Land Law - Unregistered and Registered Land

Question 1

Registered Land - First Registration

1. What are the qualifying estates?
2. What types of transfers of a qualifying estate trigger first registration?

Answer 1

1. Qualifying Estates

a. Unregistered freehold estate.
b. Unregistered leasehold estate.

2. Sale, gift, court order, assent

Question 2

Registered Land - Registrable Dispositions

Such transactions must be themselves registered (i.e. they have their own official copies - title number etc).

What are the four Registrable Dispositions?

Answer 2

1. Transfer of registered estate.
2. Grant of legal lease of more than seven years.
3. Grant of legal charge.
4. Grant of express legal easement/profit.

Question 3

Registered Land - Minor interests

These are not capable of substantive registration (i.e. they are not estates), they are not registrable dispositions, and they are not overriding interests.

Name six of these.

How are they protected?

Answer 3

Interest under a trust
Restrictive covenant
Estate contract.
Equitable lease
Equitable easement/profit created after 2003,
Home right.

All protected by a notice in the charges register except for interests under trust which are protected by a restriction in proprietorship register.

Question 4

Registered Land - Overriding interests

According to s.29 LRA 2002, a buyer for valuable consideration of registered land takes free of all interests except for:

• Registered charges (legal mortgages)
• Minor interests other than interests under a trust.
• Overriding interests.

1. What are the three overriding interests?
2. Why aren’t interests under trusts included in s.29?

Answer 4

1. Overriding interests:

a. Legal leases ≤7 years.
b. Interests of actual occupation
c. Legal easements/profits created by implication or prescription.

2. Interests under trusts can be overreached.

Question 5

Registered Land - Overriding Interests

Legal easements/profits created by implication/prescription after October 2003: these include easements by:

• necessity
• common intention
• Wheeldon v Burrows
• s.62 LPA
• Prescription

These take effect as overriding interests if three conditions are satisfied under Schedule 3, para 3 of LRA 2002:

Answer 5

1. Purchaser has actual knowledge
2. Purchaser has constructive knowledge
3. Easement/profit was exercised at least once in the year prior to transfer.

Question 6

Registered Land - Overriding Interests

Interests of persons in actual occupation create a safety net for… but only if the person with that interest is… or signs of such are …

Do interests in actual occupation apply to unprotected interests under trust?

Which 4 types of minor interests can never create an interest of persons in actual occupation?

Answer 6

…unprotected minor interests; in actual occupation; obvious on reasonably careful inspection.

Yes, but not if overreaching has taken place.

1. Personal rights
2. Home rights
3. Easements
4. Restrictive covenants

Question 7

Registered Land - Overriding Interests

Interests in actual occupation therefore means:

Proprietary interest + actual occupation
Proprietary interest + actual/constructive knowledge

What are three factors to determine whether somebody is in actual occupation?

Answer 7

Degree of permanence and continuity;
Intentions and wishes of that person;
Personal circumstances of that person.

Question 8

The chapter on unregistered land is not covered here but it seems straightforward.

The chapter on consolidation is not covered here. It is mostly repetition, other than the subchapter on easements.