On selling part of land, how can the mortgage be dealt with to ensure the buyer receives title free of the seller's mortgage for the sold portion?

• A. Discharge the mortgage on the entire piece and remortgage the remainder
• B. The mortgage on the part is discharged only if the buyer agrees
• C. The lender joins as part to conveyance and releases the part being sold from the mortgage
• D. Leave the mortgage untouched

Answer: (C)

When selling part of land that is subject to a mortgage, the buyer must receive a title free of the seller’s charge for the portion being sold. The mortgage is a charge on the land, so you can’t detach the sold part from the mortgage without the lender’s cooperation. The lender should join the conveyance as a party and grant a release of the mortgage over the part being sold. This releases that portion from the loan security while leaving the remaining land still encumbered by the mortgage or dealt with separately. This approach gives the buyer clean title to the sold portion and avoids disrupting the mortgage on the rest of the property.

Discharging the entire mortgage and remortgaging the remainder is more cumbersome and unnecessary when a partial release is available. The buyer’s agreement alone isn’t enough—the lender’s consent is required to release the charge on the portion sold. Leaving the mortgage untouched would prevent the buyer from getting title free of the seller’s mortgage.