Talk:Land registration
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[edit] Ireland
Ireland should be mentioned too. We even continue to maintain deeds registration as well as land registration, because - unlike in the UK - land registration is not compulsory at transaction. Unregistered land may remain unregistered indefinitely, until such a time as the government makes registration compulsory or all landowners voluntarily arrange for registration (which is unlikely as it's an expensive process). Alas I don't know enough about it to add it myself.--Dub8lad1 14:51, 31 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Civil law jurisdictions need mention
Italy is mentioned but there are other Civil law (legal system) systems I assume. Paul foord 06:02, 3 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] 'Freehold is not ownership. It is tenure. An interest in an estate in land is not ownership'
K16e14vn 10:39, 5 September 2007 (UTC) From Kevin Cahill. re the definition of land ownership. First line in the art K16e14vn 10:39, 5 September 2007 (UTC)
The title of this article needs redifining. With the exception of the word "ownership" the definition given is legally correct for about 57% of the countries of the world. It is especially correct for all territories ruled over by Elizabeth 11, the Queen of the United Kingdom. And for the Irish Republic. But most people will not understand that an "interest in an estate in land" is not ownership, but tenure. Here is how "an interest in an estate in land" is defined by the British Parliament on its web site (Parliament.uk. Bills. Registration of Land Act 2002. Explanatory notes.)
Title to land 4. The Crown is the only absolute owner of land in England and Wales: all others hold an estate in land. Estates, which derive from feudal terms of tenure, originally took many forms but were reduced by the Law of Property Act 1925 to two, an estate in fee simple absolute in possession, generally known as "freehold"; and an estate for a term of years absolute generally known as "leasehold". Apart from an estate, land may have the benefit of or be subject to other interests, which are rights and obligations relating to the land, belonging to the owner or to a third party.
An "interest in an estate in land " is not ownership. It is a form of tenure, as the note explains.
Par 18 of the above notes makes an even more important point, which demonstrates the consequences of this situation. That note states that the Crown cannot register land in the land registries of the UK, (Australia, Cabada etc) because the land registries do not record ownership. They record, as the notes imply, two forms of tenure; freehold and lease hold. In the 2002 Act a special provision has been made to allow the Crown to record its direct interest in land where that happens,such as with the holdings of the Crown Estate. But the provision is an exception and does not change the principle of Crown ownership of all land.
There is more on this in Who Owns the World. Mainsteram/Random House 2006, 2nd impression 2007, in the Irish Law Reform Commission report on Land Registration - see their site and on the UK Parliamentary web site, above. An article on this will be added to the web site whoownstheworld later in the year.
K16e14vn 10:43, 5 September 2007 (UTC)
