Deeds registration
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Deeds registration is a
land management Land management is the process of managing the use and development (in both urban and rural settings, but it is mostly managed in Urban places.) of land resources. Land resources are used for a variety of purposes which may include organic agricul ...
system whereby all important
instruments Instrument may refer to: Science and technology * Flight instruments, the devices used to measure the speed, altitude, and pertinent flight angles of various kinds of aircraft * Laboratory equipment, the measuring tools used in a scientific lab ...
which relate to the common law
title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
to
parcels of land A cadastre or cadaster is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represented graphically in a cad ...
are registered on a government-maintained
register Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...
, to facilitate the transfer of title. The system had been used in some
common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
jurisdictions and continues to be used in some jurisdictions, including most of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It is being replaced by
Torrens system Torrens title is a land registration and land transfer system, in which a state creates and maintains a register of land holdings, which serves as the conclusive evidence (termed " indefeasibility") of title of the person recorded on the regist ...
s in many jurisdictions.
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
as well as most Canadian provinces have converted from deeds registries to Torrens titles. Some Canadian provinces have never operated a deeds registry and have always used Torrens titles. Other Canadian provinces which have converted from a deeds registry to Torrens titles have operated both systems in conjunction until the Torrens system gradually superseded the deeds registry system, as was the case in
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
and
New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
during the 2000s. In the Canadian province of
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, electronic registration led to Ontario's version of Torrens title covering almost all land, but the past deeds registration still governs some issues.
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
and the Canadian provinces of
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
,
Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
and
Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...
are the only provinces left which still operate a deeds registration system. In contrast to the Torrens system in which basically the one who registered in a land registry as owner of a piece or parcel of land has an indefeasible title of the land, deeds registration system is merely a registration of all important instruments related to that land. In order to establish one's title to the land, a person (or usually their purchaser's attorney) will ascertain, for example: * all the title documents have been properly executed, * "a chain of title" is established, i.e. the proper ownerships from the granting of the land from the government to the current owner, * there are no
encumbrances An encumbrance is a third party's right to, interest in, or legal liability on property that does not prohibit the property's owner from transferring title (but may diminish its value). Encumbrances can be classified in several ways. They may be f ...
on the land that probably will harm the title of the land.


Duty to give and show good title

Since, in contrast to the Torrens system, the registry is merely a record of all instruments related to the land, the "owner" as shown on the land registry record (or common known as "land search record" in Hong Kong) does not necessarily mean that he has a "good title", which means a title that is not defeasible or potentially defeasible. In a sale and purchase of land, a
vendor In a supply chain, a vendor, supplier, provider or a seller, is an enterprise that contributes goods or services. Generally, a supply chain vendor manufactures inventory/stock items and sells them to the next link in the chain. Today, these terms ...
is required to show a "good title" to the purchaser. Since the land search record is not conclusive, it leads to problems when a vendor has to prove his title, in particular when the land is old or involves multiple
encumbrances An encumbrance is a third party's right to, interest in, or legal liability on property that does not prohibit the property's owner from transferring title (but may diminish its value). Encumbrances can be classified in several ways. They may be f ...
. This may lead to litigation if the parties cannot agree on whether a good title is shown.


Relief from harsh system

In
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, the vendor is generally only required to prove his title up to 15 years prior to the date of the sale and purchase. Further, various legislative measures relieve the vendor's duty. For example, the vendor can rely on assumption that a
recital A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety an ...
of an instrument referring to matters prior to 15-year-old is true. In
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
a vendor has to produce "a good root of title" (usually a conveyance for value but some other instruments qualifies). A purchaser cannot insist that the root of title to be more than 40 years old; the practice being only to insist on a minimal 20-year period. There is a presumption that the recitals in a conveyance for valuable consideration are true if that conveyance is at least 20 years old.


Changing to title registration

Many jurisdictions have switched or are switching from a deeds registration system to a system of
title registration Torrens title is a land registration and land transfer system, in which a state creates and maintains a register of land holdings, which serves as the conclusive evidence (termed " indefeasibility") of title of the person recorded on the registe ...
. For example, Hong Kong, one of the last common law jurisdictions to maintain a deed registration system, passed the
Land Titles Ordinance Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...
in 2004, which will see Hong Kong shift to the Torrens system. The law will be gradually implemented over a period of twelve years. However, there is no timetable for the commencement of the Ordinance as at 2016.LCQ14: Implementation of the Land Titles Ordinance and title registration system
Secretary for Development's written reply to Legislative Council.


See also

* Land registration *
Recording (real estate) The vast majority of states in the United States employ a system of recording legal instruments (otherwise known as deeds registration) that affect the title of real estate as the exclusive means for publicly documenting land titles and interests. ...
*
Recorder of deeds Recorder of deeds or deeds registry is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over ...


References

{{Reflist Property law Law of Hong Kong Property law of Ireland