Land Registry notices

New Land Registration (District Registries) OrderTitles in Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering and Wellingborough are now dealt with by the Leicester District Land Registry.

Until the beginning of 2002 Peterborough was the registry with responsibility for those areas.Practitioners should ensure that postal or faxed applications and searches relating to land in those areas are directed to the Leicester District Land Registry.

The change is brought about by the Land Registration (District Registries) Order 2001.

That order came into force on 2 January 2002, superseding the Land Registration (District Registries) Order 2000.

The order sets out the administrative areas for which each district land registry is responsible.

The order otherwise leaves unchanged the areas allocated to the various district land registries.The addresses, telephone numbers and fax numbers of all district land registries are on the Land Registry Web site at: (http://www.landreg.gov.uk).l Comments or queries should be addressed to Christine Adam at Land Registry Headquarters, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PH (DX: 1098 London/Chancery Lane WC2.

Fax: 0207 955 0110; e-mail: christine.adam@landreg.gsi.gov.uk).

Applications for leasehold title - changes in practiceWhere somebody applies for the registration of a lease of registered land, the Land Registry:l Will now only grant absolute title if expressly applied for; l Will no longer ask for details of the landlord's title if only a good leasehold is applied for; and,l If it would grant absolute title but for a chargee's consent outstanding, it will upgrade the title when it receives that consent.When applying for the registration of a lease, practitioners should remember the crucial difference between absolute leasehold title and good leasehold title.

In the case of absolute leasehold title, the registry guarantees the lessor's power to grant the lease.

But in the case of good leasehold title, there is no such guarantee.

In practice, this affects the way the registry deals with applications for the registration of a lease.

Before the registry can grant an absolute leasehold title, it needs to be satisfied not only of the tenant's title, but also of the landlord's title and that of the superior landlord, if any.

In the past, there were separate application forms for good leasehold and absolute title.

And the registry tried, wherever possible, to register leases with absolute title.

With a few exceptions, it adopted this practice even where the applicant had asked for registration with good leasehold title.

Sometimes the applicant had in fact intended to apply for absolute title.

However, more often, this practice resulted in delay while the registry asked the applicant to supply details of the superior title.

Sometimes this practice also resulted in absolute title being granted, and entries being carried forward from the superior title, when the applicant only wanted a good leasehold title.

Now a single application form, FR1, always requires the applicant to state the class of title applied for.

Therefore, the registry no longer considers it desirable to treat all applications as if they are for absolute title.

Accordingly, if somebody applies for registration of a lease granted out of registered land with good leasehold title, the registry will only consider it for good leasehold title.Where somebody applies for registration of a lease granted out of registered land with absolute title, the registry will continue to grant absolute title where it is satisfied as to the landlord's power to grant the lease.

However, the registry cannot grant absolute title where the landlord's title is subject to a charge, but the chargee has not consented to the grant of the lease.

In those cases, the registry will now treat the application and prepare the register entries as if it were going to grant absolute title, carrying forward any relevant entries from the landlord's title.

But the registry will only give good leasehold title.

On completion, it will write to the applicant, or the applicant's solicitor, and tell them that it will automatically convert the title to absolute title at no additional cost on receipt of a specific application and the relevant consent.

This applies equally where the registry has raised other requisitions and only the chargee's consent remains outstanding.This does not change the need to comply with any restriction that catches the lease.

Applicants must still comply with the requirements of any restriction on the landlord's title, including any in favour of a chargee.

For example, where the restriction requires a named party to consent to a disposition, that consent must accompany the application for registration.

Other-wise, the registry cannot register the lease with any class of title.

Therefore, applicants should always state clearly the class of title applied for in form FR1, remember to lodge the landlord's land or charge certificate, include the original lease (stamped in all cases by the stamp office) plus a certified copy and any other relevant documents listed on form DL, comply with the terms of any restriction, and include all necessary consents.l Comments or queries should be addressed to Sarah Wheeler at Land Registry Headquarters, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PH (DX: 1098 London/Chancery Lane WC2.

Fax: 0207 955 0110; e-mail: sarah.wheeler@landreg.

gsi.gov.uk).

Amendment to practice leaflet 35 - outline applicationsThe current edition (March 2001) of practice leaflet 35 contains an error in paragraph 3.

That paragraph makes it clear that the interest or matter sought to be protected must exist at the time the outline application is lodged.

However, the final sentence of paragraph 3 states, in relation to charging orders: 'However, if you wish to protect the order by way of caution under section 54 of the Land Registration Act 1925 you would not be able to lodge the outline application until the statutory declaration in support has been sworn'.

That statement is inaccurate.

It is sufficient that the interest (in this case, the order) to be protected is in existence at the time the outline application is made.

The statutory declaration need not have been sworn.The leaflet has been amended to correct the inaccuracy.

A revised edition of the leaflet will be published in due course.