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Land Law: Registration of Title (1) - Coggle Diagram
Land Law: Registration of Title (1)
Estates in land:
Estates = rights granted for a period of time
LPA 1925, 2(1) - only two
legal estates
can now exist:
fee simple absolute in possession
(freehold) - and estate in land whereby the rights to that land go on forever
term of years absolute (leasehold) - rights only apply for a period of time, not forever
Proprietary vs Personal Rights:
proprietary rights bind purchasers of land
personal rights do not
Rights in land:
Lease: renting out (proprietary right due to the lease)
Easement = the right for landowner over land of another (eg right of way)
trust (co-ownership) - this is joint ownership of property; having interests in a trust having paid towards the purchase of a property/land etc. Usually the property or land is in one person's name, but the other person has contributed to it, which gives them a proprietary right
adverse possession (squatter's rights) - getting land and keeping it for long enough that they then become the owner of that land
Covenant = a promise to do (positive) or not to do (restrictive) from one landowner to another
mortgage/charge = security for a loan
Legal and equitable interests:
legal and equitable proprietary rights
Why is the distinction important?
Legal rights are (traditionally) stronger, so something that is classified as a legal right is more likely to be enforceable as a prop right against a purchaser (simplification)
to know whether a right is legal or equitable, the legal rights are listed in LPA 1925, s1(2) - not very many legal rights:
mortgages can be legal
easements/leases can also be legal
all other rights are equitable - s1(3)
Practical effect:
some interests can be legal or equitable - eg easements
some interests can only be equitable - eg trusts, covenants
Usually need formalities for a legal right - deeds
A deed is a formal document that is needed in order to create the right:
must be signed, sealed and delivered (formalities - these have been modernised)
If no deed has been used, these rights will only be equitable
Property purchase (conveyancing) procedure:
"caveat emptor" = buyer beware = title investigation
There is no obligation for the seller to tell the buyer if there is a problem with the estate in land, nor to tell them if there is an easement or a trust :!:
Once the title investigation is completed, the next stage is the contract stage: formally entering into a contract to buy
:black_flag: Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, s2:
in writing (cannot be verbal)
incorporating all agreed terms (between buyer and seller)
signed by both parties
The next stage is the Transfer/Conveyance stage: usually a month later in UK
:black_flag: Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, s1:
this requires a deed (which itself requires multiple formalities)
How this process actually works depends on the type of land in question - two types:
Unregistered land - traditional method of land ownership
Unregistered land required the buyer to produce title deeds (documents which prove ownership of the piece of land) - risks potential fraud
Registered land - 1925 - government body known as Land Registry will hold an online record of every piece of land which confirms ownership and tells us about the estate in land and the prop rights in this land
Land Registration Act 2002:
KEY STATUTE
replaced Land Registration Act 1925
under 2002 Act, the two legal estates mentioned above are capable of registration:
freehold (fee simple absolute in possession) - all freeholds are registrable
leasehold (term of years absolute) only registrable for those leases that are for more than 7 years
When must a title be registered?
LRA 2002, s4 - Triggering events for compulsory first registration:
transfer of land (
sale
, gift, court order, assent)
:!: every time a sale of unregistered land occurs, that triggers a compulsory requirement to register the land with the registry (within a two month period)
grant of legal lease for over 7 years
creation of a mortgage
:!: can also register voluntarily
:!: effect of non-registration? LRA 2002, s7
Classes of title (when registered):
This effectively indicates how strong the title to the property is.
absolute freehold or absolute leasehold (when the registry is happy that the land title is secure; what people want when buying land)
possessory (freehold or leasehold)
qualified (freehold or leasehold)
good leasehold
Once registered, all key transactions relating to it must also be registered in order to take legal effect :!:
Examples:
transfer of registered estate
express grant/reservation of easement
grant of a legal charge (mortgage)
3 key principles of land registration:
mirror principle
curtain principle
insurance principle
MIRROR PRINCIPLE
:star: the idea that the land register should act like a mirror; it should accurately reflect the ownership of the land and the third party prop rights affecting it - tells you everything you need to know about the estate and the rights involved
CURTAIN PRINCIPLE
:star: Relates to family interests in property, particularly those under trusts
:star: details around family interests are kept private and off the register (behind the curtain)
INSURANCE PRINCIPLE
:star: the idea that the state guarantees the accuracy of the register of title, so effectively the state insures the title
:star: therefore, if the land registry got something wrong and you lost out, you would be able to get compensation from the state
Structure of the register:
Every property title is presented by the land registry in three parts:
property register
- This describes the land and estate comprised in the title (basically what the property is that the title relates to)
proprietorship register
- this specifies the class of title and identifies the owner. It contains any entries that affect the right of disposal, such as restrictions (ie. class = title absolute)
charges register
- this contains any charges or other matters that affect the land (where most of the prop rights will be listed, such as easements or mortgages, restricted covenants etc)
Different types of interest in registered land:
registrable estates
registrable charges
interests which are subject to entry on the register - must be entered on the register to bind a purchaser
2 CATEGORIES:
interests of beneficiaries under trusts - protect by
restriction
non-trust interests (eg restrictive covenants, estate contracts etc) - protect by
notice
interest which override - a group of rights which don't fit within the structure, they are enforceable even if they are not on the title (problematic category)
Restrictions and notices:
Restrictions =
to protect trust interests
appear on prop register
Notices =
protect non-trust interests
appear on charges register
if entered, interest will be binding on purchaser - LRA 2002, s29(2)
if not entered, not binding on purchaser (maybe) - LRA 2002, s29(1)
LRA 2002, s29:
A purchaser is subject to -
entries appearing on the register
unregistered interests which override the register