Mortgages

Mortgages and land

Mortgages are the form of security most commonly encountered in practice by property practitioners. Our content on mortgages includes the following Practice Notes:

1. •

   Mortgages and land—an introduction to mortgages and legal charges over land

2. •

   Mortgages and land—entering into new mortgages and legal charges of land

3. •

   Mortgages and land—dealings with land subject to a mortgage or legal charge

4. •

   Mortgages and land—enforcement of mortgages and legal charges over land

For our content on other types of security, such as charges, pledges and liens, see Practice Note: Types of security.

Legal and equitable mortgages

A mortgage is a transfer of an interest in property by way of security for a debt. It is subject to an express or implied provision which requires the lender to transfer the property back to the borrower when the borrower’s obligations have been discharged.

A legal mortgage over land must be created in accordance with the Law of Property Act 1925 (LPA 1925) which means, in practice, that it must be created by way of a charge by way of legal mortgage. This is the effect of LPA