Following a client's mortgage of his unregistered property, I recently had to refresh my memory about the procedure for first registration.

As more erudite readers will be aware, the requirement for registration arises by virtue of section 123 (2) (a) of LRA 1925 (as amended by section 1 LRA 1997). This provides that it is compulsory to register 'any disposition by the estate owner of unregistered land which is a legal mortgage of... the freehold estate... where, on its creation, the mortgage takes effect as a mortgage to be protected by the deposit of documents relating to that estate... '


Bearing in mind the mysterious process of dematerialisation, and the fact that mortgage lenders now refuse to hold any deeds, my client's mortgage is not 'protected by the deposit of documents'. Am I thereby absolved from having to apply for first registration? My client would no doubt be pleased to learn that dematerialisation would save him a few hundred quid.


Michael Loveridge, solicitor, Clitheroe, Lancashire