Registered Land

1. In registered land, purchaser will only need to investigate the legal title, all
information about the land (e.g interest ) are shown in the register. ( Contrast
with unregistered land where purchaser need to investigate a big stack of
documents to find out who has interest in the land )
2. The registration system is based on 3 principles:
(i)
Mirror Principle :
(a) The register reflect all relevant information of the land. Unlike
unregistered land, purchaser need not to make inquiries on the past
history of the title. Everything is written in the register.
(b) There is a crack in the mirror principle. There is one kind of
interest that is binding upon purchaser but will not be written in the
register Interest that overrides. This suggest that the register does
not reflect the totality of interests. The reason for this is to ensure
purchaser make physical inspection on the land.
(ii)
Curtain Principle :
(a) Purchaser need not to concern about equitable interest behind the
curtain ( i.e Trust CT/RT ) as these interest will be overreached
when purchaser pay to 2 trustees. ( Doctrine of Overreaching )
(iii)
Insurance Principle :
(a) The information in the title is guaranteed by the state ( i.e
government ). State will compensate for any losses arising from the
mistake in title.
3. Classification of interests:
(i)
Interest capable of substantive registration :
(a) Fee Simple ( FSAIP )
(b) Legal Lease over 7 years / 7 years left to run ( LEGAL means
created by deed )
(c) Legal easements & profits ( LEGAL means created by deed)
Failure to register will make the interest remain as EQUITABLE interest
not legal interest.
(E.g Failure to register (a), you will only have equitable estate contract*
;
Failure to register (b), you will only have equitable leases )
(ii)

Interest protected by entry on the register ( Minor Interest )

(a) By Notice ( s32 LRA 2002 ) : E.g Estate Contract*, Equitable leases (
either failure to substantive register or is not created by deed ),
Equitable easements & profit and etc. ( Usually commercial in
nature )
Interest that can enter notice are usually commercial type of
interest
S33 states what interest CANNOT enter notice, other than these, all
other interests can enter as notice.

(b) By Restriction ( s40 LRA 2002 ) : E.g Trust of land, Restrictive

Covenant.
Usually interests within s33 can enter restriction ( Usually familial or
social )
Failure to enter notice/restriction will void UNLESS it is also an interest
that overrides.

(iii)

Interest that overrides

(a) Schedule 1 ( Only apply in FIRST REGISTRATION ):
Para 1 Legal lease not exceeding 7 years
Para 2 Actual Occupation ( Only need to show actual occupation,
need not be obvious c/f Sch 3 Para 2 )
Para 3 Legal Easement
Schedule 1 is much more broader than schedule 3 because first
registration is an administrative act. Schedule 1 is to allow these
interest to remain as interest that overrides during the conversion
from unregistered land to registered land. No purchaser is involved.
So it is broader to allow more interest to become binding even after
the conversion. ( Let me know if you dont understand this part )
(a) Schedule 3 ( Apply in subsequent transfer )
Para 1 Legal lease not exceeding 7 years
Para 2 Actual Occupation except :
(1) Enquiries made to the right-holder but failed to disclose
(2) Actual Occupation not obvious upon a reasonable inspection
AND purchaser has no knowledge.
Para 3 Legal Easement
( Note : If you satisfy the requirement of interest that overrides does
not CREATE an interest for you. You NEED to have an interest first, then
only if THAT interest satisfy the requirement, it will be given overriding
status. Overriding Status simply means the interest need not to be
registered/entry but will still binding
For eg. You are now staying in your house together with your parents
( Actual Occupation ), that doesnt mean you have interest that
overrides because you have NO interest in the house in the first place.
Unless you contributed to purchase price, then you have interest by
CT/RT or you have easements, profits and etc. )

4. Registration
(a) S4 compulsory registration :
(i)
Conveyance of unregistered FSAIP / TOYA ( more than 7 years )
(ii)
Creation of lease more than 7 years
(iii)
Creation of a first Legal Mortgage
(b) S6 compulsory registration must be done within 2 months
(c) S7 Sanction for non-compliance Estate reverts back to transferor who
will hold it on Bare Trust for the Transferee.
(d) S27 Disposition required to be registered (Disposition that only valid
after registration) :
(i)
Conveyance of REGISTERED FSAIP ( New owner only become new
LEGAL owner after they register to the title )
(ii)
Creation of lease more than 7 years
(iii)
Grant of legal charge
(iv)
Easements & Profits
Take note the difference between s27 and s4. S4 mainly wants
UNREGISTERED LAND to be registered ( Convert unregistered land to
registered land ). While s27 is to record every disposition or transfer of
land after. For eg, they want the name of the new owner of the land to be
registered in the title in order for the disposition of land to be valid ( Let
me know if you dont understand this part )
5. Doctrine of Overreaching This only applies to one kind of interest Trust of
Land ( by CT/RT ). When purchaser/bank paid to at least 2 trustees ( Trustees
are the legal owner of the land ), their interest is transferred from the
property to the purchase price.
For eg, if H, Hs dad & W contributed to the purchase price of a house but
only register under H and Hs dads name, W has interest by way of CT/RT
( She can enter restriction but assuming she did not ). If H and Hs dad sell
the house, and the purchaser paid both of them ( i.e 2 trustees ) the purchase
price, Ws interest is overreached and transferred to the purchase price. W
cannot insist on staying in the house.
Note : Doctrine of overreaching applies even to interest that overrides. ( City
of London Building Society v Flegg )
Hence, even if W argue that her interest by way of CT/RT is an interest that

overrides because she is in actual occupation, doctrine of overreaching still

applies.

Unregistered Land
1. Title to land is not recorded in a register, nor is it guaranteed by the State.
Purchaser of an unregistered land must seek out the root of title (i.e
examine title deeds and documents relating to previous dealings ) in order to
ensure that the seller has a good and safe title to pass on.
2. Legal interest binds the whole world ( i.e it binds purchaser even purchaser
has no knowledge about it ) *LEGAL means it is created by deed and the deed
usually will be included in the big stack of documents.
Example of legal interest:
(a) Fee Simple Absolute In Possession
(b) Term of Years Absolute
(c) Legal Easement
(d) Charge by way of legal mortgage
(e) Puisne Mortgage ( This is an exception to the GR of binding the whole
world, it requires registration as land charges. Check 3(d) below )
3. Equitable Interest ( not created by deed ) requiring registration as LAND
CHARGES. ( Land Charges Act 1972 ):
(a) Estate Contracts ( Class C (iv) )
(b) Restrictive Covenants ( Class D (ii))
(c) Equitable Easements/Profits ( Class D (iii) )
Failure to register these 3 interests VOID for money or moneys worth
consideration
(e.g As long as purchaser pays/provide anything worth money (i.e shares)
failure to register VOID
But if new owner get house as mere GIFT interest still binding even
without register
)
(d) Puisne Mortgage ( Class C (i) )
This is technically a Legal interest but it requires registration as charges.
( Exception to the GR that legal interest binds whole world )
E.g Owner mortgage house to bank X, handed title deed to bank X. Later
Owner want to mortgage house again ( 2nd mortgage ) to bank Y, but he
couldnt hand title deed to bank Y because title is with bank X. This is
Puisne Mortgage, bank Y need to register as charge.
(e) General Equitable Charge ( Class C(iii) )

(f) Home Rights ( Class F )

Spouse whom is not on legal title has statutory right of occupation of
Matrimonial Home ( s30-32 Family Law Act 1996 )
Failure to register these 3 interests VOID for value consideration ( broad
meaning )
4. Other equitable interest NOT registrable as charge will be protected by
Doctrine of Notice:
(a) Restrictive Covenant made between lessor and lessee
(b) Restrictive convenant created before 1926
(c) Equitable interest arising under doctrine of proprietary estoppels
(d) Interest held on CT
(e) Equitable interest under a bare trust
(f) Beneficial interest under trust of land which were not overreached ( Eg.
Purchaser only paid to one trustee )
5. Doctrine of Notice :
(a) If purchaser has knowledge about the existence of those interests,
purchaser is bound by it.
(b) There are three types of knowledge:
(i)
Actual Knowledge : Purchaser in fact knows about it.
(ii)
Imputed Knowledge : When purchasers agent knows about it, court
assume purchaser knows about it as well.
(iii)
Constructive Knowledge : When purchaser would have known if he
have made inquiries and inspection which he ought reasonably to
have made. Court will impose contructive knowledge on him even
in actual fact he does not know.
6. Doctrine of overreaching ( similar to registered land )
Only applies to trust of land by CT/RT. If purchaser paid to 2 trustees, the
equitable interest will be transferred to the purchase price. Doctrine of Notice
does not apply.