Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Witnessing and attesting deeds under LP(MP)A 1989 (England and Wales): Euro Securities & Finance v Barrett—practical guidance, uncertainties, and estoppel

Published on: 28 February 2023

Published by a LexisNexis Commercial expert

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Article summary

How to witness and attest a deed under the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 (Euro Securities & Finance v Barrett)

Euro Securities & Finance Ltd v Barrett and others [2023] EWHC 51 (Ch)

What are the practical implications of this case?

The safest route to prevent disputes over a deed’s validity is:

all principal signatories execute at the same time and in the same location;
any witness should be a non-party to the deed and observe the signatures physically, in person; and
each witness should attest, separately, every signature they observed, doing so straightaway while remaining in the signatories’ presence.

Each of these points ought to be documented in writing.

That said, the judge in Euro Securities considered that the LP(MP)A 1989 may afford parties greater latitude. Although much of the discussion was obiter, in essence the judge concluded:

the requirement in LP(MP)A 1989, s 1(3) for signing ‘in the presence of a witness’ means the witness must be physically present at the moment of signing and actually see, watch or observe it. It was noted that a 2019 Law Commission report considered that remote presence (eg via Zoom) would be...

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