Restrictive covenants. Missing easements. Defective title indemnity gaps. Your conveyancer reads 40 title registers a week. Your agent reads them in 90 seconds.
Title analysis is the highest-value, most time-consuming element of residential conveyancing. Each HM Land Registry title register must be checked for: restrictive covenants (and whether they're breached or potentially breached), easements and rights of way, charges and notices, boundary discrepancies, chancel repair liability, missing indemnity insurance requirements, and any entries that might affect the transaction or the lender's security. A thorough title check takes 30-60 minutes per property — longer for leasehold or complex titles. With conveyancers handling 40+ matters at any time, title analysis consumes a significant proportion of fee-earner time. Competitors like Orbital Witness and Avail exist but are enterprise-priced. Your agent reads HMLR title registers, identifies every potential defect, and produces a structured summary for the conveyancer to review — at a price point that works for a 2-partner High Street firm.
What Your Agent Actually Does
Your agent reads HM Land Registry title registers and flags every potential defect — restrictive covenants, missing easements, indemnity gaps — in 90 seconds rather than 45 minutes.
Identifies restrictive covenants and potential breaches
Restrictive covenants that prohibit alterations, restrict use, or require consent before development — your agent identifies every covenant, assesses whether the current or proposed use might breach it, and flags where indemnity insurance may be needed. The single most common title issue in residential conveyancing.
Flags easements, rights of way, and access issues
Rights of way across the property, shared access arrangements, utility easements, drainage rights — your agent maps easements from the title register and title plan, flagging any that might affect the buyer's intended use or the lender's security.
Identifies charges, notices, and restrictions
Outstanding charges, unilateral notices, restrictions on disposition, bankruptcy entries, cautions — your agent identifies every entry in the charges register and explains its implications for the transaction.
Highlights indemnity insurance requirements
Missing building regulation sign-offs, breach of covenant risks, chancel repair liability, unknown rights of way — where title indemnity insurance might be needed, your agent flags the issue and identifies the type of policy required.
Produces structured defect summaries
A clear, organised summary of every title issue found: what it is, why it matters, what action is needed, and what the risk level is. Your conveyancer reviews the summary and applies professional judgement on materiality — not spending 45 minutes reading the register first.
The real numbers.
| Conveyancer time on title analysis (30-60 min per property) | £4,000–£10,000/year |
| Orbital Witness / Avail subscription (enterprise-priced) | £6,000–£15,000/year |
| Missed defects leading to post-completion claims | Variable (PII claims — average £10,000-£50,000+) |
| Realistic annual cost | £6,000–£15,000 |
| Agent build (one-off, configured to your conveyancing workflow) | £4,000–£6,000 |
| Monthly running costs (hosting + AI usage) | £150–£250/month |
| HMLR practice guide and regulatory updates | Included in first year |
| Realistic first-year total | £5,800–£9,000 |
Title analysis is where conveyancing expertise meets time pressure. Every title must be checked thoroughly — a missed restrictive covenant or unidentified easement can result in a negligence claim worth tens of thousands. But with 40+ matters on the go, the time available for each title check is compressed.
Your agent doesn't replace the conveyancer's professional judgement — it ensures every defect is identified so the conveyancer can focus on assessing materiality rather than reading through pages of register entries.
Good fit / not a fit.
This works brilliantly for:
- Conveyancing firms handling 10+ completions per month
- Firms where title checking is a significant bottleneck in transaction timelines
- Firms that have had PII claims related to missed title defects
- Small firms that can't afford enterprise title analysis platforms
This probably isn't for you if:
- You already use Orbital Witness or Avail and are satisfied
- Your conveyancers handle fewer than 5 transactions per month
- You're a commercial-only practice (this agent focuses on residential title)
Let's talk.
We'll start with your monthly transaction volume, how you currently handle title analysis, and whether missed defects have ever caused issues. Usually a 15-minute conversation.
hello@nimblecroft.com