THE SYSTEM OF LAND CHARGE REGISTRATION

The system of land charge registration was introduced by the Land Charges Act 1925 and has since been codified in the Land Charges Act 1972.

  • As mentioned previously, the scheme of Land Charges Registration was designed to replace the pre-1926 position where equitable rights in rem would bind a transferee of land if they were not equity’s darling (thus replacing the uncertain notice doctrine).

Section 2 of the Land Charges Act 1972 provides a list of equitable rights in rem which can be registered as a land charge in the register of land charges. So a land charge is the generic label for this list of equitable rights in rem.

The most important of these land charges are as follows:

  • Estate Contracts (Class C(iv)) e.g. contracts to purchase a legal estate in land
  • Restrictive covenants entered after 1 Jan 1926 (section 2(5)(ii) – Class D)
  • Equitable easements entered after 1 Jan 1926 (section 2(5)(iii) – Class D)

Note: beneficial rights under trust cannot be registered. They are dealt with through the doctrine of overreaching

REGISTRATION

The registration of an equitable right in rem as a land charge is deemed to constitute actual notice of that right to a transferee/purchaser of the burdened land (Law of Property Act 1925, section 198 (1)). In other words, registering equitable interests as land charge ensures they bind future transferees/purchasers of the land.

⇒ Thus the enquiry as to whether an equitable right in rem binds a transferee/purchaser is not whether or not the transferee is equity’s darling (which normally focuses on whether he/she has notice of the right), but whether or not the equitable right is registered as a land charge.

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