The Law Commission is to undertake a review of the legal framework that governs the registration of land in England and Wales, including consideration of proposals for electronic conveyancing and dealing with title fraud.
In a consultation commencing today (31 March 2016) the commission is asking how the Land Registration Act 2002 is working in practice and whether there are opportunities for the system to be clarified and updated.
Announcing the consultation, which will last until 30 June, Professor Nick Hopkins, law commissioner for property, family and trust law, said: “Effective land registration is the foundation of conveyancing and essential to the successful operation of the property market in England and Wales.
“The landscape within which land registration operates has changed considerably since the 2002 Act came into force. Our review provides an opportunity for landowners, conveyancers, lenders and all those with an interest in the property market to tell us how the Act has been working in practice.
“It allows us to consider where we can bring greater certainty and security and what can be done to reinforce the role of the land register as a guarantee of title.”
The commission’s project will consider a range of often highly technical, but important, legal issues, including the pervasive issue of how the land registration system responds to instances of fraud.
Where an innocent purchaser buys property from someone who fraudulently claims to be the owner, and displaces the legitimate owner from the register, the land registration system has to determine which of these two innocent parties should have the land, and which should be compensated under the indemnity scheme. The commission is provisionally proposing a formula to clarify and simplify how these difficult choices should be made.
In addition, the commission will consider the ambitious electronic conveyancing model envisaged by the 2002 Act which has not yet been achieved. It is seeking views on provisional proposals that will facilitate a more flexible approach to the development of electronic conveyancing.
The consultation paper, setting out the commission’s provisional proposals, is available on www.lawcom.gov.uk. Further details will be provided in an article in Estates Gazette on 16 April 2016.
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