Land charges are encumbrances, such as contracts, payments, or other matters, to which land is subject; they must either be dealt with before the land is sold or they will bind the purchaser. Formerly, they bound a purchaser who had notice of them. Now most of them must be registered if they are to remain effective, either under the Land Charges Act (1972; applicable to unregistered land) or under the Land Registration Act (1925; applicable to registered land). Research Land Charges
Land registration is the system of registration of title introduced by the
Land Registration Act (1925). Land is registered by reference to a map rather than against the name of any estate owner. Three registers are kept: (a) the property register, which records the land and estate; it refers to a map and mentions any interests benefiting the land, e.g. easements and restrictive covenants; (b) the proprietorship register, which sets out the name of the owner, the nature of the title (e.g. freehold or leasehold), and any restrictions on the way the land may be dealt with (e.g. if the land is subject to a trust); (c) the charges register, which contains notice of rights adverse to the land, such as mortgages and land charges as defined in the Land Charges Act (1972). The owner's title is guaranteed by registration in most circumstances. Rights in registered land may be a registered interest, which amounts to ownership of the freehold or leasehold estate; an overriding interest, which binds a purchaser without needing to be registered; or a minor interest, which needs to be protected by an entry on
the register (e.g. interest under a trust or restrictive covenant). The purpose of the system was to simplify conveyancing, so that instead of checking title deeds, a search of the register would reveal all relevant matters. Unfortunately the simplicity of the system is breached by the difficulties arising from overriding interests. Eventually, all land in England and Wales will be registered, enabling unregistered conveyancing to disappear. Research Land Registration
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Land Charges
