Title, registration and what the plan actually shows

Both approaches to property title work. What differs is what they cost you, and the cost is what this sets out.

What a title actually contains

Beyond the owner name, a title typically records the extent of the land, the rights benefiting it and the burdens affecting it. Rights of way, covenants, mortgages, notices and restrictions all appear, and they bind whoever owns the land next. Buying a property means buying these, which is why the conveyancer report on title is the document to read rather than skim.

Anything unusual generates enquiries, which is why title complexity and transaction length are closely related.

Registered and unregistered

Many countries operate a central register where ownership is recorded and, in some systems, guaranteed by the state. Where land remains unregistered, ownership is proved by a chain of historic deeds, and a missing document in that chain is a serious problem.

Unregistered land is usually registered for the first time on sale, which adds work and time. Sellers of unregistered property benefit substantially from locating the deeds before marketing.

The plan is not a survey

In several systems, title plans show general boundaries, indicating the approximate extent rather than the precise legal line. Scale alone means a line on a plan can represent a substantial width on the ground.

The useful part is this: determined boundaries can be recorded in some jurisdictions through a specific application, and they are the exception rather than the norm. Assuming a title plan resolves a fence dispute is a common and expensive error.

Restrictions and notices

A restriction may require someone consent before a transfer is registered, which can hold up completion if discovered late. Notices protect third-party interests such as a lease, an option or a claim, and each needs to be understood before exchange. A mortgage will appear on the title and must be discharged on sale, with the discharge itself being a registration step.

Late discovery of any of these is a common cause of a delayed completion.

Defects and how they are cured

Missing documents, historic errors, unregistered rights of way and gaps in the chain are all encountered regularly. Remedies include statutory declarations, indemnity insurance, retrospective consents and, occasionally, applications to correct the register.

Each takes time, and the buyer lender may have views on which remedies it accepts. None of this is unusual; the problem is discovering it in the final week rather than the first.

What a buyer should ask for

Ask your conveyancer for a copy of the title and plan early and read the burdens section yourself. Ask specifically whether anything on the title restricts what you intend to do with the property. Where the property has been extended or altered, ask whether the title extent matches what you viewed.

This is general information; a conveyancer in the relevant jurisdiction must advise on any specific title.

Side by side

The takeaway

Read the burdens on the title, not just the owner name, and treat the plan as approximate.

Pick the one that costs you least, and let the rest wait.