Form AS1: transferring a property to a beneficiary with an assent

What is an assent?

An assent is the written document by which a personal representative (an executor, or an administrator where there is no valid will) passes a property out of the estate to the person entitled to it. Under section 36 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 it must be in writing, signed by the personal representatives and name the person receiving the property, and once registered it takes effect back to the date of death. Until then the beneficiary has a right to the property but not the legal title, which sits with the executors, so they cannot sell or remortgage it in their own name.

The beneficiary is often one of the executors, which is perfectly normal. HM Land Registry will not check that the transfer matches the will, because the law requires it to assume the personal representatives are acting properly, and that is one reason the executor's role carries personal liability.

AS1, AS3 or another form: which do you need?

• The whole of a registered title passes to one or more beneficiaries: use AS1 with AP1.

• Only part of a registered title passes, such as part of a garden: use AS3 with AP1.

• The property is unregistered: use an assent (AS1 is accepted) with FR1 for first registration.

• The executors are selling to a buyer: use TR1, or TP1 for part.

• The person who died was the lender under a mortgage: use AS2.

• A joint owner died and the other owner survives: use DJP with the death certificate.

Unregistered land, common where the person bought before 1990 and never remortgaged, needs more work. An assent of unregistered land triggers compulsory first registration, which must be applied for within two months or the transfer of the legal estate becomes void, and the fee is then charged on Scale 1 on the property's full market value, with the original deeds required.

HM Land Registry covers England and Wales only, so property in Scotland goes through Registers of Scotland and property in Northern Ireland through Land and Property Services.

When is no assent needed? Joint tenants and tenants in common

When one of two registered owners dies, the legal title passes automatically to the survivor, and HM Land Registry's Practice Guide 6 confirms this is true whether they held the property as joint tenants or as tenants in common. The survivor simply sends form DJP with an official copy of the death certificate to remove the name, and there is no fee.

The difference lies in who owns the value. With joint tenants the survivor now owns everything. With tenants in common the deceased's share passes under their will or the intestacy rules, yet their executor has no power over the legal title, so the share is handled outside the register. The register will normally carry a Form A restriction, which stops a sole survivor selling without appointing a second trustee. If the survivor inherited the share, they can apply to remove the restriction on form RX3 with a statement of truth, whereas if someone else inherited it, the survivor can keep the restriction and appoint a co-trustee when needed, or transfer the title on form TR1. Our guide to joint mortgages after a death covers the lender side.

Who signs form AS1?

All the personal representatives named on the grant must sign panel 12, each in front of an independent witness who adds their name and address. Since April 2024 the form makes clear that an assent need not be a deed, so the words "as a deed" can be left out, but signatures are still witnessed. The beneficiaries sign too if you complete panel 10, which records how joint beneficiaries will own the property, or panel 11, which holds any extra covenants.

Panel 10 matters whenever more than one person inherits. If you leave it blank and do not send form JO instead, HM Land Registry enters a Form A restriction by default, because it cannot assume they intend to be joint tenants. Executors usually choose limited title guarantee in panel 9, because they rarely know everything the person who died agreed affecting the land.

What does HM Land Registry need with AS1?

For a property in the sole name of the person who died, the official guidance lists form AP1, form AS1, the original or an official copy of the grant issued in the UK, the fee, and identity evidence. A grant issued abroad is only accepted once resealed by a UK court, which is possible for certain countries only.

Identity is checked on form ID1 for each person who is not represented by a conveyancer, which includes the personal representatives and the beneficiary. A solicitor or other conveyancer must verify each person in person and sign the form within the three months before you send it, usually for a fee. ID1 is not needed where the land is worth £6,000 or less.

Stamp Duty Land Tax rarely arises, because the AS1 guidance says you only need an SDLT certificate if the beneficiary gives £40,000 or more for the property, and taking on an existing mortgage does not count.

How much does an AS1 assent cost?

The fee for an assent of a registered property is assessed on Scale 2, using the property's value minus anything still owed on a mortgage that stays in place.

• Up to £100,000: £45 by post, or £20 through the portal (conveyancers).

• £100,001 to £200,000: £70 by post, or £30 through the portal.

• £200,001 to £500,000: £100 by post, or £45 through the portal.

• £500,001 to £1,000,000: £145 by post, or £65 through the portal.

• Over £1,000,000: £305 by post, or £140 through the portal.

The portal is used by conveyancers, so a personal representative applying without a solicitor pays the postal fee. A house worth £320,000 with £90,000 left on its mortgage is assessed on £230,000, which means £100 by post.

How to transfer a property to a beneficiary step by step

1. Obtain the grant of probate or letters of administration, because nothing can be registered before it. See our guides to applying for probate and, where there is no will, letters of administration.

2. Download the title register (£7) to confirm the title number, the owner's name and any mortgage. If the name differs from the grant, for instance after marriage, send evidence linking the two.

3. Settle any Inheritance Tax and debts before handing the property over, since executors who distribute too early can be personally liable for what is left unpaid.

4. Complete AS1, leaving the date in panel 3 blank until everyone has signed, and complete panel 10 if more than one beneficiary will own it.

5. Have each unrepresented party's identity verified on ID1.

6. Complete AP1, enclose the grant copy and the fee, and post the bundle to HM Land Registry's standard address. No covering letter is needed.

What happens if there is a mortgage on the property?

Unless the will says otherwise, a property carries its own mortgage, so the beneficiary inherits it subject to the debt rather than the rest of the estate paying it off. If the mortgage stays, the lender will need to agree to the beneficiary taking it over, which in practice usually means a new mortgage in their name, and HM Land Registry notes that a lender may insist a solicitor handles the transfer. Keep the lender informed while this is arranged, because arrears can build up during the administration.

Whilst the title is being sorted out, the gas, electricity, water, council tax and insurance accounts for the property also need moving or closing, and Legacy Trail's free notification service can tell private-sector providers about the death in one go.

Should the executors sell instead of transferring?

If the beneficiaries plan to sell, it often makes sense to assent the property to them first, because their Capital Gains Tax starting value is the probate value and each beneficiary can use their own annual exemption against any growth since the death. If the executors sell instead, the gain falls on the estate, and in either case a UK residential sale with tax to pay must be reported and paid within 60 days. Our guide to Capital Gains Tax on inherited property works through both routes with figures.

How long does an assent take?

HM Land Registry protects the beneficiary's position from the day it receives the application, but its own figures for July 2026 show that over half of changes such as transferring a title take 13 weeks, most finish in about 6 months and some take around 10 months. First registrations of unregistered land are slower, with half completed in about 8 months and almost all within a year. If the delay puts a sale or remortgage at risk, you can ask for the application to be expedited free of charge.