ASA Adjudication on Land Registry

Ad

A direct mailing from the Land Registry to members of the Country Land & Business Association (CLA) was headlined "Is your land registered?".  Text beneath the headline stated "Members of the Country Land & Business Association are playing a vital role in achieving comprehensive land registration in England and Wales.  Land registration underpins the economy, providing certainty and security to land and property owners.  But at present large parts of England and Wales remain unregistered, especially in rural areas.  You are committed to a flourishing, dynamic and modern rural economy.  By registering your land with Land Registry you will play a leading role in achieving those aims as well as bringing direct benefits to you and your successors.  Land Registry is working closely with the CLA in north-east England to promote the benefits of land registration ... Land Registry is offering a 25 per cent discount on the cost of voluntary first registrations and the help of an experienced registration team to make the process as straightforward as possible".  Text under the heading "What are the benefits?" stated "Security  Registration is the ultimate title guarantee.  A registered title is guaranteed by the state, protecting your clients against claims of adverse possession ... Value  Registration establishes proof of ownership and produces one easy-to-read document reflecting the contents of the paper title deeds ...".  The mailing included testimonials, from "Tom Warde-Aldam, Partner at land agents Land Factor and CLA member" and "Angus Collingwood-Cameron, North East Director CLA", which stated respectively "Land registration gives you peace of mind ... The process throws up anomalies but part of the process is resolving those anomalies.  It nails them once and for all" and "The CLA is committed to the development of the rural economy and land registration can play a part in creating the security and prosperity we are all looking for.  In combination with other forms of protection, it gives landowners the confidence that they are in secure possession of their land ...".

Issue

The complainant believed the mailing was misleading, because it did not make clear that land registration did not provide protection or security against any future claims made by the state concerning currently unrecorded public rights of way.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

The Land Registry (LR) said the mailing was part of an ongoing publicity campaign to encourage voluntary land registration.  They said they were committed to registering a further 700,000 hectares in 2006/07, which was a key government aim, and pointed out that they were a government department, responsible to the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and the Lord Chancellor.  They added, however, that the cost of providing land registration services was fully covered by the fees paid by customers and not by public funding.  

The LR said their main purpose was to register ownership of land in England and Wales and to record dealings with the land post-registration in order to create and maintain a register of land and its ownership.  They referred to two booklets, entitled "Land Registry Service Standards" and "Land Registry Annual Report and Accounts 2005/6  Creating a comprehensive Land Register", which explained that the LR guaranteed the title to registered estates and interests in land on behalf of the Crown and provided easy access to up-to-date and guaranteed, official information about who owned registered land.  They explained further that the state guaranteed the accuracy of the register and made the information it contained available to the public, which resulted in a safe, simple and economic system for transferring and mortgaging land.  They asserted that there were several advantages in land registration, which included a state guarantee to the legal title of the land; they explained that that meant registered owners, who were in possession of their land, could not normally lose it.  They said owners might, in certain conditions, be covered against financial loss because of errors in the register, official copies or searches.  They explained that land registration could cut the cost of conveyancing, by making it simpler, and could also help to prevent fraud, which could result from copying or withholding title deeds.

They added that there were certain circumstances in which registered land owners might lose possession of their land, which included the acquisition of land by local authorities under the Compulsory Purchase Act 1981, or repossession by the lender under the terms and conditions of the mortgage when the registered owner had defaulted, or change of ownership pursuant to Court Order, for example between husband and wife in matrimonial proceedings.  They pointed out that, with the exception of compulsory purchase orders (in which case compensation could be obtained under the compulsory purchase provisions, which were not administered by LR) none of those circumstances would entitle registered owners to claim compensation from LR.  LR explained, however, that there were occasions when, if an error on the register was found and the court ordered rectification, indemnity was payable by LR.

The LR explained that, in the event of an adverse possession claim against registered land when the registered owner was not in possession, the owner would be notified by the LR and would have a two-year period to rectify matters; whereas if an adverse possession claim was made against unregistered land, the owner might become aware of the claim only when the application was lodged at the LR, by which time the owner might have already lost their title.  They further explained that there were other circumstances in which a registered owner, not in possession, might lose ownership, for example if a tenant fraudulently transferred the property, but pointed out that under those circumstances the LR would compensate the absentee landlord to the extent of his loss.  

They said the claim "Registration is the ultimate title guarantee" referred to the fact that registration provided an accurate and up-to-date record of ownership, which also enabled registered owners, who suffered financial loss as a result of errors in the register, to claim compensation from the LR for their loss.  They also reiterated that registration provided guaranteed ownership of the land; if anyone wanted to buy, sell or mortgage land that had been registered after the original title deeds had been lost or destroyed, they would have the security and confidence to enable them to proceed with the conveyancing process.  That guarantee would not be available to the owners of unregistered land with no title deeds; any transfer of their land would involve the relevant parties undertaking considerable expense in investigating the title.     

The LR submitted a leaflet, entitled "Land Registry Public Guide 8 Dec 2005", and pointed out that text under the sub-section 5.3, headed "Overriding interests", stated "Some things that are not noted on the register at all may also affect the property.  These are called 'overriding interests'.  They include some rights of way, public rights, rights under local land charges and leases for less than seven years ...".  They explained that there were several reasons why title registers did not include that sort of information, for example, such rights might be 'dynamic' and could arise at any time.  They added that registers of title did not record things that were recordable elsewhere and pointed out that those things included 'public rights of way', which were fully noted in local authority registers.  They explained that the register of title was concerned only with private rights, meaning the rights of the owner, or a neighbouring land owner, who might have rights over a property.  They said local authority registers, not LR registers, should be accessed by people enquiring about public rights of way.

The LR also submitted excerpts from the Land Registration Act 2002, which included an explanation of the role of the LR, and highlighted in particular Schedule 8, under the heading "Indemnities", which referred to provision for the payment of indemnities by the registrar and the conditions attached to that provision.

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA noted the complainant's concern that the leaflet was misleading because it used terms such as "certainty", "security", "peace of mind" and "guarantee", which, the complainant believed, implied the registration of land provided protection and security against any future claims concerning, for example, unrecorded rights of way or Chancel Repair Liability.  

We considered, however, that the leaflet merely referred to the certainty and security of any registered title within the parameters of the LRs remit; the guarantee applied to title ownership, not to land use or management issues post ownership.  We noted it did not flag up overriding interests, which were referred to in a different booklet, but considered that, as an introduction to the LR, it referred to what the LR considered to be the benefits of registration, including a guarantee against claims of adverse possession, and security in terms of the provision of an accurate and reliable register, which enabled the simpler title transfer of land in future.  

Although it was interesting to note that registration offered no protection against lost way claims and other overriding interests, we considered that the leaflet did not imply that level of protection was being offered by the registration of land.  We concluded that the leaflet was unlikely to mislead.  

We investigated the mailing under CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness) and 17.1 (Guarantees) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No action required.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)