When you act on a property purchase, almost everything you do depends on the register of title. It tells you who owns the land, what estate they hold, and what burdens it — and it determines whether your buyer will take the land free of an earlier interest or be bound by it. A solicitor who can read the register, spot the interests that bind without appearing on it, and protect a client's rights correctly is doing the core work of conveyancing.
This lesson builds that skill step by step, starting from how the register is put together and ending with what happens when it goes wrong.
- Purpose, Principles and Structure of the Register — why the system exists, the three principles behind it, and the three parts of every title.
- Classes of Title — absolute, possessory and good leasehold title, and what protection each gives.
- First Registration and Registrable Dispositions — what triggers registration and which dealings must be registered to take effect at law.
- Priority Rules — how to work out which competing interest wins when land changes hands.
- Overriding Interests — the interests that bind a buyer even though nothing appears on the register.
- Protecting Interests: Notices, Restrictions and Overreaching — the tools for putting third-party rights on the register and keeping trusts behind the curtain.
- Alteration, Rectification and Indemnity — when the register can be corrected and when the state pays for loss.