Land Registration Act Case Study

The idea of registering title to land was so that land would be guaranteed by the state and also for it to be relied on as proof of ownership1. This registration of titles would enable a safe, simple and economic system of transferring land between two parties thus, cutting the costs of conveyancing and preventing the chances of fraud from occurring. This system is contained in the Land Registration Acts and supplemented by the Land Registration Rules. A national system of land registration was first attempted under the Land Registration Act 1862. As this voluntary system proved ineffective as well as other further attempts in 1875 & 1897, Land Registration Act (LRA) 19252 was brought into force. The underlying objective of the LRA 1925 was to simplify conveyancing by replacing the older haphazard system of unregistered conveyancing with a system of land registration3. Although the system served well for over seventy years, it was unable to meet the requirements of a modern technological age. The Land Registration Act (LRA) 20024 was then brought into force and repealed the LRA 1925 in its entirety but still applying the fundamental principles.

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1 Judith Bray, Unlocking Land Law (3rd edition, Routledge, USA 2013) 50

2 Land Registration Act 1925

3 Martin Dixon, Modern Land Law (5th edition, Cavendish Publishing, 2005) 17

4 Land Registration Act 2002

¬The LRA 2002 came into force on October 13th 2003 along with a number of objectives. Under the mirror principle, the Register should be an accurate and conclusive reflection of ownership of title and also relevant interests affecting the land in question5. Furthermore, the Act was also aimed at reducing the number of overriding interests in land ...

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... of conveyancing. Eventhough the Act seemed to have the power to compel the use of e-conveyancing, it is not likely that such stern powers would be used, well at least not anytime soon. Before being too critical of the new system, it would be a wise idea to view what the final outcome would be when it is used. Law Commission stated in their Reports No. 254 and 271 that this is more than achievable. Hence, the aim of the LRA 2002 to paint a clear picture of a land on the register might still be accomplished and looking at it from the big picture, e-conveyancing would definitely provide for that as the details, rights and interests attached to a piece of land would clear and open for the viewing of the public.46

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46 references made from The Reform of Property Law and The Land Registration Act 2002: A Risk Assessment by Martin Dixon