Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Unregistered land definition

What does Unregistered land mean? Property where ownership is evidenced by historic title deeds rather than a state title register. In England and Wales, it means land without a title number at HM Land Registry; title is deduced from a chain of deeds and protected by Land Charges and bankruptcy searches, with compulsory first registration on most transfers, leases and legal charges under the Land Registration Act 2002. In Scotland, it refers to property not yet on the Land Register of Scotland, with title instead in the Register of Sasines; transfers and standard securities typically trigger first registration under the Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Act...

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

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Practice notes

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 and orders affecting land and writs and orders in bankruptcy

These registers can be searched on their own when a bankruptcy only search is needed, for example immediately prior to completing a mortgage over land. See Practice...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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