Bought a house, got a school: why title checks matter before academy conversion

Few conveyancing errors make national headlines. However, one reported this week did: a buyer who purchased a three-bedroom house from a council at auction was handed a primary school as well.

In 2013, businessman Mr Bains bought a three-bedroom house from Birmingham City Council at auction for £395,000. The purchase was made through his care provider company, NH Care Ltd. The house was originally built as a cottage for the caretaker of George Dixon Primary School, and its rear garden backs onto the school playing fields. That proximity to the school appears to explain how the error happened.

According to reports, the buyer’s lawyers drafted and circulated a transfer for the council to sign but used the wrong form. It’s suggested that the house and the school were both registered under the same title number and, as such, a TP1 form should have been used to transfer part of the title. However, a TR1 form was used instead, which transferred the whole title. The council’s conveyancer then approved the documents without noticing the mistake, and ownership of the school passed as well. Mr Bains is not thought to have known about the error when he bought the house.

The mistake was discovered in April 2024, more than 10 years after the sale, when the school was looking at becoming an academy. Reports say the school realised at that point that it didn’t own its building. The council then contacted the company and asked for the school back.

The council says Mr Bains first agreed to return the school. He later stopped replying to correspondence and declined to sign the paperwork. The council has now started High Court proceedings against NH Care Ltd and its lender, Lloyds Bank. The council’s position is that neither the school nor its playing fields could be sold without the Secretary of State’s consent. The school has continued operating as normal.

Press coverage has suggested that the buyer could, in theory, evict staff and pupils, demolish the school or sell the site for millions. Given the council’s legal challenge and the statutory consent point, that outcome looks far from certain.

Lessons for academies and trusts

• Check title before conversion, not after. This error went unnoticed for more than a decade and only surfaced through conversion due diligence. Academies and trusts should obtain up-to-date official copies and title plans for the whole school estate early in the process
• Look closely at boundaries and neighbouring disposals. Former caretakers’ houses, school buildings and land next to playing fields are classic points of risk. Here, the disposal of a neighbouring cottage appears to have swept in the school itself
• Confirm who actually holds the legal title. Before a lease or transfer to an academy trust is agreed, check that the council, diocese or foundation trust granting it is still the registered owner of everything the school occupies
• Remember statutory protections. Disposals of school land and playing fields are subject to Secretary of State consent requirements and should have a restriction on the title to this effect. These protections may be central to fixing errors like this one, so you should always ensure the relevant restriction is included on the title
• Errors can be corrected, but at a cost. Mistakes involving registered land can generally be corrected by rectifying the register or through court proceedings. This case shows that putting things right can mean litigation involving the owner and its lender, with the costs and delay that brings.

The Birmingham case is an unusual example of a basic drafting and checking error with serious consequences. For academies, the practical message is that a thorough title investigation is a core part of conversion and estate management, not a formality.

We offer a Property Health Check service to help academy trusts gain a clearer understanding of their property position and support informed decision-making. The review includes:

• Identifying all land and property held in your ownership via Land Registry searches
• Confirming that the correct entity is named as the legal owner
• Highlighting historic entries or restrictions that may no longer be required
• Flagging any third-party consents needed before a future disposal or transfer.

If issues are identified during your Property Health Check, the available options can then be assessed and addressed as appropriate.