header-logo header-logo

11 July 2014 / Nicholas Asprey
Issue: 7614 / Categories: Features , Property , Housing
printer mail-detail

The land trap

specialist_property_asprey

A recent decision has had a suprising effect on provisions for rectifying the land register. Nicholas Asprey reports

Schedule 4 to the Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002) contains provisions for “alteration” of the land register, but Fitzwilliam v Richall Holdings Services Ltd [2013] EWHC 86 (Ch) concerns that species of alteration which is defined in para 1 as “rectification”, namely alteration which:

  1. involves the correction of a mistake; and
  2. prejudicially affects the title of a registered proprietor.

Paragraph 2 gives the court power to make an order for alteration of the register for the purpose of correcting a mistake. Paragraph 3 relates to rectification.

Paragraph 3(2) provides that no order may be made under paragraph 2 without the proprietor’s consent in relation to land in his possession unless (a) he has by fraud or lack of proper care caused or substantially contributed to the mistake, or (b) it would for any other reason be unjust for the alteration not to be made.

Paragraph 3(2) therefore gives special protection to

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
back-to-top-scroll