The Land Registration (Open Register) Rules 1990

Made: 4th July 1990

Laid before Parliament: 6th July 1990

Coming into force: 3rd December 1990

The Lord Chancellor, with the advice and assistance of the Rule Committee appointed in pursuance of section 144 of the Land Registration Act 1925[^f00001], in exercise of the powers conferred on him by that section and section 112 of the said Act, hereby makes the following rules:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1

• (1) These rules may be cited as the Land Registration (Open Register) Rules 1990 and shall come into force on 3rd December 1990.

• (2) In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires:

• “the 1990 Rules” means the Land Registration Rules 1990[^f00002];

• “the principal act” means the Land Registration Act 1925;

• “the principal rules” means the Land Registration Rules 1925[^f00003];

• “proper office” means the district land registry designated as the proper office by article 2(2) of the Land Registration (District Registries) Order 1989[^f00004];

• “title plan” means the filed plan or General Map referred to in a register of a registered title.

• (3) Except in rule 11 of these rules, a form referred to by a number means the form so numbered in Schedule 1 to these rules.

• (4) Expressions used in these rules have, unless the contrary intention appears, the meaning which they bear in the principal rules.

Application for office copies of the register or the title plan or for a certificate of inspection of the title plan

2

Save as provided by rule 7(2) of these rules, an application for an office copy of the entries on the register or of a title plan of a registered title or for a certificate of inspection of the title plan shall be in Form 109.

Application for office copies of documents referred to on the register

3

Save as provided by rule 7(2) of these rules, an application for an office copy of a document referred to in the register of a title which is in the custody of the registrar (not being a lease or charge or a copy of a lease or charge) shall be in Form 110.

Inspection of the register, title plan and documents referred to on the register

4

Save as provided by rule 7(2) of these rules, an application for a personal inspection of a register or title plan or document referred to in the register of a title which is in the custody of the registrar (not being a lease or charge or a copy of a lease or charge) shall be in Form 111.

Application to be made to the proper office; separate applications for each title

5

• (1) Subject to rule 7 of these rules:

• (a) any application under these rules shall be delivered to the proper office; and

• (b) a separate application shall be delivered in respect of each registered title.

• (2) Where, on an application in Form 109, the property described in panel 2 of that form is registered under more than one title number, but the application fails to quote a title number or the title number quoted does not relate to any part of the property described in panel 2 of that form, the registrar may:

• (a) deal with the application as though it referred to only such one of the title numbers under which the property or any part is registered as he shall choose, in which case in respect of the remaining title number or numbers there shall be deemed to have been no application; or

• (b) accept such application and if he does so it shall be deemed to be a separate application in respect of each title revealed; or

• (c) cancel the application.

Certificate of official inspection of title plan

6

• (1) Where a person has applied under these rules for a certificate of inspection of the title plan, upon completion of the inspection an official certificate of inspection shall be issued.

• (2) The official certificate of inspection shall be in Form 102.

• (3) An official certificate of inspection of the title plan made pursuant to an application under these rules shall be regarded as an official search for the purposes of section 83(3) of the principal act and rule 295 of the principal rules.

Inspection in connection with criminal proceedings, receivership under certain Acts and insolvency

7

• (1) If a person referred to in column 1 of Part 1 or Part 2 of Schedule 2 to these rules:

• (a) applies in Form 112A or 112B whichever is appropriate to make an inspection under this rule in relation to a person specified in the application or to a property so specified; and

• (b) gives the registrar the appropriate certificate (completed to contain all particulars required) referred to in column 2 of the said Schedule;

the registrar shall permit him to inspect and to obtain copies of and extracts from any document falling within section 112(2) of the principal act and shall, if so requested (and notwithstanding rule 9 of the principal rules), provide him with the result of a search of the index of proprietors' names in relation to the person specified in the application.

• (2) Where a person applies under paragraph (1) he may apply in Form 112A or 112B whichever is appropriate for inspection of or office copies of the entries on the register or title plan of a registered title or a document referred to in the register of a title which is in the custody of the registrar.

• (3) An application under this rule shall be delivered to such office of H.M. Land Registry as the registrar may direct.

• (4) In Schedule 2 to these rules

• (a) references to senior executive officers include references to equivalent depart mental grades;

• (b) references to an official receiver are references to an official receiver for the purpose of the Insolvency Act 1986[^f00005] or the Companies Act 1985[^f00006] or a person acting as a deputy to such an official receiver;

• (c) references to a trustee in bankruptcy are references to a trustee in bankruptcy of a person adjudged bankrupt in England and Wales or Northern Ireland or to a permanent or interim trustee in the sequestration of a debtor’s estate in Scotland;

• (d) references to the official assignee are references to the Official Assignee for bankruptcy for Northern Ireland or the Official Assignee for company liquidations for Northern Ireland; and

• (e) references to a liquidator or administrator are respectively references to a liquidator or administrator appointed for the purposes of the Insolvency Act 1986.

Inspection under a court order

8

In any case where a court (having power to do so) has ordered that a person may inspect and make copies of any document falling within section 112(2) of the principal act, that person shall give to the registrar a document certified by the proper officer of the court to be a true copy of such order.

Amendment of rule 2 to the 1990 Rules

9

For paragraph (2) of rule 2 of the 1990 Rules there shall be substituted:

(2) Except in rule 5(1)(a), (b) and (c), a form referred to by number means the form so numbered in the Schedule to these rules.

New rule 5 of the 1990 Rules

10

For rule 5 of the 1990 Rules there shall be substituted:

(5) (1) During the currency of any notice given pursuant to paragraph (2), and subject to and in accordance with the limitations contained in that notice, an application may be made by facsimile transmission for: (a) an office copy of the entries on the register or of a title plan of a registered title or a certificate of official inspection of the filed plan, in Form 109 of Schedule 1 to the Land Registration (Open Register) Rules 1990 (herein after referred to in this rule as “the Open Register Rules”); (b) an office copy of a document referred to in the register of a title which is in the custody of the registrar (not being a lease or charge or copies of a lease or charge), in Form 110 of Schedule 1 to the Open Register Rules; (c) information or office copies obtainable under rule 7 of the Open Register Rules, in Form 112A or 112B of Schedule 1 to the Open Register Rules where appropriate; (d) an official certificate of the result of search of the Index Map, in Form 96. (2) If the registrar is satisfied that adequate arrangements have been or will be made for dealing with applications made by facsimile transmission in accordance with this rule, he may, in such manner as he considers appropriate for informing persons who may wish to make such applications, give notice to that effect specifying the class or classes of case covered by those arrangements; and such a notice may in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision, specify the class or clases of case so covered by limiting them: (a) to one or more of the types of application mentioned in paragraph (1); (b) to applications made by a person maintaining a credit account; (c) to applications which relate to land within specified counties, districts, London boroughs or other administrative areas; (d) to applications made between specified hours and on specified days (which need not be those between or on which H.M. Land Registry is open to the public and may be different for applications of different types); (e) where an application is in Form 96 and refers to a parcel of land shown on an accompanying plan, to any such application which is accompanied by a designated plan. (3) Subject to paragraph (4) a notice given pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be current: (a) from the time specified in that behalf in the notice; and either (b) until the time, if any, specified in that behalf in the notice; or (c) if no time of ceasing to be current is specified in the notice, indefinitely. (4) A notice given pursuant to paragraph (2) may from time to time be varied, suspended, withdrawn, renewed or replaced by a further notice. (5) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1) the registrar may in his discretion refuse to accept an application made by facsimile transmission in any individual case. (6) An application under this rule shall be delivered to the proper office save that an application of the type mentioned in sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph (1) shall be delivered to such office of H.M. Land Registry as the registrar may direct. (7) No application under the principal rules may be made by facsimile transmission.

Revocations

11

Rules 287 to 290 (inclusive) and 296 of the principal rules and Forms 80 and 108 in the Schedule to the principal rules and Forms 109 (Fax) and 110 (Fax) in the Schedule to the 1990 Rules are hereby revoked.

SCHEDULE 1

SCHEDULE 2

PART 1

PART 2

Signed

Mackay of Clashfern, C. — Dated 4th July 1990

Explanatory note

(This note does not form part of the Rules)

• (1) These Rules are made as part of the implementation of the Land Registration Act 1988 (c. 3) (which in particular provides for the opening of the register to the public) and prescribe:

• (a) the forms to be used for application for office copies of the register, title plan and documents referred to on the register and for certificates of inspection of the title plan and provide for the manner in which such applications may be made;

• (b) the cases where as of right documents in the custody of the registrar relating to any land or charge but not referred to on the register may be inspected and copies or extracts taken and office copies obtained and cases where application for a search of the index of proprietors' names may be made;

• (c) the form of certificate of official inspection of the title plan;

• (2) These Rules also:

• (a) amend the Land Registration Rules 1925 so as to revoke:–

• rule287 (authority to inspect the register)

• rule288 (inspection otherwise than under authority of the proprietor)

• rule289 (information as to entries on the register at a specified date; also regarding closed registers and cancelled entries)

• rule290 (discretion of registrar and as to inspection of the Minor Interests Index)

• rule296 (office copies of entries in register)

• form80 (authority to inspect register) and

• form108 (application for disclosure of landlord’s name and address);

• (b) substitute a new rule 5 of the Land Registration Rules 1990 to provide that during the currency of any notice given pursuant to that rule, and in addition to applications for an official certificate of the result of search of the Index Map, applications under rules 2, 3 and 7 of these Rules may be made by facsimile transmission.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1925 c. 21; sections 112 and 144 were amended by the Land Registration Act 1988 (c. 3).

[^f00002]: S.I. 1990/314.

[^f00003]: S.R. & O. 1925/1093; relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1987/2214, 1989/801.

[^f00004]: S.I. 1989/1902.

[^f00005]: 1986 c. 45.

[^f00006]: 1985 c. 6.

[^f00007]: 1988 c. 33.

[^f00008]: 1986 c. 32.

[^f00009]: 1987 c. 41.