How to Read an HM Land Registry Title Plan: Boundaries, Colours and What It Doesn't Show

What Is a Title Plan?

Every registered property in England and Wales has two core documents held by HM Land Registry (HMLR): the title register and the title plan. The title plan is the official map that shows the general extent of the land covered by a particular title number. It is produced by overlaying the registered land onto an Ordnance Survey base map and is the document your solicitor will examine during conveyancing to confirm what you are actually buying.

Title plans are available to the public for £3 per document via the HMLR portal at gov.uk. They are also reproduced in the official copies of title that conveyancers order on your behalf.

How to Read the Colours and Markings

The most important element of any title plan is the red edging. The land within the red boundary is included in the title. This sounds straightforward, but the line itself is drawn on an Ordnance Survey base at scales that can range from 1:500 (urban areas with complex layouts) to 1:10,000 (rural land), meaning that on a large-scale plan, the thickness of the red line alone can represent 0.5 metres or more on the ground.

Other colours you may encounter include:

**Green tinting or green edging** — land that is excluded from the title but over which rights benefit the property, such as a right of way across a neighbour's land or shared access to a driveway.

**Brown tinting** — commonly used to denote land subject to a right of way that burdens the property, meaning someone else has a right to cross your land.

**Blue tinting** — can indicate land subject to a specific obligation or restriction, though usage varies. Always read the corresponding entry in the Charges Register (section C of the title register) to understand what any colour denotes.

**Pink or coloured parcels** — where a title includes multiple distinct plots of land, they may be numbered or coloured differently on the plan and cross-referenced in the property register.

The General Boundary Rule — the Most Misunderstood Aspect

Here is the critical point that catches buyers, sellers and neighbours off guard: HMLR does not register exact legal boundaries. Under the Land Registration Act 2002 (section 60), only the "general boundary" of a registered title is recorded. The red line on a title plan indicates approximately where the boundary is, but it does not determine the precise legal boundary between neighbouring properties.

The precise boundary — where the fence post sits, whether the wall belongs to you or your neighbour, which party owns the shared gate — is a matter of common law, determined by conveyance deeds, physical evidence on the ground, and historic usage. If there is a dispute, the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) has jurisdiction under the Land Registration Act 2002 to determine and fix exact boundary positions, but this is a separate, costly legal process.

Practical implication: if a neighbour erects a fence and you believe it encroaches on your land, the title plan is supporting evidence, not conclusive proof.

What a Title Plan Does Not Show

Title plans are useful but they have firm limits. They do not show:

• **Exact boundary positions** — as explained above, only general boundaries are registered.
• **Ownership of walls, fences and hedges** — the "T marks" convention (a small T on the boundary line indicating the owner of the feature) sometimes appears on older filed plans but is not a standard part of HMLR title plans. It must be searched for in the title deeds or transfer documents.
• **Underground apparatus** — drains, sewers, gas mains and electricity cables crossing your land are not shown.
• **Rights of way used in practice** — a footpath people actually use across your garden will not appear unless it has been formally registered.
• **Covenants and restrictions** — these are recorded in the title register, not visible on the plan.
• **Planning zones or designations** — whether land is in the Green Belt, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or a flood zone is held by different agencies entirely.

Using Title Plan Data Effectively

Property Passport UK surfaces title plan information alongside other official data sources so you can see a joined-up picture of what is registered, what planning constraints apply and what the EPC shows, all in one place. When reviewing a title plan before purchase, always read it alongside the full title register and, where boundaries matter, commission an RICS boundary survey before exchange rather than after a dispute has begun.

If you spot a discrepancy between the title plan and what physically exists on site — a garage that appears to fall outside the red edging, for example — raise it with your solicitor immediately. It is far simpler to resolve during conveyancing than after completion.