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The Conveyancing and Technology Committees have reviewed their previous recommendation on the provision of title deeds in hard copy and electronic forms.

In 2006, the Technology and Conveyancing Committees issued a joint practice note dealing with the issue of booklets of title by builders’ Solicitors on CD ROM/DVD. The 2006 practice note approved the use of CD ROMs and DVDs only in Land Registry cases and for new estates only and recommended that the documents should be available to the purchaser’s solicitors in hard copy at any time and that all documents handed over at closing should be in hard copy.

Technology has moved on and copy title documents and booklets of title are now being issued on other forms of electronic storage and media. The practice of issuing documents via electronic media is now not limited to new houses/apartments or to Land Registry cases. The committees have been asked for their view on this development.

Whilst the committees are not opposed to developments in technology which would enhance or simplify the conveyancing process, some of the reasons behind the committees’ 2006 recommendation still apply. 

The Certificate of Title Scheme agreed with the lending institution requires delivery of hard copies of the title documents.

There are risks connecting electronic storage devices to an IT system or accessing other forms of electronic media and this is resisted by managers of such systems.   

Finally, there is the ever present risk that new forms of technology may soon become old forms of technology and eventually obsolete.

Recommendations regarding the issue of documents via electronic media

A purchaser’s solicitor cannot be compelled to accept documents via electronic media and is entitled to receive hard copies of the title at any stage of the transaction.

If the respective solicitors agree to use electronic media, a number of factors must be considered:

• The furnishing of documentation by electronic media should be by agreement only and should not be imposed.
• The documents must be available to the purchaser’s solicitor in hard copy at any time on request.
• Maps should be coloured.
• Electronic copy booklets of title should be clearly accessible, labelled, paginated and indexed and the naming convention should be consistent with and correspond to the descriptions in the Documents Schedule in the Conditions of Sale.  
• Documents should be in a format capable of being downloaded, saved and printed.
• The integrity and readability of the original documents must be preserved.  
• In this regard, it is recommended that practitioners save documents in “PDF/A” format to reduce the risk of the document being unreadable in years to come. PDF/A is an ISO-standardised version of the Portable Document Format (PDF) specialised for use in the archiving and long-term preservation of electronic documents.
• In the case of the sale of new units in a development, hard copy booklets of title must be furnished on closing with a certificate confirming that such hard copy documents mirror the documentation issued by electronic media in addition to the usual certificate that such documents are true copies of the originals.
• Hard copies must be furnished on closing in accordance with the conditions of sale to the intent that on closing the purchaser’s solicitor shall have a full set of hard copy title documents (whether an original, certified copy or copy in accordance with the conditions of sale).