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Class B land charge meaning

What does Class B land charge mean?
A Class B land charge is a statutory charge affecting unregistered land in England and Wales that is registrable in the Land Charges Register under the Land Charges Act 1972. It arises because legislation imposes a charge (often in favour of a public authority) rather than by agreement between private parties. Registration is carried out by the appropriate officer specified in the statute; no separate application by the chargee is required. Once registered, a Class B land charge secures sums on the land and takes priority from the date of registration. If it is not registered when a purchaser of a legal estate for money or money’s worth completes, it is void against that purchaser (Land Charges Act 1972, section 4). Conveyancers should therefore conduct Land Charges searches on sales and mortgages of unregistered land. This classification is created and governed by statute and is specific to England and Wales. There is no equivalent “Class B” category in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Ireland: statutory charges there are protected through their own recording or registration regimes (for example, the Statutory Charges Register in Northern Ireland, and the Land Register/Registry of Deeds in Scotland and Ireland). Note: local land charges are separate and maintained...
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View the related Practice Notes about Class B land charge

PRACTICE NOTES
Land charges in unregistered land: registration, classes and search requirements under the Land Charges Act 1972 (England and Wales)

The Land Charges Act 1972 (LCA 1972) The LCA 1972 sets out a scheme under which particular charges and incumbrances concerning unregistered land are to be entered as land charges on the land charges register, maintained by the Land Charges Department of HM Land Registry, which is based at its office in Plymouth. That register is completely separate from the register used for substantive title registration. Land charges operate to safeguard the interests, in unregistered land, of third parties who do not possess the title deeds to the land and therefore cannot control when and how the land is dealt with or disposed of. If a charge, or an obligation that affects unregistered land, is not protected by the registration of a land charge, there is a risk that valuable property rights will be lost. In addition, the LCA 1972 requires HM Land Registry, alongside the land charges register, to keep the following registers: pending land actions and pending actions in bankruptcy writs...

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PRACTICE NOTES
Comprehensive Glossary of Property Law and Practice (England and Wales)

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 obtained Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. For guidance on the Act’s effect on residential tenancies in England, see Practice Note: Renters’ Rights Act 2025—key provisions... A Absolute title A category of title available for registered land. Absolute title is the strongest class that can be granted; it denotes that, apart from matters on the register and any overriding interests, nothing affects the registered proprietor’s freedom to deal with the land... Abstract (of title) A certified summary, prepared by a lawyer, setting out the contents of the title deeds for a particular property... Acquiring authority See Compulsory purchase... Act of Parliament Legislation passed by both Houses of Parliament in the form of a written Bill and given Royal Assent. Sometimes called primary legislation. See also Secondary legislation... Adoption The legal process by which a highway in private ownership becomes a highway maintainable at the public expense....

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