Property Law Y2S1 Week 3: L5 Land Registration & L6 Transfer of Land

The Register of Sasines: what it is and its history

The Sasine Register is 'a public WAREHOUSE of private DEEDS', and the warehouse keeper is the KEEPER. Like a warehouse keeper, the Keeper keeps a stock inventory. Everything is INDEXED by (i) names of parties and (ii) property. • Real Rights Act 1693: aimed to REDUCE FRAUD by setting up a register so land transfers could be checked and recorded. • 'Sasine' refers to the giving of sasine (SYMBOLIC DELIVERY) of land. • The warehouse used to be physical and mostly still is, though scanned deeds can occupy virtual shelves.

Drawbacks of the Sasine Register

• NOT MAP-based. • HARD to work with: a register of DEEDS, not titles. Search sheets (search for encumbrancers) could really only be used by trained conveyancers (solicitors). • Turning an 'unruly pile of Sasine deeds' into the elegant certainty of a title sheet is a complex task. The Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979 (which started registration of title) was defective in several important respects, and was replaced by the Land Registration etc (Scotland) Act 2012.

Register of deeds vs registration of title

• REGISTER OF DEEDS (Sasines): created by depositing COPIES of deeds. It does not guarantee anything about the deed's effect. • REGISTRATION OF TITLE (Land Register): registers both deeds AND titles. The EFFECT of the deed is GUARANTEED and given effect. A TITLE SHEET is a single document stating who the owner is, with a MAP of the land and the ENCUMBRANCES on it.

Moving land from the Sasine Register to the Land Register

The Land Register Act 2012 REPLACES the Register of Sasines. Land is moved when a property is SOLD or REMORTGAGED (first registration), or by KEEPER-INDUCED REGISTRATION (LRA 2012 s.29). Sasine deeds were registered by county. The Land Register is ('a public register of rights in land in Scotland', s.1(1)).

The four parts of the Land Register (LRA 2012 s.2)

The Land Register comprises: 1. the TITLE SHEET RECORD (ss 3-10) 2. the CADASTRAL MAP (ss 11-13) 3. the ARCHIVE RECORD (s.14) 4. the APPLICATION RECORD (s.15) Also: ScotLIS (the public online search service for the registers).

Title sheets: the plot of land and cadastral unit

The basic unit for land registration is a PLOT OF LAND, defined in s.3(4) as 'an area or areas of land all of which are owned by one person, or one set of persons'. On the cadastral map it is a CADASTRAL UNIT (s.12(1)): a registered, mapped unit, also used for taxation purposes. • Each plot has its OWN title sheet (s.3(1)). • If the plot is leased on a LONG LEASE (more than 20 years), a SECOND title sheet is opened for the lease (s.3(2)). A long lease must be registered. • Each title sheet has its own TITLE NUMBER (e.g. MID1), assigned by the Keeper (s.4).

The four sections of a title sheet (s.5)

1. PROPERTY section (s.6): what the plot is 2. PROPRIETORSHIP section (s.7): who the owner is 3. SECURITIES section (s.8): formerly 'charges' (e.g. standard securities) 4. BURDENS section (s.9): e.g. real burdens, servitudes (where registered) When land is transferred, the name of the proprietor in section B changes, and maybe section C.

Transfer by disposition (s.50) and what must be registered

Transfer is by DISPOSITION: ownership passes on REGISTRATION (LRA 2012 s.50; see Week 2). Standard securities (mortgages) are governed by the 1970 Act and are also registered. A deed must be 'REGISTRABLE' (s.49). Registrable: DISPOSITIONS, STANDARD SECURITIES, LONG LEASES, SERVITUDES and REAL BURDENS. NOT registrable: MISSIVES of sale, FLOATING CHARGES, SHORT LEASES.

Limits of the Land Register: what it doesn't show

Because missives, floating charges and short leases are not registrable, the Land Register does NOT give a FULL picture of encumbrances or subordinate rights affecting the land. It also does not show, for example, servitudes created by positive prescription (e.g. 20+ years of walking through the land).

How to apply for registration, and what the Keeper checks (ss 21-26)

• Before COVID the process was largely paper. Now the application can be COMPLETED ONLINE with a SCANNED copy of the deed. • On receipt it is entered in the APPLICATION RECORD (ss 15, 33). • Under s.21 the applicant must SATISFY the Keeper as to (i) the GENERAL application conditions (s.22) and (ii) the PARTICULAR conditions for the transaction: s.23 (standard FIRST registrations: land moving from the Sasine Register) or s.26 (DEALINGS with land already on the Register). • The most important are that the land can be IDENTIFIED on the cadastral map and the deed is VALID (defined in s.113(2)).

'Tell me, don't show me': the Keeper's policy and the duty of care (ss 111-112)

The Keeper's staff look over the application form and deed, but rely to a considerable extent on the information in the FORM and do not normally check independently. The policy is (controversially) 'TELL ME DON'T SHOW ME'. • s.111: a DUTY on individuals to take REASONABLE CARE that information given to the Keeper is correct. • The Keeper can have a DAMAGES claim against someone who makes a materially false statement. • s.112: making such a statement is an OFFENCE. • Under s.21 the application is REJECTED if the Keeper is not satisfied.

What the Keeper does when the application is accepted

• FIRST registration: the Keeper makes up a NEW title sheet (s.30). • Otherwise: makes an appropriate ALTERATION to the existing title sheet (s.31). • REGISTRATION DATE = the date of the APPLICATION (s.37(1)), meaning the date the entry is made on the application record (s.36(1)). It is BACKDATED. • The title is GUARANTEED ('warranted') by the Keeper (s.73): the Keeper pays COMPENSATION if something goes wrong.

Rectification of the Land Register

The Land Register is not always right. The most typical mistake concerns BOUNDARIES, due to vagueness and the transfer from the Sasine Register (not plotted correctly by the Keeper on the cadastral map). Added (check LRA 2012 Part 7): the Keeper can RECTIFY inaccuracies (s.80); rectification that would prejudice a proprietor in possession is restricted (s.82); compensation (indemnity) is available under s.75. Your notes break off at 'Rectification of register', so fill this in from the lecture.

Registration of title vs deeds: the overall effect (for essays)

Sasines: registration of DEEDS gave a PUBLIC RECORD but no guarantee. Land Register: registration is the moment real right passes (s.50), the title is GUARANTEED (s.73), and the map gives certainty. Benefits: REDUCES fraud and uncertainty, makes searches simpler, gives MAPS. Costs: not all rights are visible (e.g. short leases, prescriptive servitudes), and the 'tell me don't show me' policy puts the risk on applicants.

Nemo plus juris: the rule and its place in land transfer

'Nemo plus juris ad alienum transferre potest quam ipse haberet' = 'Nemo dat quod non habet': NO ONE CAN GIVE THAT WHICH THEY DO NOT HAVE. A transferor who is not the owner cannot give the transferee ownership (see Week 2, Voluntary transfer point 6). The Land Register's GUARANTEE (s.73) is the main way the law now protects a person who relies on the register against this rule.

Real Rights Act 1693 and the Sasine Register (history card)

Issue: How to reduce fraud in the transfer of land? Facts: Before 1693 there was no reliable public record of transfers of land. Held/Effect: The 1693 Act set up a REGISTER so that transfers of land could be CHECKED and RECORDED, reducing fraud. Registration of the deed was what gave a real right. Note: this is a statute card (no case in this week's notes).

3052775 Nova Scotia Ltd v Henderson [2006] CSOH 147 (revision from Week 2)

Issue: Does a disponee who has not registered have any real right? Facts: Not in your notes. Held (Lord Hodge para 11): 'the disponee who has not registered his title enjoys no real right in the subjects… There is no such thing as a quasi-real right.' Links to Week 3: registration is what turns a personal right into a real right (LRA 2012 s.50).

Transfer of land: what the Land Registration etc (Scotland) Act 2012 changed (summary)

• Replaced the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979. • Land Register of title (map-based) replaces the Sasine Register of deeds. • Ownership passes on REGISTRATION of the disposition (s.50(2)-(3)). • The Keeper GUARANTEES the title (s.73). • KEEPER-INDUCED first registration (s.29). • Duty of care and offences for false statements (ss 111-112). Exam use: remember the section numbers: 2, 3, 5, 21, 22-23, 26, 29, 30-31, 36-37, 49, 50, 73, 111-112.

Registrable deeds (s.49) vs non-registrable

REGISTRABLE: DISPOSITIONS, STANDARD SECURITIES, LONG LEASES (more than 20 years), SERVITUDES, REAL BURDENS. NOT REGISTRABLE: MISSIVES of sale, FLOATING CHARGES, SHORT LEASES. So a buyer under missives has only a personal right until the disposition is registered, and a short-lease tenant's right is not on the register.

Transfer of land: problem-question template (registration)

1. Is the right claimed a REAL right or a PERSONAL right? (registration, s.50) 2. Was the deed REGISTRABLE (s.49)? 3. Did the application meet the CONDITIONS: general (s.22) and particular (s.23 or s.26)? Was the land identified on the cadastral map? Was the deed VALID? 4. Registration date = date of application (s.37). 5. Was there a MISTAKE? Consider RECTIFICATION and the Keeper's WARRANTY and COMPENSATION (s.73). 6. Any false statement? DUTY of care (s.111) and offence (s.112). 7. Competing titles: first to register generally wins (ranking by registration).

Exam format: Property Law (Ordinary) LAWS08133

From the Edinburgh course descriptor (2026/27): 80% WRITTEN EXAM, 180 MINUTES (main diet April/May, resit August), 10% MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST (mid-year), 10% SUMMATIVE written exercise. Check this against your timetable: your course is listed in Year 2 Semester 1 in your OneNote, but the descriptor lists it as a full-year 20-credit course. The descriptor gives no question-type guidance. It says students should apply knowledge to complex fact situations and develop arguable solutions, so expect problem questions. Syllabus includes: real and personal rights, ranking and competition of title, ownership, possession, derivative and original acquisition, land registration, prescription, ECHR, leases, real burdens, servitudes, securities, tenement law. Core text: Gretton & Steven, Property, Trusts and Succession (5th edn, 2024).

Competition of title and ranking (syllabus topic: why registration matters)

Added from the syllabus (not in your Week 3 notes): when two parties claim the same land, the RANKING of real rights depends on REGISTRATION: broadly, the first to register a valid right obtains the real right. The LRA 2012 gives priority by date of application (s.37) and protects the registered proprietor (s.73 guarantee). An ADVANCE NOTICE can protect a purchaser for 35 days (Week 2). Check the exact rules in Gretton & Steven ch 7 and your lecture.