Read the summary and the most important questions on WS2 Overview of the Unregistered System

• 2 Unregistered Conveyancing

• Where the title to the land is unregistered, when does the buyer become the legal owner of the land?

  At the date of the conveyance 

• How can sellers prove that they have a right to possession of the land where the title to the property is unregistered?

  Producing documents that show proof that the seller and their predecessors have been entitled to possession of the property for a number of years. This is known as a bundle of conveyances proving an unbroken chain of title.

• How can owners of unregistered titles prove their own ownership?

  Show prospective buyers a bundle of deed (also known as conveyances)

• 2.1 Proof of Ownership of Title

• How many years of ownership must the seller prove to the buyer when showing an unbroken chain of title  (s44 Law Property Act 1925)?

  The seller must only prove ownership for the last 15 years.

• The conveyances can also be used to find out about what other rights?

  Third-party rights (e.g.  covenants and easements)

• 2.2 Disadvantages of the Unregistered system

• What are the problems that buyers face concerning the unregistered system of proving ownership of land?

  Forged titles

• What are the issues with buyers not needing to see any conveyance prior to the root title document and with sellers not having to show buyers conveyances prior to that root? 

  Buyers can never be certain that the title is a good title because sellers are not obliged to show conveyances prior to the root title.

• What do buyers have to do each time the land is sold?

  Each time land is sold, buyers have to read the old conveyances to establish ownership = time-consuming and repetitive. Secondly, it is expensive - buyers pay solicitors

• How do landowners prove their ownership and why is this a problem?

  Landowners prove their ownership by using a bundle of conveyances. However, problems occur when the bundle of conveyances is lost, destroyed or stolen.

• What is the problem with original deeds?

  Sometimes difficult to read