Whose responsibility is it to check that the title is valid?

• A. Lender
• B. Local Authority
• C. Buyer
• D. Seller

Answer: (C)

Verifying that a title is valid is about securing a marketable title for the purchaser, and that check sits with the buyer's conveyancer. The buyer’s solicitor examines the title deeds, confirms ownership, and checks the seller’s right to transfer, while also raising inquiries and obtaining searches to uncover any defects, encumbrances, or restrictions that could affect ownership or the right to register the transfer. The seller must provide title and disclose known issues, but it is the buyer who bears the responsibility to ensure the title is valid before completing. A lender will want satisfactory title as a condition of funding, but the mortgage provider does not carry the primary burden of validating the title for the buyer. Local Authority processes relate to planning and information gathering, not the validity of the title itself.