Pre-Completion, Completion and Post-Completion — SQE1 practice question

A solicitor acts for a buyer purchasing a house from a couple who own it jointly and are married. The transfer has come back signed by both of them. One witness, a neighbour, has signed against each signature, giving her name and address in each case. She was present in the room when each of the sellers signed. The buyer's trainee thinks the execution must be defective, on the basis that two signatories need two separate witnesses.

Has the transfer been validly executed by the two sellers as a deed?

Option A. Correct answer. Yes, because one witness may attest both signatures if present when each was made.Correct
Option B. Incorrect answer. Yes, because a transfer between spouses requires no attestation of either signature.
Option C. Incorrect answer. No, because each signatory to a deed must sign before a witness of their own.
Option D. Incorrect answer. No, because a witness may attest only one signature on any single deed.
Option E. Incorrect answer. No, because joint owners must execute by a single signature given on behalf of both.

Why

The correct answer is A. An individual executes a deed by signing it in the presence of a witness who attests the signature (s.1(3) of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989). Nothing in that requires a separate witness for each signatory. One person may attest both signatures provided she was actually present when each of them signed, and has attested each signature separately - which is what has happened here, since she has signed against each with her name and address. The execution is good and the trainee's objection is unfounded.

The requirements that do matter are presence and independence. The witness must see the signature made, so a deed signed at home and taken to the office to be witnessed afterwards is not validly executed however honest everyone involved is; and where two people sign on different occasions the witness must be present at both, or two witnesses used. The witness should not be a party to the deed, and the registrar may query a witness sharing an address with a signatory, so one spouse witnessing the other is best avoided even though it does not of itself invalidate the deed. A neighbour raises neither difficulty.

B is incorrect because attestation is required whoever the parties are; there is no marital exception, and the sellers being married changes nothing. C is incorrect because the Act requires a witness, not a witness each. D is incorrect because a witness may attest as many signatures as she has actually seen made. E is incorrect because joint owners each hold and each must transfer; both must sign, one being unable to sign for the other without a power of attorney.