§ Mr. Doverasked the Attorney-General if he will remove the anomaly between the Land Registry's explanatory leaflet number 1 which gives the assurance of accuracy of plans used in the registration of property and their land registry certificate which denies the accuracy of boundary definitions.
The Solicitor-GeneralThere is no anomaly. The Land Registry's explanatory leaflet No. 1 and the notes set out on the cover of a land certificate are designed for different purposes. The explanatory leaflet is simply a brief introduction to the system of registration of title and accordingly sets out the general characteristics and advantages of the system. Paragraph 4 states that each title has an official plan which clearly identifies the extent of the registered land and it explains that title plans are based on the large scale maps of the Ordnance Survey so as to provide a common, unifying and accurate base for all registered titles. In the context of that leaflet, that is a fair statement.
The notes on the cover of the land certificate, on the other hand, are designed to provide detailed information 4W for a registered proprietor and among them there is set out in full the rule—rule 278 of the Land Registration Rules 1925—which provides that, except where the boundaries have been fixed, the title plan at the Land Registry shall be deemed to indicate only the general boundaries and not, for example, whether the boundary runs along the inner or outer face of a boundary hedge or wall.
§ Mr. Doverasked the Attorney-General why the provision for parties in a dispute to sign an agreed, if altered plan, prior to registration, set out in section 27 of the Land Registry practice notes, is not applied in every case.
The Solicitor-GeneralWhen the whole of the land in a registered title is transferred there is no need to have a plan annexed to the transfer, because the land transferred is identified by means of the filed plan of that particular title.
When part of the land in a registered title is transferred, the land in question must be identified by a plan annexed to the transfer except where a verbal description by reference to the filed plan of that title adequately defines the land being dealt with. The transfer plan has to be signed by the transferor and by or on behalf of the transferee in accordance with the provisions of rule 79 of the Land Registration Rules 1925. If the transfer plan has to be amended for any reason—whether or not there has been a dispute between the parties—the parties are required to endorse the amended plan with a signed statement that it correctly presents their intentions.
§ Mr. Doverasked the Attorney-General whether the Land Registry provides any assurance of the title to property as part of registration.
The Solicitor-GeneralYes. The land registration system includes a statutory right of indemnity in the event of loss arising from an error in the register or a mistake in an official search or office copy.