State Title Guarantee

Classes of Title

There are a number of classes of title; absolute, good leasehold, and possessory.  The most commonly found class is an absolute title, which gives the greatest level of guarantee.

A good leasehold title is a guarantee only of the lessee’s title under the lease and does not guarantee the validity of the landlord’s title to grant it.  A possessory title is one that has been acquired under the Statute of limitations. In time possessory titles may be upgraded to absolute.

Scope of Title Guarantee

The title of the registered owner to the registered title is conclusive in the absence of fraud. The registry entries are conclusive in relation to the ownership of all rights, burdens and appurtenant rights appearing on them.

The principle of notice which applies to unregistered title property and limits the effect of the Registry of Deeds does not apply to the Land Registry.  There is no constructive or deemed notice.  A person who deals with the registered land title need not go behind the registry entries in so far that they relate to the underlying title.

However, the Land Registry system is not, in fact, absolute.  Boundaries are not conclusive unless specifically agreed upon and so entered.

Rights Overriding

Several important categories of burdens or rights affect the registered title property without registration.  These include, in particular,

• tenancies created for any term not exceeding twenty-one years or for any less estate or interest in cases where there is an occupation under such tenancies;
• the rights of every person in actual occupation of the land or in receipt of the rents and profits thereof, save where, upon enquiry made of such person, the rights are not disclosed;
• easements and profits à prendre, unless they are respectively created by express grant or reservation after the first registration of the land;

A person who takes title to registered land other than for valuable consideration takes it subject to unregistered rights, which affect the transferor or registered owner. A  judgment mortgagee or donee of a gift does not acquire the property for valuable consideration.   If there have been earlier unregistered transfers or charges for value, they take precedence over the judgment mortgage or the gift.

Trusts

In general terms, the Land Registry title does not recognise trusts or equitable interest.  They may be protected indirectly by way of caution, or more appropriately, an inhibition.

These are mechanisms to ensure that the registered title is not dealt with without consent of a particular party or in the case of a caution that prior notice is given prior to registration of a dealing in relation to the land.  In this latter case, the right holder is given the opportunity to exert his or her right.

Guarantee

The Property Registration Authority of Ireland administers the Land Registry and the Registry of Deeds. The Land Registry registers ownership of land and provides a State guarantee.

If a person suffers a loss in consequence of an error originating in the Land Registry, he has a right, in principle, to sue for compensation. If the matter cannot be agreed upon with the Land Registry, it is referred to court.

In practice, the right is relatively narrow in scope. Many if not most, errors on the Land Registry are not attributable to Land Registry error but may reflect erroneous applications or registered particulars going out of date by the passage of time.

Compensation

An application for compensation may be made where a person has been caused loss by reason of

• rectification by court order
• by reason of an error originating in the Land Registry, whether by misstatement, misdescription or omission whether in a register or map;
• an entry in or omission from the register or a map obtained by forgery or fraud
• any error in an official search carried out by a registering authority or any of his officers, or
• the inaccuracy of any office copy of or extract from a register or registry map, or of any office copy of or extract from any document or plan filed in the Land Registry.

A claimant is not entitled to compensation where he or his agent contributed to the loss by neglect or default. Formerly, many disputed claims for compensation were referred to the registrar.

The legislation was amended in 2006 to provide for court resolution and determination of disputes.