Section 4: When title must be registered, Land Registration Act 2002

The requirement of registration applies on the occurrence of any of the following events—

the transfer of a qualifying estate—

for valuable or other consideration, by way of gift or in pursuance of an order of any court, . . .

by means of an assent (including a vesting assent); or

giving effect to a partition of land subject to a trust of land;

the transfer of a qualifying estate—

by a deed that appoints, or by virtue of section 334 of the Charities Act 2011 has effect as if it appointed, a new trustee or is made in consequence of the appointment of a new trustee, or

by a vesting order under section 44 of the Trustee Act 1925 that is consequential on the appointment of a new trustee;

the transfer of an unregistered legal estate in land in circumstances where section 171A of the Housing Act 1985 (c. 68) applies (disposal by landlord which leads to a person no longer being a secure tenant);

the grant out of a qualifying estate of an estate in land—

for a term of years absolute of more than seven years from the date of the grant, and

for valuable or other consideration, by way of gift or in pursuance of an order of any court;

the grant out of a qualifying estate of an estate in land for a term of years absolute to take effect in possession after the end of the period of three months beginning with the date of the grant;

the grant of a lease in pursuance of Part 5 of the Housing Act 1985 (the right to buy) out of an unregistered legal estate in land;

the grant of a lease out of an unregistered legal estate in land in such circumstances as are mentioned in paragraph (b);

the creation of a protected first legal mortgage of a qualifying estate.

For the purposes of subsection (1), a qualifying estate is an unregistered legal estate which is—

a freehold estate in land, or

a leasehold estate in land for a term which, at the time of the transfer, grant or creation, has more than seven years to run.

In subsection (1)(a), the reference to transfer does not include transfer by operation of law.

Subsection (1)(a) does not apply to—

the assignment of a mortgage term, or

the assignment or surrender of a lease to the owner of the immediate reversion where the term is to merge in that reversion.

Subsection (1)(c) does not apply to the grant of an estate to a person as a mortgagee.

Subsection (1) does not apply to the transfer or grant of a leasehold estate in land under a relevant social housing tenancy.

For the purposes of subsection (1)(a) and (c), if the estate transferred or granted has a negative value, it is to be regarded as transferred or granted for valuable or other consideration.

In subsection (1)(a) and (c), references to transfer or grant by way of gift include transfer or grant for the purpose of—

constituting a trust under which the settlor does not retain the whole of the beneficial interest, or

uniting the bare legal title and the beneficial interest in property held under a trust under which the settlor did not, on constitution, retain the whole of the beneficial interest.

For the purposes of subsection (1)(g)—

a legal mortgage is protected if it takes effect on its creation as a mortgage to be protected by the deposit of documents relating to the mortgaged estate, and

a first legal mortgage is one which, on its creation, ranks in priority ahead of any other mortgages then affecting the mortgaged estate.

In this section—

"land" does not include mines and minerals held apart from the surface;
"vesting assent" has the same meaning as in the Settled Land Act 1925 (c. 18).

Section 4: When title must be registered

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