THE NATIONAL DEEDS DEPOSITORY

Do you know where your property deeds are? Are they with your solicitor? Maybe your bank has them? More than likely, they were given to you when you bought the property… now where did you put them?

The National Deeds Depository is a secure, central location where all essential documentation relating to a specific property can be stored. As you complete your property purchase your solicitor will send the deeds and other important paperwork to our purpose-built facility to scan and store them securely, both electronically and in original paper form. You will have on-line access to the information at any time. And, with your permission, your solicitor will be able to access either the original documents or the scanned copies if you come to sell or remortgage the property at any time in the future.

Your Deeds packet that we will store typically contains:

• The Deeds to your home
• Essential Planning Consents
• Building Control approvals
• Guarantees such as NHBC new house building certificates
• Leases
• Deeds of Variation
• Share Certificates
• Indemnity Insurance Policies
• Certificates and guarantees covering new windows, boilers, electrical work etc

Every year hundreds of thousands of people rack their brains and search their lofts, filing cabinets and kitchen drawers looking for the crucial paperwork that is needed to sell their house or flat. Without these documents, the sale of the property will be delayed and extra costs incurred.

In a recent survey of conveyancing solicitors conducted by the Law Society:

• 76% stated that the lack of documents caused material delays
• 90% stated the lack of documents adds material costs to the conveyancing process
• 88% stated that deed packets and documents were not normally readily available from their clients

The National Deeds Depository has been set up to solve this problem, once and for all.

About Us

The National Deeds Depository was founded in 2007 as a direct result of initiatives to improve the house selling experience and bring the conveyancing process into the 21st century.

The latest data from the World Bank shows the UK as 7th best in the world overall for “ease of doing business”, yet we are placed 47th in the world for property registrations and transactions. This is an improvement our position from the last published data from the World Bank, but in this area, we are still ranked below countries such as Mongolia, Kosovo and Rwanda.

Over the years, conveyancing lawyers have experienced ever increasing frustration caused by missing deeds and documents. Applying for duplicates led to delays and additional expenses. When it was not possible to obtain duplicates, indemnity insurance policies had to be arranged and paid for by his clients. In the worst cases, property purchases fell through due to these difficulties.

The problem of missing items has worsened over the last decade. Up until 2003 Title Deeds were held by mortgage lenders until the loan was repaid. All that changed in 2003. The most important title document was the land certificate as the lender’s mortgage was included in the certificate. In 2003 the Land Registry dematerialised land certificates and mortgage lenders decided they no longer wanted to hold Title Deeds. What mortgage lenders did not appreciate was that a deeds packet contains a great many more documents than just the land certificate.

What was needed to solve this problem was a National Deeds Depository – a single secure physical and electronic storage location for all clients’ deeds and important related documents. The National Deeds Depository management team is led by Des Leyden, a residential conveyancer of 40 years experience, Bob Gunn, a former Senior Executive of Barclays Bank, Simon Lumb, a Senior Executive in various Information and Records Management organisations, and James Greenbury, who has been CEO of a number of service businesses including DX, the long-standing solicitors’ mail service.

We are delighted to welcome you to The National Deeds Depository and look forward to helping you speed up and simplify your property transactions.

Creating a secure Property Logbook for your Home for Life

The scheme has become an integral part of the Governments program to Improve the Home Buying & Selling Process creating a Property Logbook which securely stores all of the important documents relating to a property purchase. Important ownership information at the time of purchase is also recorded, for example outstanding leasehold term and any indemnity insurance policies can be stored and registered, along with specific purpose, against the property in the Logbook.

The Logbook is accessed via secure login and any further documents can be uploaded to a folder, unique to that property throughout the years of home ownership. Documents such as FENSA certificates for new windows, gas and electrical certificates, planning permissions and guarantees can all be uploaded, creating a secure property folder and real-time Logbook which records the date and type of all documents held. The service is available to the registered home owner(s) throughout ownership of the property, and new documents are automatically filed electronically into the property folder, this is a simple menu-driven process which ensures each document is recorded and named correctly.

The Property Logbook will become a central element of a more efficient and digitized conveyancing process for, helping ensure that both home owner and property lawyer are sale ready and legally ready for the future.

Security

The National Deeds Depository is a secure, ISO 27001 accredited UK location where all essential paperwork for any property can be stored. In addition, The National Deeds Depository scans all documents received, thereby ensuring that for the first time there is an electronic back up to the physical documents stored. We take the safety of all data extremely seriously, and we’re dedicated to protecting it from cyber attacks. Cyber Essentials, a government endorsed standard demonstrates our data centre has the five essential data protection controls implemented.

The physical and electronic security features of The National Deeds Depository’s facilities are supported by a number of systems including:

• data centre is covered 24/7/365 by SIA accredited staff.
• data centre is SAS 70 Type II/ISO27001 certified and audited on a regular basis.
• Anti DDoS protection
• data centre is PCI compliant.
• data centre is covered 24 hours a day by NSOI-accredited security patrol.
• sophisticated intruder protection systems including alarms on all external access points and internal movement-detection sensors.
• external perimeter CCTV cameras with 24-hour recording.
• modern fire protection and detection systems including zoned early smoke detection equipment.
• security and fire protection systems are monitored 24 hours a day, with direct links to the emergency services.
• all site boundaries are protected by 2.4m-2.8m high, galvanized steel fence secured by galvanized steel posts.
• storage facility is fitted with temperature sensors that automatically control the heating system ensuring that the environment is always suitable for the storage of paper records in line with the Public Records Office standard for the storage of paper records.
• data centre features redundant power, redundant communications, and redundant environmental controls.
• dual layer, redundant firewalls are employed along with 24/7/365 monitoring, intrusion detection systems and an in-house security team.
• NDD Deedtrack software keeps a detailed audit record, capturing and logging every action performed on a document throughout its lifecycle.
• transmissions are carried out using 256 bit SSL encryption.

Home Owners

As a home owner you may ask yourself which documents in your possession will be required by your solicitor when you come to sell your property.

You may not realise these documents are important, but they certainly are. A few examples are:

• If you install new windows you will be supplied with a FENSA certificate. If you lose this certificate, a duplicate will cost you £20. In addition, the installer will supply you with a guarantee, a specification and an insurance policy. All of these documents need to be passed to your buyer.
• If you install a new boiler, the installer will issue an installation certificate and log book and the Local Authority will issue a building regulation compliance certificate. These are vital documents which must be passed to the buyer’s solicitor.
• You will need to supply copies of any planning permission and building regulation approval related to the property. If you cannot find these, the Local Authority will charge a fee for providing duplicates. The fee could be £10 to £20 for each permission depending on the Local Authority.
• If a document has been lost and a duplicate cannot be obtained, then you might have to pay for an Indemnity Insurance Policy which could cost anything up to £750.

We now live in a world of ever increasing regulation and compliance. Retaining all of these certificates and paperwork is vital to the speed and efficiency of the conveyancing process when you sell your property. If you do not have all the paperwork, you will undoubtedly experience delays, additional costs or, worse still, a failure to complete the sale.

By signing up to The National Deeds Depository you will never face these sorts of costs and delays again. We will liaise with your solicitor and arrange for them to send us all relevant paperwork. We will scan the documents, and store them securely both physically and electronically with full search functionality. Whenever you need to access them you can do so via a secure log in, and you can also give your solicitor permission to do so.

Then, when you sell the property all the information will be easily to hand, ensuring a fast and easy sale.

Conveyancing Solicitors

Solicitors, how much time do you spend seeking out deeds and documents which you must have in order to sell a property?

The founder of The National Deeds Depository, Des Leyden, has been a conveyancing solicitor for more than 40 years and knows exactly how much time is wasted in searching for documents which may, or may not, exist. Often, despite rigorous searches our clients end up having to pay for expensive Indemnity Insurance Policies.

Since 2003, and the dematerialisation of deeds, the problem of missing deeds, documents, certificates, agreements, permissions and other key information has increased considerably. Many solicitors do not have the capacity to store all of their clients’ title deeds and other relevant paperwork.

After going through the stressful conveyancing process, many purchaser clients do not have a secure way of storing (and being able to find again when the property is sold many years later!) the deeds and supporting documents that are sent to them.

A simple solution is at hand. The purchaser’s solicitor can now send all the necessary deeds and documents to The National Deeds Depository for safe-keeping in a secure, state-of-art facility, ready for when you next need to access them.

When the deeds are received by The National Deeds Depository, they are scanned and stored, and made available for on-line viewing at any time. Additional documents can be added over the years of ownership and, should they be required, the original documents can be requested to be returned by the property owner or their solicitor.

Ultimately the aim is to create a hassle-free conveyancing for this property in the future – an enormous benefit for all solicitors and their clients.

Mortgage Brokers

How many times have you seen a property transaction delayed or even fall through when a crucial document cannot be found for the conveyancing solicitor? By introducing your client to The National Deeds Depository, you might never face these problems again.

Simply use the information on this website to brief your client, Sign Up with us to enable you to register your client, and we will automatically brief their solicitor on how to make best use of The National Deeds Depository. There is no risk or liability for the Broker as the contract for the service is directly between The National Deeds Depository and the Client.

Store Your Property Deeds Safely Deeds stored in high security ISO27001 accredited site Images visible to home owner through secure login credentials New documents can be securely uploaded to Personal Property Folder Physical and digital image stored, giving immediate back-up Records held for lifetime of mortgage up to 30 years Text-searchable images to help find important data quickly With homeowner permission, access rights can be granted to your solicitor More cost-effective and useful than storing Deeds Packet with your solicitor or lender

Speed Up Buying and Selling Your Property Law Society survey – 88% of solicitors stated that necessary documents were not readily available from clients Everyone involved in sale/purchase of property will know where the Deeds Packets are held Conveyancing process substantially speeded up by readily available documentation Deeds Packet checklist available to accelerate re-mortgaging process Helps avoid wasted time on waiting for search results and documentation Speedier conveyancing process reduces risk of broken sales chain

Avoid Extra Fees When You Sell Your Home The National Deeds Depository helps avoid costly Indemnity Insurance Policies for missing documents - Indemnity Insurance Policies can cost up to £750 No fees for replacing missing documents, potentially saving hundreds of pounds, some common examples below NHBC Guarantees – typical cost of replacement - £50 Guarantees for Damp – typical cost of replacement - £30 FENSA Certificates – typical cost of replacement - £30 CORGI Certificates – typical cost of replacement - £30 Electrical Certificates – typical cost of replacement - £30 Rights of Way – typical cost of replacement - £30 Certificates of Incorporation - typical cost of replacement - £60 Saves solicitor’s time and your money

Banks and Building Societies

The benefits of The National Deeds Depository to Banks, Building Societies and Mortgage Lenders are both obvious and considerable:

• The National Deeds Depository will bring certainty to the conveyancing process. With the deeds lodged at The National Deeds Depository, all the parties in the conveyancing process will know the whereabouts of vital deeds and other essential documents.
• The conveyancing process will be speeded up because all conveyancing solicitors, with their client’s permission, will have access to the documents necessary to complete the transfer of the property.
• In the event that the Mortgage Lender goes into possession of the property the Mortgage Lender will have immediate access to the deeds and documents held by The National Deeds Depository which will considerably reduce the need for the Mortgage Lenders to obtain expensive Indemnity Insurance Policies.
• The National Deeds Depository will add to the security of the conveyancing process. The Land Registry has confirmed that property crime has increased considerably since dematerialisation. The National Deeds Depository has been set up in such a way that an additional level of security, audit control and document tracking has been added which will benefit the Mortgage Lender and all associated parties.

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