A registered owner is usually the person or entity that is on the government records as being the legal owner of certain property, such as real estate or a

motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as a motorized vehicle, automotive vehicle, automobile, or road vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on railway track, rails (such as trains or trams), does not fly (such ...

, as well as ships. The registration of shares in a company is usually required to be managed by the company. The registered owner of a property in question is normally presumed, sometimes conclusively, to be the legal owner of the property and is said to “hold the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

” or is “registered on the title”. Ownership of property usually implies a right of possession, as opposed to the party that has

right of property 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 diff ...

. The party that has the right of property is referred to as a lienholder, and in the event the registered owner fails to pay off the lien according to the agreed-to terms, the lienholder has the right to invoke

repossession Repossession, commonly referred to as repo, is a "self-help" type of action in which the party having the right of ownership of a property takes the property in question back from the party having right of possession without invoking court proc ...

of the property. In jurisdictions that have adopted the Torrens system of

land registration Land registration is any of various systems by which matters concerning ownership, Possession (law), possession, or other rights in Real estate, land are formally recorded (usually with a government agency or department) to provide evidence of ti ...

and title, the register of land holdings provides conclusive evidence (termed " indefeasibility") of

of the person recorded on the register as the proprietor (owner), and of all other interests recorded on the register.

Ownership in equity

Though the registration of ownership of certain property usually confers a statutory recognised legal title to the property, courts may nevertheless recognise

equitable right An equitable right is a legal right guaranteed by equity as opposed to a legal right which derives authority from a legal source. An example of an equitable right could be seen in Land law, where mention is made of a beneficial interest i.e. vest ...

s and interests of others in relation to that property. For example, a person who buys and pays for a parcel of land would be the equitable owner of the land though the transfer may not yet have been registered, and the registered owner would continue to be the registered owner until the registration of transfer but hold it subject to the interests of the purchaser, such as the right of possession or in relation to receipt of rent from a tenant should the property be rented.

References

Property law {{Law-stub

Ownership in equity

See also

References