Land Law Lecture 1 30/09/15
Registration of Ownership
Property Register
99% of land is registered – in 1 or 2 areas the law is very different
for unregistered titles.
Once a title is registered it cannot go back.
A property register is a simple statement indicating the thing which
is registered and things which are benefits relating to the thing
(rights of way etc)
Registration is of estates not land – an estate is an ownership
interest in land recognised in law, lasts for various amounts of time –
freehold – forever, leashold – for a certain amount of time.
Description of land included (usually just postal address) and
reference to filed plan (but scale is small)
Benefiting rights – interests which benefit land such as easements
and restrictive covenants.
Proprietorship Register
Not registering ownership
“title absolute” – government guarantees your title – you will either
have the land or the value of the land
price paid is part of the register, government use this to publish
house price survey
Restrictions – may be entered into title – mainly relates to trustees,
limits their power to sell/give away the property
Charges Register
Minuses – things which reduce the value of ownership.
¾ of properties have easements/restrictive covenants for
neighbours, and almost all have mortgages.
Mortgages transfers estate to a lendor in return for securing a debt
against land, legal charges earmark land for repayment of a loan but
there is no transfer of ownership.
Personal rights – enforceable between original parties only, would
not bind new purchasers.
Property rights – rights capable of binding purchasers – legal
interests or equitable interests – burdens.
What is missing?
o Not a register of ownership, it is a register to facilitate sale,
only states what you need to know in order to buy the land.
Deliberate omits things which a purchaser does not need to
know. No reference on the register to personal rights – as
these cannot bind purchasers.
o Beneficial interests under a trust – because the trustees can
sell the land, as a purchaser you do not need to know who the
beneficiaries are.
Registration of Ownership
Property Register
99% of land is registered – in 1 or 2 areas the law is very different
for unregistered titles.
Once a title is registered it cannot go back.
A property register is a simple statement indicating the thing which
is registered and things which are benefits relating to the thing
(rights of way etc)
Registration is of estates not land – an estate is an ownership
interest in land recognised in law, lasts for various amounts of time –
freehold – forever, leashold – for a certain amount of time.
Description of land included (usually just postal address) and
reference to filed plan (but scale is small)
Benefiting rights – interests which benefit land such as easements
and restrictive covenants.
Proprietorship Register
Not registering ownership
“title absolute” – government guarantees your title – you will either
have the land or the value of the land
price paid is part of the register, government use this to publish
house price survey
Restrictions – may be entered into title – mainly relates to trustees,
limits their power to sell/give away the property
Charges Register
Minuses – things which reduce the value of ownership.
¾ of properties have easements/restrictive covenants for
neighbours, and almost all have mortgages.
Mortgages transfers estate to a lendor in return for securing a debt
against land, legal charges earmark land for repayment of a loan but
there is no transfer of ownership.
Personal rights – enforceable between original parties only, would
not bind new purchasers.
Property rights – rights capable of binding purchasers – legal
interests or equitable interests – burdens.
What is missing?
o Not a register of ownership, it is a register to facilitate sale,
only states what you need to know in order to buy the land.
Deliberate omits things which a purchaser does not need to
know. No reference on the register to personal rights – as
these cannot bind purchasers.
o Beneficial interests under a trust – because the trustees can
sell the land, as a purchaser you do not need to know who the
beneficiaries are.
