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Report on Title

A report on title drafted from the register, the lease and the searches, each paragraph quoting the entry it rests on and checked against how this buyer plans to live.

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See how 32 margin notes become one signed report ↓

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The problem

The clause that matters to this buyer sits in a schedule at the back

A fee earner reads the official copies, a lease of ninety pages or more, the searches and the management pack, then writes the report from the firm's template. That template asks the same questions of each flat, so the point that matters to this buyer turns up late or in lawyer's words: a business-use covenant for someone who works from home.

At a fixed fee, each hour of drafting comes off the margin. And a partner asked to sign a report that software drafted needs to see where each sentence came from, and that a person reviewed each point, before putting a name to it.

Built forConveyancing solicitorsLicensed conveyancersTrainee solicitorsHeads of conveyancing

The Problem Today

A fee earner reads the register, the whole lease and the searches, then writes the report by hand.

1.4M: property transactions registered in a year published
10,724: solicitors practicing conveyancing, 2,000 fewer than in 2021 published

The work today

Register
Lease
Searches
Report

The key clause buriedA clash with the buyer's plans hides at the back
Fixed fee, hours of draftingEach leasehold report drafted from the firm's template

The Solution

A note on each entryRegister, lease and searches read, each entry noted in the margin
Matched to the buyer's plansA business-use covenant meets a planned home studio
Each note, a paragraphWritten plainly, with the entry quoted and the action needed
A partner signsBuyer and lender reports signed by someone who did not prepare them

Built-in controls

Nothing reaches a client or lender unsigned
A rejected note needs a written reason
No client file feeds a model's training

What You Get

Buyers learn what their lease means for their plans, early enough to act before they exchange.

25 min: of review per leasehold report, down from about 3 hours our estimate

Client questions answeredCited answers, approved by a person before they are sent
A report to the lender tooLease length, ground rent and major works in the lender's own order
Enquiries out the same dayConsent and retention requests drafted from the points

From official copies to signature

Nine screens between the official copies and a signed report on title

The trainee works down the margin and the partner signs at the end. These are the screens in between.

01Register with margin notes
A margin note beside each register entry, read against the buyer's plans
How it works
- The register laid out as the official copy, one margin note on each entry's line
- Each note gives the kind, what it means and the action proposed
- Charges entry C3 is a business use covenant, and the instruction form says home studio
Trainee solicitorReads the nine entries with their meaning beside them, and sees the covenant that clashes with this buyer's plans before drafting a word.
02From note to paragraph
Each accepted note becomes a plain-English paragraph with the entry quoted
How it works
- Show paragraph opens the paragraph the note becomes, here ¶2 of the report
- The covenant quoted word for word, with links back to C3 and clause 4.12
- Then what it means and what happens next: consent for one visitor at a time, weekdays 9 AM to 6 PM
Trainee solicitorGets a paragraph the client can follow, already tied to the words on the register, with no stock paragraph left to adapt.
03Lease and ground rent
A lease on one rail, with each ground rent step worked out
How it works
- A thumbnail for each of the 92 pages, with a dot on the 14 that carry a note
- The rent sits in Schedule 4 on page 41, and the note is pinned there
- £250 from 1998, doubling every 25 years: £500 now, £4,000 from 2098, charted to 2123
- A dashed line marks £1,000 a year, where the assured tenancy risk begins
Trainee solicitorFinds the rent clause in the schedule at the back without paging through the lease, with each step of the doubling already worked out.
04Pets clause for this buyer
Lease covenants checked against how this buyer plans to use the flat
How it works
- Client-fit questions at instruction: working from home, pets, letting, alterations and selling within 10 years
- Clause 4.15 on page 25 needs the landlord's written consent for any dog
- The note quotes the buyer's answer, one dog, and keeps the trainee's edit marked
Trainee solicitorSees which covenants touch this buyer's life, so the report leads with them and routine clauses such as letting stay in the summary.
05Searches and replies
Search and management pack answers read line by line, costs pulled out
How it works
- Each search answer and management pack reply on its own line; clear answers fold away
- Reply 7: roof replacement estimated at £142,800 for the building, 1/42 per flat
- The note proposes a £3,400 retention and a line in the lender's report
Trainee solicitorSpots the major works in the management pack replies in time to ask the seller for a retention before exchange.
06Points to raise
A points board sorting every note by what must happen before exchange
How it works
- Three columns: must raise before exchange, we handle it, for your information
- Here 32 notes become 11 points, four of them to raise before exchange
- Each point carries its source links, why it matters to this buyer and a lender tag where one applies
- A point can move between columns, and the move is logged
Trainee solicitorSees at a glance what must be settled before exchange and what can wait, with the enquiry each point needs one click away.
07Consent request to the landlord
The landlord consent request, drafted from the point it answers
How it works
- Drafted from ¶2 and its sources, clause 4.12 and charges entry C3
- Sets out the terms, and says the client will not exchange until consent is given
- Goes out only when the trainee approves it, from the firm's mailbox
Trainee solicitorGets the consent and retention requests out the day the report is drafted, rather than after the client reads it and asks what happens next.
08Client questions
Client questions answered from the report, each answer cited to its clause
How it works
- Questions arrive in the client portal, such as whether clients can still come to the flat for sittings
- Each answer is drafted from the report and cites the entry or clause behind it
- Nothing reaches the client until the trainee approves or edits it
Trainee solicitorAnswers the buyer's four portal questions with the clause behind each reply, instead of writing each one from scratch and checking the lease again.
09Sign-off
Sign-off locked until every note is decided, and never by the preparer
How it works
- Seven checks, from notes decided and paragraphs quoted to lender points and enquiries raised
- The partner sees what the trainee changed: two edits and one rejection, each with its reason
- The preparer cannot sign; one signature covers the 9-page buyer report and the 2-page lender report
Conveyancing partnerSigns a report that traces back to the lease line by line, after reading only what the trainee changed and the four points that must be raised.

A rising rent, a shrinking term, a carpet rule and a new block next door

Each reached the report with its source quoted.

The rent crosses the line

At £2,000 a year from 2073, the lease can be treated as an assured tenancy, giving the landlord stronger rights over unpaid rent. The lender hears of it too.

Under 80 years in 2042

96 years 7 months clears the lender's 85-year minimum today. The trainee added that the term drops below 80 years in 2042, when extending costs more.

Hard floors need consent

Clause 4.9 keeps floors outside the kitchen and bathroom carpeted. For a buyer planning a studio, the report offers to add a hard floor to the consent request.

A 9-story block next door

The local search shows permission for 118 flats 40 m away: about two years of building work and a change of view.

Six points that need an action, each with the words it rests on

From the same flat. The other five points are for the buyer's information.

Point	Rests on	Next step
No business use: home studio sittings would breach it	Charges entry C3, clause 4.12	Written consent from the landlord before exchange
Ground rent doubles every 25 years	Schedule 4, clause 3.2	Reported to the lender; a fixed rent can be asked of the landlord
Roof works: £3,400 per flat	Management pack reply 7, Schedule 6	A £3,400 retention asked of the seller's solicitors
No pets without written consent	Clause 4.15	Consent for one dog asked before exchange
The seller's mortgage	Charges entries C1 and C2	Paid off at completion, on the seller's solicitors' undertaking
Management company certificate	Restriction B3, clause 4.19	Deed of covenant signed with the completion papers; fee £150

Also on the file

More of the report on title, as the trainee and the partner open it

The finished report, the source behind a quote, and the rules the practice manager sets.

Report to the buyer: paragraphs on the doubling ground rent and the business-use covenant, each quoting its clause, beside a check of 11 of 11 paragraphs quoted — **The report, as the buyer reads it**The four points to raise come first, each with its clause quoted, what it means and what happens next.

Source window for lease clause 4.12 on page 23, quoted exactly, opened from a cited answer to the buyer's question about seeing clients at home — **The clause behind a quote**Clicking a cited clause in an answer shows its exact words. Clause 4.12, page 23: a private residence for one household, and no trade, profession or business.

Title plan of the third-floor flat edged red with its parking space hatched blue, matched to the lease plans and the instruction form — **The title plan, checked**The flat edged red and parking space 14 hatched blue, matched to the lease plans and the instruction form.

List of the trainee's open purchase files with tenure, exchange date and where each stands, from notes to review to an instruction form sent — **The trainee's caseload**38 open purchase files under the partner's supervision, each with its exchange date and where it stands.

Audit trail of the file: the agents reading the register, lease and searches, then the trainee's decisions and the partner's signature, each with its time — **Who noted, accepted and signed**Each agent's read, each acceptance and the signature, with its time. The agent's first wording stays beside any edit.

Settings with report templates, five always-raise rules switched on, the client-fit questions asked at instruction and each lender's minimum lease term — **Rules the firm sets once**Always raise a business-use covenant for someone who works from home, a doubling rent, under 85 years left, or works over £1,000 a flat.

A trainee decides each note, and a partner who did not prepare it signs

Agents read and draft. People decide what the report says and who puts a name to it.

Trainee solicitor

Sees: The margin notes, the points board and the buyer's questions
Signs: Accepts, edits or rejects each note with a reason, and approves each answer and enquiry

Conveyancing partner

Sees: The checks, the four points to raise and what the trainee changed
Signs: The report to the buyer and the report to the lender

Practice manager

Sees: Templates, always-raise rules, roles and retention
Signs: Nothing: this role cannot sign or send a report

Buyer client

Sees: The report in plain English and cited answers in the client portal
Signs: Answers the instruction form on how they plan to use the flat

Before a partner puts a name to the report on title

What is a report on title?

A report on title tells a buyer, before exchange, what the register, the lease and the searches mean for them. This solution reads those documents, writes a margin note beside each entry, and turns each note the trainee accepts into a plain-English paragraph that quotes its source. A partner signs it.

Does it draft the report to lender too?

Yes. The lender checker matches the points against the lenders' handbook and the lender's own answers, and drafts a short report in that order. On the flat shown here, three points go to the lender: the lease length, the ground rent and the roof works. It never certifies title.

How does it treat a ground rent doubling clause?

The lease reader finds the rent wherever the lease puts it, clause or schedule, and works out each step to the end of the term. The note marks when the rent passes the level at which the lease can be treated as an assured tenancy.

How does it know what matters to this buyer?

The instruction form asks how the buyer plans to use the property: working from home, pets, letting, alterations and selling soon. The client-fit checker compares each note with those answers, and asks when a plan is unclear.

Can it use our own report on title template?

Yes. The practice manager keeps the templates: the buyer report in plain English at a set reading age, the lender report in the lender's order, and a short form for freehold houses.

Who can sign the report?

A partner or a solicitor with the experience the firm sets, and never the person who prepared the report. Sign-off stays locked until each margin note is decided.

Real Estate Law & Conveyancing