#4867 - Unregistered Land Diagram - Property Law and Practice

Unregistered land 1) Central Land Charge Searches 1) List, insert the requisite names and date all conveyances contained within the Epitome a) List the conveyances chronologically b) Insert the name(s) of the parties selling / buying c) Insert the dates: 1) The date the party acquired legal estate * For the first party, date should be 1926 2) The date the party disposed of the legal estate 3) Deal with any 'missing periods' where there is no conveyance * Insert in square brackets the earliest date the party could have acquired the legal estate * Insert in square brackets the latest date the party could have disposed of the legal estate 4) Where there is a conveyance referred to, but missing, insert the last date when we actually have the conveyance or 1926 if applicable * E.g. a 1975 conveyance refers to a 1936 conveyance (which is missing / not in the epitome). The date inserted should be back to the last conveyance we have (a 1930 conveyance) or to the start of unregistered land (1926). 2) Check the Central Land Charge Searches Potential problems a) Do the search years of the CLC searches contained in the epitome cover: * Every estate owner the buyer knows about from the epitome; * The whole period of ownership (including those in the square brackets)? * Every year up to 1926 * Even where one co-owner dies, the period up until the next disposal of land b) Do the names searched for at the CLC match the names in the conveyances? c) Were the conveyances carried out in the protection periods given by the searches? * May be that a conveyance is not in the epitome and therefore will not know if it was completed in time * May be that the conveyance was dated after the expiry of protection * A new search will need to be carried out against the current sellers to give a protection period (15 days) Why might these be an issue? If not If not If not Solution * Carry out a new CLC search during the whole period of ownership including those in square brackets Solution * Carry out a search with the wrong /different name to be careful * Carry out a new CLC search during the period of ownership with the correct name Solution * Carry out a new CLC search from the earliest the property could have been acquired to the latest it could have been disposed of to see if: o a) any interests were registered where we have no conveyance o b) any interests were registered when the protection period expired * Would have to be the full period from the last search to the present day, not just the post-expired period as the protection period only temporarily blocks, not exterminates the registration of interests * Ask the seller's solicitor for the required search certificates; or * Ask the seller's solicitor for the missing conveyance to see if the search results already provided are satisfactory and the property was sold within the protection period * However would then have to do a search against the extra property owner we are now aware of. a) There may have been third party rights registered against the owners during the periods which are not covered by searches * As the interests are registered as CLCs, the buyer would be bound by them even if he is unaware of them due to incomplete searches b) There may have been third party rights registered against an owner with a different name to the one searched for * As the interests are registered they will be binding on a buyer c) There may have been third party rights registered during the protection period / after the protection period expired * If the protection period expired the buyer will be vulnerable to third party registrations from the date of the start of the original protection period What are the CLC searches expected to reveal? All rights registered against that particular owner of the property * Look in the conveyances for rights that need to be registered (e.g. restrictive covenants as D(ii) land charges) * Search against the name of the party purchasing the property * After the purchase the right is likely to be registered against his / her name as he is the covenantor * The rights are registered against individual names only once, so you will not expect to see the rights registered against all subsequent owners of the property. Yes 2) Check for issues with co-ownership 1) Are the people selling the property the same as the people who previously bought the land? Can be sold by both parties signing the conveyance If not Yes 2) Has one of the parties died? Yes Potential problems Did the parties hold the property as joint tenants or tenants in common? Can rely on the protection of the LP (joint tenants) Act 1964 as them being joint tenants if all three of these are satisfied: 1) Is there a memorandum of severance to the sellers There is a memorandum in the conveyance Cannot assume joint tenancy No No 2) Is surviving seller 'solely and beneficially interested' / 'the beneficial owner'? There is no such wording in the conveyance to the new buyer Cannot assume joint tenancy Yes No No 3) Is there a clear bankruptcy search against both names? There is a bankruptcy entry in the CLC search against the sellers Cannot assume joint tenancy Yes Can presume parties are joint tenants Solution * Ask the seller's solicitor to confirm that in addition to the surviving owner, a second trustee will be appointed to receive the purchase monies Why might these be an issue? Will need to pay purchase monies to two trustees if held as tenants in common Buyer can pay all purchase monies to one party as, under survivorship, the interest will have passed to the surviving joint tenant