Land registration is a government mechanism to establish ownership. Regional statutes govern how land titles are registered, and real estate buyers rely on registry records. Registering a land title is different from registering a deed. Mandatory land registration statutes are no longer common due to objections from title insurance companies and high costs. Once a certificate is issued, land registration can be a simple process and can reduce land disputes.
Land registration is the mechanism used by many governments to register and establish land ownership. Regional statutes govern how land titles are registered, which may include the designated government agency providing a certificate to the landowner. Some statutes require landowners to file a petition with the court in the applicable jurisdiction, which would declare title to the land and establish the petitioner’s right against any future claims to the land. Real estate buyers often rely on land registry records to determine if the title to the property is good and marketable. They can often search public records in the area where the land is located to see if the land title is registered.
Registering a land title is different from registering a deed. When a landowner registers a deed, he registers the deed. The process is often straightforward because the landowner can obtain the deed via private transport and present it to the deed recorder. To register a land title, the land owner is issued a certificate. In some acts, such as the Torrence Act in the United States, the landowner must file a complaint in court. The purpose is to ask the court to declare that the landowner is the rightful owner of the land and to protect the landowner’s rights against all others.
Many regional governments that once mandated land registration no longer do so. Some jurisdictions often require land registration in specific circumstances, such as whenever land is sold or if the landowner leases it for an extended period of time. For example, it is not compulsory for a landowner to register land in most jurisdictions in England until he sells it. There are no longer many countries and jurisdictions within countries that have maintained mandatory land registration statutes. Title insurance companies objected to statutes making registration mandatory, and many landowners complained that the costs of following the statutes were too prohibitive.
Once a certificate is issued, land registration can be a simple and efficient process. The owner often only needs to sign the original certificate that was issued and a duplicate copy to make a transfer. Another benefit of land registration is that it can help reduce the number of land disputes when the court issues a decree. It is often difficult for the parties to overturn a previous court ruling that the landowner is the rightful owner and possessor of the land.
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