City council launches legal action after primary school site sold off in conveyancing error

The council auctioned a property in Fountain Road to care home provider NH Care Limited in 2013, but an unwitting error during the conveyancing process also transferred ownership of the neighbouring primary school site.

The home was formerly used as a caretaker's cottage and was therefore attached to the same HM Land Registry title number as the primary school.

The mistake was discovered in 2024, more than ten years later, when the primary school began considering applying for academy status.

According to court documents seen by Local Government Lawyer, the defendant's conveyancing solicitors prepared an HM Land Registry TR1 Form for the transfer, which transferred both the home and the school's land.

They should have prepared an HM Land Registry TP1 Form instead, the document says.

Solicitors acting for the council later missed this mistake and the transfer went ahead.

Birmingham has now launched a High Court claim to recover the land. Its particulars of claim form submitted in August argues that ownership of the land should be handed back as it was transferred by virtue of an error.

It says that the parties only intended to convey the house as opposed to the entirety of the land under the HM Land Registry title. It also highlights that the subsequent transfer of the school site "did not reflect the agreement reached between the parties".

It reads: "In all the circumstances, the Claimant is entitled to and claims rectification of the documents executed by the parties, including the TR1 Form, so that they accurately reflect the parties’ intentions, namely that only [the Fountain Road property] was to be conveyed to the First Defendant with George Dixon Primary School remaining under the sole registered proprietorship of the Claimant.”

Elsewhere, the form argues that the school grounds were conveyed by virtue of a unilateral mistake on the part of the council, having sealed the TR1 Form as opposed to a TP1 Form.

On this point, it said that the defendant was aware or should have been aware of the council's mistake, and that as a result, the contractual agreement for the transfer is void ab initio.

The claim also argues that the transfer is void as the parties also failed to obtain consent from the Secretary of State, as required under section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

The particulars meanwhile claim that the care provider has failed to comply with the claimant’s requests to rectify the transfer. It also states that Lloyds Bank PLC – which is named as the second defendant – has failed to engage with the council on the issue in “any meaningful way”.

A Birmingham City Council spokesperson confirmed an issue had been identified in historic documentation relating to the property transaction.

They added: "The council is pursuing the appropriate legal process to rectify the position. As the matter is currently the subject of ongoing legal proceedings, it would be inappropriate to comment further.

“We remain committed to safeguarding public assets and acting in the best interests of residents, pupils and the school community.”

Local Government Lawyer has approached NH Care Limited and Lloyds Bank PLC for comment.

Adam Carey