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This document summarises the ways in which the most important interests
in land are recorded and protected under the unregistered and
registered systems of conveyancing. At the time of writing, most of the
LandRegistrationAct2002 had come into force, and the<a href=lawglos_LandRegistrationAct1925.html>land registration act (1925)</a>
has been
repealed, but the 1925 scheme is shown as well for comparison purposes.
<p>
Please note that this chart contains a number of simplifications, and
does not illustrate the changes (to overriding interests in particular)
that are scheduled to take place over the next ten years.
<p>
Key:
| An interest that is at least
capable of being overriding, that is, binding a purchaser of an
interest in the land |
|
| An interest that can be
registered with its own title; usually the legal title does not vest
with the transferee until the interest is registered |
|
| An interest which is noted
against another title. In unregistered conveyancing, many equitable
interests are registerable as land charges against the name of the
primary title-holder. In registered conveyancing, interests are entered
against the register entry for the land |
|
| LRA |
Land Registration Act |
| LCA |
Land Charges Act |
<p>
Primary estates
| Interest1 |
Unregistered
land |
LRA
1925 |
LRA
2002 |
| Freehold |
Evidenced by
documents |
Substantively
registerable |
Substantively registerable |
| Lease > 21 years |
Evidenced by documents | Substantively
registerable4 |
Substantively registerable |
| Lease 7-21 years |
Evidenced by documents | Overriding
[s70(1)k LRA 1925] |
Substantively registerable |
| Lease < 7 years |
Evidenced by documents | Overriding [s70(1)k LRA 1925] | Overriding
[sch 1&3 LRA 2002] |
| Discontinuous lease |
Evidenced by documents | Notable as minor interest | Overriding and substantively registerable |
| Future lease2 |
Evidenced by documents | Notable as minor interest | Substantively registerable |
| Crown demesne land3 |
Registerable
after conversion to freehold [s73 LRA 2002] |
1Where land is
unregistered, legal interests are technically binding on
the world with or without the evidence of title deeds. However, such
interests are likely to be difficult to prove
2A 'future lease' here is one that is granted to take effect
more than 3 months after grant
3Crown demesne land includes, for example, most of the
foreshore. LRA 2002 allows the Crown to grant itself a freehold out of
demesne land, and thereby register it. This is mostly to protect
against adverse possession
4A lease is not registerable with its own title if it
contains an absolute prohibition on assignment, since it is of no
interest to a prospective purchaser
<p>
Legal interests
| Interest1 |
Unregistered
land |
LRA
1925 |
LRA
2002 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Legal rentcharge |
May be inferred from documents |
Substantively registerable | Substantively registerable | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Legal easement |
May be inferred from documents | Overriding
[s70(1)a LRA 1925] |
Overriding
[sch 1&3 LRA 2002] and substantively registerable3 |
</tr>
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Legal franchise |
May be inferred from documents | Overriding [s70(1)a LRA 1925] | Overriding [sch 1&3 LRA 2002] and substantively registerable | </tr>||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Legal profit
à prendre |
May be inferred from documents | Overriding [s70(1)a LRA 1925] | Overriding
[sch 1&3 LRA 2002] and substantively registerable3 |
</tr>
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Legal profit à prendre in
gross |
May be inferred from documents | Overriding [s70(1)a LRA 1925] | Substantively registerable | </tr>||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Legal mortgage with
deposit of deeds |
No need to protect2 | n/a - no deeds |
n/a - no deeds |
</tr>
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Legal mortgage by
demise |
May be inferred from documents | Not registerable
where right of redemption subsists |
Not registerable
where right of redemption subsists |
</tr>
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Legal mortgage by
charge |
Class C(i) charge ('puisne mortgage')2 | Legal
charge against title |
Legal
charge against title |
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
| Interest |
Unregistered
land |
LRA
1925 |
LRA
2002 |
| Equitable easement |
Class D(iii) charge1 |
May
be overriding4 |
Notable as a non-overriding interest6 |
| Equitable profit
à prendre |
Class D(iii) charge1 |
Notable as minor interest5 | Notable as a non-overriding interest |
| Equitable mortgage |
Class C(iii) charge2 |
Notable as minor interest5 | Notable as a non-overriding interest |
| Restrictive covenant |
Class D(ii) charge1 | Notable as minor interest5 | Notable as a non-overriding interest |
| Equitable lease |
Doctrine of notice
applies3 |
Notable as minor interest5 | Notable as a non-overriding interest |
| Estate contract |
Class C(iv) charge1 |
Notable as minor interest5 | Notable
as a non-overriding interest |
| Beneficiaries' rights |
Doctrine of notice
applies3 |
Notable as minor interest (usually a restriction)5 | Notable
as a restriction (not a notice) |
<p>
1An equitable
easement, profit, or restrictive covenant or estate contract is not
binding against a purchaser for money or money's worth if not
registered as a land charge of the meta shown[s4(6) LCA 1972].
2Equitable mortgage created after 1926 is not binding on a
purchaser for valuable consideration if not registered as a land charge
[s4(5) LCA 1972].
3Where the doctrine of notice applies - and it applies to
all equitable interests in unregistered land that do not require
registration as a land charge - the interest does not bind a bona fide purchaser for valuable
consideration
4See Celsteel v Alton House
<p>
5Minor interests are not enforceable against a purchaser for
valuable consideration unless noted on the register; but see
Peffer v Rigg and Lyus v Prowser
6The 2002 Act does not use the term 'minor interest' to
describe interests that must be protected by a note on the register,
although the new notice/restriction notes serve the same purpose as the
old notice/caution/restriction/inhibition.
Statutory interests
| Interest |
Unregistered
land |
LRA
1925 |
LRA
2002 |
| Actual occupation |
Relevant to the fact
of notice, but not a special case |
Overriding [s70(1)g LRA 1925]1 | Overriding [sch 1&3 LRA 2002]3 |
| Receipt of rents or
profits |
Relevant to the fact
of notice, but not a special case |
Overriding [s70(1)g LRA 1925]1 | Overriding [sch 12 LRA 2002] |
| Squatters' rights |
Relevant to the fact
of notice, but not a special case |
Overriding [s70(1)f LRA 1925] | Overriding for transitional period [sch 12 LRA 2002] |
| Matrimonial home
rights |
Class F charge2 |
Notable as minor interest | Notable as a non-overriding interest |
| Interests exluded in
'qualified' grade of title |
n/a - only applies
to registered title |
Overriding [s70(1)h LRA 1925] | Overriding [s11(4)a LRA 2002]4 |
| Local land charges |
Overriding;
may be registered as local land charges |
Overriding;
may be registered as local land charges [s70(1)i LRA 1925] |
Overriding; may be registered as local land charges [sch 1&3 LRA 2002] |
1These rights are not
overriding if they are not disclosed on enquiry
<p>
2Matrimonial home rights are not binding on a
purchaser for valuable consideration if not registered as a land charge
[s4(8) LCA 1972]
3There is a subtle difference in emphasis in the nature of
occupier's overriding interests in LRA 2002. The new legislation
preserves the old Act's exception for rights that are not disclosed on
enquiry, but also creates a new exception for rights that would not be
obvious on reasonable exception
4These rights are not technically overriding interests in
the LRA 2002, because they do not appear in the list of overriding
interests in schedules 1 & 3. However, ss 11 & 12 make it clear
that registration of the estate is subject to any deficiencies in


