The Land Registry
Land Registration Background.
The current system of land registration dates from 1892. Under the Land Purchase Acts, almost all agricultural land in the country was purchased from the landlords and vested in their tenant farmers. The land transfers made under the Land Purchase Acts, which made numerous tenant farmers freehold owners, made it desirable to have a simplified system of proving title.
The Land Commission investigated and effectively guaranteed title, which facilitated the extension of a guaranteed State registered title in the vested land. The title of landowners was typically involved complex settlements and trusts, by which land, (as the principal source of wealth) had been tied up and used for the benefit of extended families over generations. The registration of title system became an efficient simple and effective way of recording and proving land ownership.
The work of the Land Commission which over 75 years (principally in the first thirty years of the twentieth century) acquired and vested most agricultural land in the State, gave an enormous impetus to title registration. Title registration was as that time becoming a feature of legal systems internationally during that era.
Land purchased under the Land Purchase Act was subject to compulsory registration in the Land Registry. Land Registry title was established in respect of the bulk of the land area of the State by the middle of the last century. The system of registration of title secured the interests of the State in the purchase monies annuities over the property.
Earlier systems of land registration had been enacted in Ireland. After the famine, the Landed Estates Court (Ireland) Act 1858 provided for the sales of certain encumbered estate by way of conveyance by a judge of the High Court. This vested title to the land, overreaching all previous interests, which attached to the purchase money.
The Record of Title (Ireland) Act 1865 was intended to register landed estates titles. However, the legislation was never effective and was little used. Landed estate courts purchasers were given the opportunity to record title under the legislation or register in the Registry of Deeds. There were less than one thousand registered titles under the 1865 Act. Ultimately, provision was made for the transfer of recorded titles over to the land registration system.
The titles to properties vested by the Land Commission and by housing authorities were subject to compulsory registration in the Land Registration. Apart from these cases, title registration was largely voluntary until 1970. Compulsory registration in the Land Registry on any sale of unregistered title land applied in three counties, Meath, Laois and Carlow as and from 1970. In the first decade of the 21st-century compulsory registration was extended, quickly so that by 2011, it was extended to cover the entire State.
The original land registration title, the Local Registration of Title Ireland Act 1891 continued in force until 1967, when it was replaced by the Registration of Title Act 1964. The counties of Northern Ireland were severed from the Land Registry upon the establishment of Northern Ireland and a separate Land Registry was established in Belfast.
Assists Conveyancing
Land registration greatly assists the process of conveyancing. It obviates the need to investigate historical titles, on each conveyance. However, Land Registry fees are expensive, relative to those in the United Kingdom and to the fees charged by the Registry of Deeds. The highest fees apply to transfers, effectively subsidise more complex first registration transactions.
Land registration provides a State guaranteed title. There is a provision for compensation of persons who suffer loss by reason of errors originating in the Land Registry. This is radically different from the position with an unregistered title. However, the scope of the guarantee is limited to Land Registry errors and is not a guarantee for all purposes.
Registered title facilitates public searches of land ownership. However, the persons registered as the owner may be decreased or may be nominees of trustees, so that the name of the current beneficial owner may not be registered.
Land Registry title identifies land by reference to Ordnance Survey maps. In contrast, unregistered conveyancing often employed verbal descriptions and/or poorly drawn maps. Title registration requires the use of Ordnance Survey maps on sales of parts and on conveyances which are subject to first registration.
The Property Registration Authority
The Land Registry operates under the Department of Justice. There was originally a central Land Registry in Dublin with local offices. The central Land Registry has been decentralised in part and significant parts of the State and certain functions are dealt with by Land Registry Offices outside of Dublin. The principal registers are allocated between three Land Registry offices, in Dublin, Roscommon and Waterford.
In 2006, the Land Registry and Registry of Deeds were amalgamated into the Property Registration Authority of Ireland (PRAI). The Registrar holds a statutory office under the legislation and is responsible for the maintenance and operation of the Land Registry system.
The Registrar and his staff determine and give effect to the vast majority of applications and any attendant legal issues arising them in a non-contentious manner. The registrar may correct errors in the register, with the consent of all parties. In the case of errors which cannot be resolved and which cause loss, the State may be liable to pay compensation.
The Registrar may refer matters to court, where there is a question or doubt. He may require applicants to establish particular matters in the courts, where the facts are insufficiently clear. The registrar’s order may give the management of the proceedings to the applicant’s solicitor.
Organisation of Titles
Each title is given a “folio” number. It is identified by the county and folio number. Formerly, each title had a number only. A new series with a number and letter at the end “F” for a freehold title, and “L” for a leasehold title, was introduced under the 1964 Act. Accordingly, the title Folio 12345 County Galway is distinct to the title Folio 12345F and 12345L County Galway. The folios may alternatively refer to as Folio GY12345, Folio GY12345F and GY12345L, each county being identified by the first two letters.
Registration is compulsory in relation to all land acquired by a statutory authority. This includes government departments and a range of other bodies established by law.
Land Registry fees for particular transactions or “dealings” with the title, are set by law. They have been amended from time to time.
The Land Registry rules deal with the management and operation of the Land Registry and the procedures for dealing with the registered title. It prescribes forms for most type of transactions. The forms are to be used in transactions to which they apply, with alterations and modifications as appropriate. Applications in improper form may be rejected. The current rules are the Land Registration Rules 2012.
In practice it is necessary to modify many Land Registry forms, to adapt them for the particular circumstances. The standard Land Registry transfer is a short, simple form. If, however, it is necessary to grant or reserve easements, or provide covenants, it will be necessary to draft a significantly longer document while retaining the essential elements of the Land Registry form.
Scope of Title Guarantee and Limits
The title of the registered owner to the registered title, is conclusive, in the absence of fraud. The registry entries are conclusive in relation to the ownership of all rights, burdens and appurtenant rights appearing on them.
The principle of notice which applies to unregistered title property and limits the effect of the Registry of Deeds, does not apply to the Land Registry. There is no constructive or deemed notice. A person who deals with the registered land title, need not go behind the registry entries, in so far that they relate to the underlying title.
However, the Land Registry system is not in fact absolute. Boundaries are not conclusive unless specifically agreed and so entered. Several important categories of burdens or rights affect the registered title property without registration. These include in particular,
- tenancies created for any term not exceeding twenty-one years or for any less estate or interest, in cases where there is an occupation under such tenancies;
- the rights of every person in actual occupation of the land or in receipt of the rents and profits thereof, save where, upon enquiry made of such person, the rights are not disclosed;
- easements and profits à prendre, unless they are respectively created by express grant or reservation after the first registration of the land;
There are a number of classes of title; absolute, good leasehold, and possessory. The most commonly found class is an absolute title, which gives the greatest level of guarantee. Good leasehold title is a guarantee only of the lessee’s title under the lease and does not guarantee the validity of the landlord’s title to grant it. A possessory title is one that has been acquired under the Statute of limitations. In time possessory titles may be may be upgraded to absolute.
A person who takes title to registered land other than for valuable consideration, takes it subject to unregistered rights which affect the transferor or registered owner. A judgment mortgagee or donee of a gift does not acquire the property for valuable consideration. If there have been earlie unregistered transfers or charges for value, they take precedence over the judgment mortgage or the gift.
In general terms, Land Registry title does not recognise trusts or equitable interest. They may be protected indirectly by way of a caution, or more appropriately an inhibition. These are mechanisms to ensure that the registered title is not dealt with without consent of a particular party, or in the case of a caution that prior notice is given prior to registration of a dealing in relation to the land. In this latter case, the right holder is given the opportunity to exert his or her right.
Compensation
An application for compensation may be made where a persons has been caused loss by reason of
- rectification by court order
- by reason of an error originating in the Land Registry whether by misstatement, mis-description or omission whether in a register or map;
- an entry in or omission from the register or a map obtained by forgery or fraud
- any error in an official search carried out by a registering authority or any of his officers, or
- the inaccuracy of any office copy of or extract from a register or registry map, or of any office copy of or extract from any document or plan filed in the Land Registry.
A claimant is not entitled to compensation where he or his agent contributed to the loss by neglect or default. Formerly, many disputed claims to compensation were referred to the registrar. The legislation was amended in 2006 to provide for court resolution and determination of disputes.