sell off part of your land, there are some factors to consider. For example:

• Would it be better to sell the land with or without planning permission in place?
• Who should you sell the land to?
• How will selling the land affect the value of your retained land?
• Would the sale affect your use and enjoyment of your retained land?
• Could the sale adversely affect your retained land in any other way?

It's important that you ensure your interests are protected and the sale does not in any way affect the way you use the land you are retaining. You should seek advice on this prior to moving forward with any sale.

The Conveyancing Process

If you do decide to proceed with a sale of part, you should seek legal assistance for the conveyancing transaction.

Whilst it is similar to any other conveyancing process, you must make sure that your retained land benefits from any necessary or wanted rights. You also need to make sure the new owners of the land you are selling are subject to covenants which protect your interests in the land you are keeping. For example, you may need a right of way over the land being sold to access your retained land. You may want to ensure that your buyers of the land maintain the boundary features between your land and theirs to a standard of your choosing. If you use the retained land as garden land for instance, you may want to ensure your buyers do not do anything that could affect your use and enjoyment of your retained land.

These are things which can be included in the agreement with your buyers. It's important that these provisions, which you can choose to include, are included in the right way in order for them to take affect and protect your interests in the retained land.

Land Registry

Once the provisions have been agreed and completion has taken place, the land which has been sold will then be registered at the Land Registry under a new title number. This separates the ownership of the sold land and your retained land. The new title will incorporate the agreement made between you and the buyer of your land. This will ensure that, should the land be sold again, any future owners are subject to the same provisions which protect your interests in the retained land.

If you need advice on selling or buying land, or any other Conveyancing matters, contact our Conveyancing Solicitors in Rochdale who will be happy to help.