Which item must be cancelled at HMLR before exchange or undertakings to remove after completion?

Which item must be cancelled at HMLR before exchange or undertakings to remove after completion?

• A. Cautions
• B. Easements
• C. Restrictions
• D. Indemnities

Answer: (A)

The key concept is clearing title entries that block a sale at the point of completion. A caution is a notice lodged on the title to alert of a potential third‑party interest. It stops the deal from proceeding smoothly because it clouds the purchaser’s certainty of title. To complete, the caution must be cancelled at HM Land Registry, or the seller may give undertakings to remove it after completion. Once cancelled, the buyer takes title free of that potential claim. Easements, restrictions, and indemnities behave differently. An easement is a continuing right that benefits land and remains on the register unless it’s legally discharged or altered; it isn’t something you cancel to proceed with the sale. Restrictions are covenants or limits on the registered land and are not simply cancelled; they’re part of the title’s burden or protection and are handled through discharge, modification, or agreement. Indemnities are insurance arrangements to cover the risk of an existing encumbrance; they don’t remove the underlying entry from the register, so cancelling isn’t the normal remedy. So the item that must be cancelled (or dealt with via an undertaking to remove after completion) is the caution.

The key concept is clearing title entries that block a sale at the point of completion. A caution is a notice lodged on the title to alert of a potential third‑party interest. It stops the deal from proceeding smoothly because it clouds the purchaser’s certainty of title. To complete, the caution must be cancelled at HM Land Registry, or the seller may give undertakings to remove it after completion. Once cancelled, the buyer takes title free of that potential claim.

Easements, restrictions, and indemnities behave differently. An easement is a continuing right that benefits land and remains on the register unless it’s legally discharged or altered; it isn’t something you cancel to proceed with the sale. Restrictions are covenants or limits on the registered land and are not simply cancelled; they’re part of the title’s burden or protection and are handled through discharge, modification, or agreement. Indemnities are insurance arrangements to cover the risk of an existing encumbrance; they don’t remove the underlying entry from the register, so cancelling isn’t the normal remedy.

So the item that must be cancelled (or dealt with via an undertaking to remove after completion) is the caution.