5. Land Registration

Abstract

This chapter explores how the English land law land registration system works in practice. The land registration system achieves three goals. The first is as a method of controlling the way in which rights are created. The second is in terms of managing the effect of such rights, once they have been created. The third is as a means to regulate the interactions between different proprietary rights which exist in relation to the same piece of land. The chapter considers the first two functions: mode of rights creation and effect of rights creation. It then looks at what happens when these functions go wrong within the system — how do the principles of registered land interact with the inevitable reality of both human error and human creativity? In answering this issue, the chapter considers how the register is rectified and altered. Finally, it examines potential reforms, including those proposed by the Law Commission, and the possibility of the advent of e-conveyancing. The Law Commission has now begun the process of bringing about reform of the Land Registration Act 2002 to allow for the smoother operation of the registration system in cases of error.