How to Add or Remove a Form A Restriction on Your Property

A Form A restriction on property is a note on the title register at HM Land Registry that stops a sole remaining owner from selling or mortgaging without appointing a second trustee. You add one by sending Form SEV to HM Land Registry after severing a joint tenancy, or Form RX1 if the restriction is needed for another trust reason. You remove one with Form RX3 (usually alongside Form ST5) or Form RX4 once the trust of land has come to an end.

What the Restriction Does

The entry sits in the proprietorship register and reads: “No disposition by a sole proprietor of the registered estate (except a trust corporation) under which capital money arises is to be registered unless authorised by an order of the court.”¹ If only one name ends up on the title, that person cannot complete a sale or new mortgage on their own. A second trustee has to be appointed to receive the sale proceeds, or a court order is needed.

The point is to protect anyone with a beneficial interest — a right to a share of the equity — whose name might not appear on the legal title. Without the restriction, a sole surviving owner could sell up, keep the whole price, and leave the deceased co-owner’s beneficiaries with nothing.

When You Need to Apply

Where two or more people are registered as proprietors together, HM Land Registry enters a Form A restriction automatically. You only need to apply yourself when the ownership structure changes after registration.

The most common trigger is severing a joint tenancy. Joint tenants hold under the right of survivorship: if one dies, their share passes automatically to the surviving owner regardless of any will. Tenants in common hold distinct shares that can be left to anyone. When joint tenants sever and become tenants in common, the register needs to reflect the change.

Rule 94(1) of the Land Registration Rules 2003 also requires a proprietor to apply for a Form A restriction when the estate becomes subject to a trust of land — for instance, if a sole owner signs a declaration of trust giving someone else a beneficial interest — and the sole proprietor or survivor of joint proprietors will not be able to give a valid receipt for capital money.² The same applies when existing trusts change so that a sole survivor can no longer give a valid receipt. A constructive trust recognised by a court triggers the obligation too.

This setup is common among unmarried partners who contribute unequal amounts to the purchase, business partners who co-own premises, and family members who want a share to pass to specific heirs rather than to the surviving co-owner.

Adding a Restriction With Form SEV

If you are severing a joint tenancy, Form SEV is the standard route. HM Land Registry provides it specifically for that purpose, and there is no fee.³ One rule matters: the joint tenancy must already have been severed before the Form A restriction can be entered. The restriction confirms the severance on the register; it does not create it.⁴

How you complete the form depends on whether the other owners agree.

If everyone agrees, download and fill in Form SEV, get all registered proprietors to sign, and send it in. No further evidence of severance is needed.

If the other owners do not agree, you first have to serve a written notice of severance on them. You then complete Form SEV and include an original or certified copy of that notice along with a signed acknowledgement of receipt. If you cannot obtain their signatures, send a letter certifying that you gave the notice in person, left it at their last known UK address, or sent it by registered or recorded delivery post and it was not returned undelivered.³

Form SEV asks for the property’s title number, the names of all registered proprietors, and details of the evidence of severance you’re providing. The title number is the identifier at the top of official copies of the register or the original purchase deeds.

Adding a Restriction With Form RX1

Form RX1 is the general form for applying for any type of restriction.⁵ Use it instead of Form SEV in two situations: when you cannot provide any of the evidence of severance options listed on Form SEV, or when the Form A restriction is needed for a reason other than severance — such as a new declaration of trust or a constructive trust.

The form asks for:

The title number for the property.
The full names of the registered proprietors, matching the current register exactly.
The restriction wording. For a Form A restriction, use the standard wording from Schedule 4 of the Land Registration Rules 2003. Rule 91 confirms that the forms set out in Schedule 4 are the prescribed standard forms.⁶
Applicant details: name, address for service, and the applicant’s interest in the property (joint legal owner, beneficiary under a trust, and so on).
Supporting evidence — a declaration of trust, court order, or other document establishing the trust of land.

Discrepancies in names or title numbers between your form and the current register are the most common cause of delay, so check each field against an up-to-date copy of the register before sending.

Fees, Address, and Processing Times

Form SEV applications carry no fee.³ Form RX1 applications for a standard form restriction cost £40 by post or £20 if submitted electronically through the HM Land Registry portal or Business Gateway, covering up to three registered titles. Each additional title adds £20 by post or £10 electronically.⁷ No fee is payable if the restriction application accompanies another application that already attracts a scale fee.⁸

All postal applications from members of the public go to a single central address:

HM Land Registry
Citizen Centre
PO Box 7806
Bilston
WV1 9QR⁹

Registering a standard form restriction is among the automated applications HM Land Registry completes within minutes when submitted electronically.¹⁰ Postal applications take longer because of handling time, but the underlying registration step is the same automated process. Based on February 2026 data, roughly 82% of all applications are completed within a day. If the registrar needs to serve notice on another party who might object, expect a 15-working-day notice period before the application can proceed.¹¹

Removing a Form A Restriction

Removing the restriction means showing that the trust of land no longer exists, usually because one person has become both the sole legal and sole beneficial owner. Two forms handle this.

Form RX3 is a cancellation, used by the registered proprietor or a third party who is not the beneficiary of the restriction.¹² Form RX4 is a withdrawal, used by the beneficiary of the restriction, or someone with the beneficiary’s consent.¹³

For a Form A restriction specifically, HM Land Registry provides Form ST5 as the standard way to supply evidence that the restriction should be cancelled. You still complete Form RX3, but Form ST5 structures the evidence the registry expects.¹² The evidence should confirm that the applicant is now entitled to the full beneficial interest and that no other party holds a stake. If the removal follows the death of a co-owner, a certified copy of the death certificate together with proof that the survivor is now sole beneficial owner — such as a statement of truth or assent from the personal representatives — would accompany the application.

The registry may serve notice on other parties who appear to have an interest, giving them 15 working days to object before making the change.¹¹ If no valid objections are received, the restriction is removed and the title is updated.

Why This Matters for Estate Planning

Most people who apply for a Form A restriction are doing so as part of estate planning. As joint tenants, the surviving owner automatically inherits the deceased’s share regardless of what the will says. Converting to tenants in common means each owner’s share passes according to their will, or, if there is no will, the rules of intestacy.

The Form A restriction itself does not dictate who inherits. It ensures that whoever does inherit cannot be cut out of the sale proceeds by a sole surviving legal owner acting alone. The will directs where the share goes; the restriction makes sure the two-trustee requirement is enforced so the money actually reaches the right hands.

1
Legislation.gov.uk. The Land Registration Rules 2003 – Schedule 4
2
Legislation.gov.uk. The Land Registration Rules 2003 – Rule 94
3
GOV.UK. Change From Joint Tenants to Tenants in Common
4
GOV.UK. Form A Restriction – Application to Enter (SEV)
5
GOV.UK. Enter a Restriction – Registration (RX1)
6
Legislation.gov.uk. The Land Registration Rules 2003 – Rule 91
7
GOV.UK. HM Land Registry – Registration Services Fees
8
Legislation.gov.uk. The Land Registration Fee Order 2021 – Schedule 3
9
GOV.UK. HM Land Registry Address for Applications
10
GOV.UK. HM Land Registry – Processing Times
11
HM Land Registry. Practice Guide 19 – Notices, Restrictions and the Protection of Third-Party Interests in the Register
12
GOV.UK. Cancel a Restriction – Registration (RX3)
13
GOV.UK. Withdraw a Restriction – Registration (RX4)