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Land registration is any of various systems by which matters concerning
ownership Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...
, possession, or other rights in
land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various isla ...
are formally recorded (usually with a
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
agency or department) to provide evidence of
title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
, facilitate transactions, and prevent unlawful disposal. The information recorded and the protection provided by land registration varies widely by
jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...
. In
common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...
countries, particularly in jurisdictions in the
Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the C ...
, when replacing the
deeds registration Deeds registration is a land management system whereby all important instruments which relate to the common law title to parcels of land are registered on a government-maintained register, to facilitate the transfer of title. The system had b ...
system, title registrations are broadly classified into two basic types: the
Torrens title Torrens title is a land registration and land transfer system, in which a state creates and maintains a register of land holdings, which serves as the conclusive evidence (termed " indefeasibility") of title of the person recorded on the regis ...
system and the English system, a modified version of the Torrens system.Lyall, Andrew. ''Land Law in Ireland''. ; Ch. 24
Cadastral A cadastre or cadaster is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represented graphically in a cad ...
systems and land registration are both types of land recording and complement each other.Jo Henssen, BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE MAIN CADASTRAL SYSTEMS IN THE WORLD,


Implementations


Americas


Canada


Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands registry holds copies of all Crown Grants from 1844.


United States

Land registration is a matter for individual states in the USA. Thus each state will define the officials, authorities, and their functions and duties with respect to the ownership of land within that state, as is more fully described in the specified main article. The journey of buying a property is incomplete without property registration; you need all the necessary documents before the property can lawfully be yours. While there is a contract between you and the seller, a change of ownership only occurs after the property is legally registered under your name in the government's data. The process of property registration is a must in the U.S. and it differs by state. The path of purchasing a home is incomplete without property registration; you must have all of the required documentation before the home can be legally yours.


Europe


Czech Republic


Denmark


Finland

Finland operates a cadastral system operated by the National Land Survey of Finland (Finnish: )


France

The French system uses a cadastre, maintained by the French public land registry. The plans are boundaries of land parcels but do not provide details of the land owner or precise boundaries.


Germany


§ 873.1
of the German Civil Code stipulates that the transfer of ownership of a plot of land, the encumbrance of a plot of land with a right and the transfer or encumbrance of such a right requires registration in the Land Register (''Grundbuch''). Except for the cases explicitly provided for by law, the respective agreement becomes binding only upon its registration. Land used for purposes in the public interest is exempt from this requirement.


Ireland

Land registration is compulsory in the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...
, and two parallel registries are maintained: the Land Registry ( in Irish) and the Registry of Deeds (). The system in Ireland follows the English system, but with features typical of the Torrens system (for example, anyone can inspect the register). Robert Torrens himself drafted the Record of Title (Ireland) Act, 1865 in order to record titles conveyed. The Landed Estates Court a register, the "Record of Title". While the record was not open to the public, the index could be inspected by anyone, today the index and folios can be viewed by anyone with an administration charge. Recording of title under the Act was voluntary and this was one of the reasons why the Act proved ineffective. The Land Registry has been dealing with the registration of all transactions (purchase, sale,
mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any ...
, remortgage and other burdens) concerning ''registered land'' since 1892, and issued ''land certificates'' which are a state guarantee of the registered owner's good title up to 1 January 2007. Land Certificates have been abolished by virtue of Section 23 of the Registration of Deeds and Title Act, 2006. Every piece of land in the register – which is arranged by
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
— is granted a folio number, under which all transactions pertaining to the land can be examined on request and after payment of a fee, currently €5 (as of June 2020). Approximately 90% of land by area, and 85% of title, is registered. The Registry of Deeds has since 1708 dealt with the registration of wills, marriage settlements, title deeds, mortgage documents and other documentation concerning granting of title over land. It was originally set up to enforce the legislation regarding ownership of land by Catholics. A registered deed took precedence over an unregistered deed. Original deeds and their schedules were not retained by the registry, but rather detailed summaries (called "memorials") of conveyancing and mortgage documents are stamped and filed by the registrar. These documents are generally signed by at least one of the parties and one of the witnesses of the deeds. No certificates or guarantees of title are issued: the registry merely endeavours to provide information concerning the deeds lodged against a certain property – and, crucially, the order in which they were lodged – such as the last named owner or the latest mortgage to be lodged. Both registries are managed by th
Property Registration Authority
The Registry of Deeds occupies one site, namely one half of the
King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environment ...
building on Henrietta Street, Dublin and the Land Registry has offices in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
,
Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...
and in
Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who buil ...
, with its head office situated in the
Four Courts The Four Courts ( ga, Na Ceithre Cúirteanna) is Ireland's most prominent courts building, located on Inns Quay in Dublin. The Four Courts is the principal seat of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Dublin Circui ...
, Dublin. Prior to COVID-19, both were freely accessible to the public and did not require an appointment to visit, but now do. Since the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...
gained independence in 1922, its registries have only dealt with the land comprised in its 26 counties (formerly the
Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...
, 1922–37). Since 1922, the remaining 6 counties of
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
have their own separate register of land now being administered by the Land and Property Services in the Northern Ireland Department of Finance and Personnel. However, the Registry of Deeds in Dublin still holds and provides memorials relating to the 6 Northern Irish counties for the time period 1708–1922. Recording of title under recent legislative changes is now compulsory. Public access to the index and folios is limited to individuals who have an account with th
Property Registration Authority
The Property Registration Authority in Ireland is connected to the European Land Information Service
EULIS The European Land Information Service (EULIS) provides direct access to official land registers in Europe. EULIS is owned by a consortium of member countries with expertise in the area of land registration, most of which are government organisati ...
.


Italy


Lithuania

The land register (''nekilnojamojo turto registras'') contains factual data (area, height, volume, year of construction and owner name) and legal data (agreements of joint ownership, court rulings, easement, mortgages) on immovable property such as land and buildings. A sale agreement on real estate is legally binding even without registration in the land register, the only requirement being certification of the agreement by a notary. Registration is required, however, in order for the new owner to sell or otherwise transfer the property, or enter a mortgage. Furthermore, only registration makes the transfer opposable to third parties.


Netherlands


Poland


Russia

Content in this edit is translated from the existing Russian Wikipedia article at :ru:Титул Торренса; see its history for attribution. Advantages of the Torrens system were seen in Russia almost immediately after its occurrence, but scrapped the Russian legal system for the overthrow of the Provisional Government and the dispersal of the Constituent Assembly did all ideas Russian imperial jurists consigned to history. Now operating the system of accounting and registration of rights to immovable property in Russia can not be called a complete system or Torrens cadastral system, although some of its elements and principles correspond to the Torrens title. Accounting for land, buildings and natural sites organized in Russia in the database of real estate cadastre of the State on the basis of a federal law in 2007 No. 221-FZ "On State Real Estate Cadastre". The account holder of these facilities is conducted in another database: the Unified State Register of rights to immovable property and transactions with them on the basis of a federal law in 1997 No. 122-FZ "On State Registration of Rights to Real Estate and Transactions Therewith". Both laws established openness cadastre and registry information, and assigned to a single organization responsible for their management – Rosreestr . Entry in the Unified State Register of real property rights is a necessary and sufficient condition for the emergence of property rights to real estate. For information about the property, contained in the cadastre and registry, sufficiently detailed and structured cover most essential information about an object runs open cadastral map. With a fairly simple web forms can be found and read a part of the information on any object property. These laws are not, however, establish an immediate full liability of the state for the correctness of the information contained in databases. In 2015, the State Duma has been registered a bill that covers public access to information about the owners of the property. The bill was supported by the Government. According to some experts, the restriction of information openness reduces the chances of identifying the public cases of illegal enrichment and increases business risks.


Slovakia


Spain


United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom there are several land registers, including
HM Land Registry His Majesty's Land Registry is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's Government, created in 1862 to register the ownership of land and property in England and Wales. It reports to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strate ...
for England and Wales,
Registers of Scotland Registers of Scotland (RoS) is the non-ministerial department of the Scottish Government responsible for compiling and maintaining records relating to property and other legal documents. They currently maintain 20 public registers. The official r ...
, and Land and Property Services in Northern Ireland.


=England and Wales

= A national system of land registration was first attempted in
England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...
under the
Land Registration Act 1862 The Land Registry Act 1862 ( 25 & 26 Vict c 53) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a first attempt at a system of land registration. This system proved ineffective and, following further attempts in 1875 and 1897, the ...
, a register having operated for the county of
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
(excluding the
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
) since 1709. This voluntary national system proved ineffective and, following further attempts in 1875 and 1897, the present system was brought into force by the Land Registration Act 1925. It is operated by ''
HM Land Registry His Majesty's Land Registry is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's Government, created in 1862 to register the ownership of land and property in England and Wales. It reports to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strate ...
''. Over time various areas of the country were designated areas of compulsory registration by order so in different parts of the country compulsory registration has been around longer than in others. The last order was made in 1990, so now virtually all transactions in land result in compulsory registration. One difference is land changing ownership after death, where land is gifted rather than sold; these became compulsorily registrable only in April 1998. Similarly it became compulsory to register land when a mortgage is created on it in 1998. The
Land Registration Act 2002 The Land Registration Act 2002c 9 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which repealed and replaced previous legislation governing land registration, in particular the Land Registration Act 1925, which governed an earlier, though si ...
leaves the 1925 system substantially in place but enables the future compulsory introduction of electronic conveyancing using
electronic signature An electronic signature, or e-signature, is data that is logically associated with other data and which is used by the signatory to sign the associated data. This type of signature has the same legal standing as a handwritten signature as long as ...
s to transfer and register property. The Land Registry is connected to the European Land Information Service
EULIS The European Land Information Service (EULIS) provides direct access to official land registers in Europe. EULIS is owned by a consortium of member countries with expertise in the area of land registration, most of which are government organisati ...
. Details of registrations are available to any person upon payment of the prescribed fees. Precautionary measures have been introduced in recent years to verify the identity of persons attempting to change records of title. No details will be on record for any land which has not had a relevant transaction recorded as will often occur if, for example, ownership was last transferred before the introduction of compulsory registration in a particular area. Public access to the title and filed plans in pdf format is available for a fee a
Land Registry of England and Wales
Public access to a digital version of the boundaries on aerial photography is available a
Land Registry UK - Map Search
A legal boundary deals with the precise separation of ownership of land. It is an invisible line dividing one person's land from another's. It does not have thickness or width and usually, but not always, falls somewhere in or along a physical boundary feature such as a wall, fence or hedge. The exact positions of the legal boundaries are almost never shown on registered title plans and are not shown on Ordnance Survey maps. In a joint statement between Land Registry (England and Wales) and Ordnance Survey they state that:


=Scotland

= Scotland is one of the first countries in the world to have a system of land registration. Land registration commenced in Scotland with the creation of the "Register of
Sasines Sasine in Scots law is the delivery of feudal property, typically land. Feudal property means immovable property, and includes everything that naturally goes with the property. For land, that would include such things as buildings, trees, and unde ...
" by the Registration Act 1617. For full discussion, see
Land Registration (Scots law) Land registration in Scots law is the system of public registration of land, and associated real rights. Scotland has one of the oldest systems of land registration in the world. Registration of deeds is extremely important as it constitutes the ...


=Northern Ireland

= Land registration in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
is operated by ''Land and Property Services'', an executive agency within the Department of Finance and Personnel for Northern Ireland. Prior to 1 April 2007 it was dealt with by the ''Land Registers Northern Ireland'' government agency.


Asia


Hong Kong

The
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
Land Registry administers the Land Registration Ordinance and provides facilities for search of the Land Register and related records by the public and government departments. It has responsibility for the registration of owners corporations under the Building Management Ordinance.


India

Land registration is a matter for individual states in India. Thus each state will define the officials, authorities, and their functions and duties with respect to the ownership of land within that state. Each and every state has different recording and management systems. In recent times, Union Government of India and many state governments have started different programs to modernise the state level land records. The Govt. of UP has eased the experience for their citizens to get the land records. UP Bhulekh is a digital service started by the Government of Uttar Pradesh, for its citizens to keep records of their lands or properties online.


Israel


Japan


Malaysia


New Zealand

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
uses the
Torrens title Torrens title is a land registration and land transfer system, in which a state creates and maintains a register of land holdings, which serves as the conclusive evidence (termed " indefeasibility") of title of the person recorded on the regis ...
system, which it adopted in 1870, replacing the deeds registration system. Land registration is governed by the
Land Transfer Act 1952 The Land Transfer Act 1952 is an Act of Parliament passed in New Zealand in 1952. It implements the Torrens title Torrens title is a land registration and land transfer system, in which a state creates and maintains a register of land holdin ...
. The Deeds system was introduced in 1841 and the Torrens system in 1870. Both methods ran in parallel until 1924 when registration under the Land Transfer Act (Torrens system) became compulsory and a project to issue titles for all property was instituted.Land Transfer (Compulsory Registration of Titles) Act 1924. A title could be issued ''Limited as to Title'' or ''Limited as to Parcel'' if there were doubts about the ownership or the survey.


Philippines

* Land Registration Authority ( fil, Pangasiwaan sa Patalaan ng Lupain)


Singapore


Thailand


Oceania


Australia


See also

*
Cadastre A cadastre or cadaster is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represented graphically in a cad ...
*
Deed In common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions, sealed. It is commonly associated with transferrin ...
*
European Land Registry Association The European Land Registry Association (ELRA) is an international non-profit association whose mission and primary purpose is “the development and understanding of the role of land registration in real property and capital markets”. ELRA was bor ...
*
Hukou ''Hukou'' () is a system of household registration used in mainland China. The system itself is more properly called "''huji''" (), and has origins in ancient China; ''hukou'' is the registration of an individual in the system (''kou'' lit ...
(Mainland China) *
Land terrier A land terrier is a record system for an institution's land and property holdings. It differs from a land register in that it is maintained for the organisation's own needs and may not be publicly accessible. Typically, it consists of written reco ...
* Land titling *
Native title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal title, ...
*
Property law Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land) and personal property. Property refers to legally protected claims to resources, such as land and personal property, including intellectual pro ...
*
Recorder of deeds Recorder of deeds or deeds registry is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over ...
*
Sasine Sasine in Scots law is the delivery of feudal property, typically land. Feudal property means immovable property, and includes everything that naturally goes with the property. For land, that would include such things as buildings, trees, and unde ...
*
Telephone directory A telephone directory, commonly called a telephone book, telephone address book, phonebook, or the white and yellow pages, is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization that ...
: lists names with addresses, alongside phone number *
Web mapping Web mapping or an online mapping is the process of using maps, usually created through geographic information systems (GIS), on the Internet, more specifically in the World Wide Web (WWW). A web map or an online map is both served and consumed, ...


Notes


References

* * * * * * Ch.26 for current law in England and Wales *


External links

* — much historical detail
Land Registry (England and Wales)

Land Registry and Registry of Deeds in the Republic of Ireland

Registers of Scotland

International Property Registries Association (IPRA-CINDER)

European e-Justice Portal - Land registers in Member States
{{DEFAULTSORT:Land Registration *