COMPULSORY REGISTRATION of land ownership has been extended to six further counties by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Brian Lenihan.
These are Clare, Kilkenny, Louth, Sligo, Wexford and Wicklow, and bring the total number of “compulsory registration” counties to 12.
Compulsory registration of ownership of land means that the ownership of the title to the land must be registered at the Land Registry.
At the moment some land is not registered at the Land Registry, and a programme of registration of all land has been embarked upon by the Government.
This will make conveying land more straightforward. In addition, the Law Reform Commission has brought forward a number of proposals for the reform of land law, much of which is archaic.
Compulsory registration applies in a number of situations, including: where freehold land has been sold and conveyed to or vested in any person under the land purchase Acts or the labourers Acts; where freehold land is acquired by a statutory authority, for example, a Minister, local or public authority, or any company or body established by legislation; to sales of freehold land in areas which are the subject of compulsory registration orders made by the Minister; and to leases (with over 21 years unexpired at the date of registration) by a statutory authority and assignments on sale of such leases in areas which are the subject of compulsory registration orders made by the Minister.
Mr Lenihan said: “I am determined to make rapid progress on extending registration of land ownership, and it is for this reason that I requested the Property Registration Authority to identify additional counties where compulsory title registration could be introduced.”