Unregistered Land Flashcards
How does an owner of unregistered land prove their ownership?
By producing documents to show that the owner (and their predecessors in title) has uninterrupted possession of the land for 15 years (the epitome of title).
Which document is a good root of title?
It is a document which:
Shows ownership of the whole of the legal and equitable interest in the land;
Contains a recognisable description of the land;
Does not cast any doubt on the title; and
is at least 15 years old.
What happens where the epitome of title reveals a third party right created prior to the root of title?
The buyer is entitled to call for a copy of the earlier document.
What are the flaws of unregistered land?
The epitome of title could contain forged documents.
Investigating title is time consuming (and therefore expensive).
The bundle of title deeds may be lost, stolen or destroyed.
Old documents can be very hard to read, particularly when hand written.
If the epitome of title reveals no third party rights, a buyer may unwittingly purchase land
burdened by such rights
How does s.205 LPA 1925 define a ‘Purchaser?’
A purchaser includes a lessee, mortgagee or other person who for valuable consideration acquires an interest in property.
What is the effect of legal estates on unregistered land?
They bind any buyer, except for puisne mortgages which must be protected by a Land Charge.
What is a puisne mortgage?
A legal mortgage (or charge) that is not protected by the deposit of deeds.
This will usually be a second mortgage, where the first mortgagee (lender) has already taken a deposit of the deeds as part of its security.
How are equitable interests on unregistered land protected?
A Land Charge
The doctrine of notice.
What classes of interests must be protected as a Land Charge?
C(iv) an estate contract
D(ii) a restrictive covenant
D(iii) an equitable easement
F a home right
C(i) puisne mortgage
How is a Land Charge registered?
The Land Charge must be registered against the estate owner in the version of their name as it appears in the deeds.
The onus to register is on the person holding the equitable interest.
What is the effect of registering a Land Charge?
Section 198 LPA 1925 confirms that registration of a Land Charge is deemed to constitute actual notice of the interest as from
the date of registration.
Any buyer will, therefore, be bound by the interest (whether or not they know about it).
What is the effect of failure to register a Land Charge?
The Land Charge is then void against a buyer for money or money’s worth of a legal estate unless the Land Charge is registered before the completion of the purchase.
What is best practice when searching the Land Charges Register?
Good practice is to search against all the names of estate owners revealed in the epitome of
title, including any revealed who pre-date the root of title.
Section 10 LCA 1972 provides that the search certificate from the Land Charges Register is
conclusive in favour of the buyer
What happens when the buyer is bound by a Land Charge not revealed by the epitome of title?
The buyer may be entitled to statutory compensation where they suffer loss.
To what interests does the doctrine of notice apply?
Equitable interests pre- dating 1925; and
Beneficial interests under a trust (express or implied) whenever created.
