Land Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1970

85 Rules. N.I.

(1) There shall be establilshed a rules committee (to be called the “Land Registry Rules Committee”) which shall, subject to the provisions of this section, be responsible for advising and assisting the Minister in connection with his functions under this section.

(2) The Land Registry Rules Committee shall consist of—

(a) a Judge of the [F1 Court of Judicature], nominated by the Lord Chief Justice, who shall be Chairman of the Committee;

(b) a barrister nominated by the General Council of the Bar of Northern Ireland;

(c) two solicitors nominated by the Incorporated Law Society of Northern Ireland; and

(d) the Registrar.

[F2 (2A) The Lord Chief Justice may nominate any of the following to exercise his functions under subsection (2)(a)—

(a) the holder of one of the offices listed in Schedule 1 to the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002;

(b) a Lord Justice of Appeal (as defined in section 88 of that Act).]

(3) The Minister, with the advice and assistance of the Land Registry Rules Committee, may make rules providing for the practice and procedure to be followed in the Land Registry and generally for giving effect to this Act and, in particular, may make rules with respect to all or any of the following matters—

(a) anything which under this Act may or is to be prescribed;

(b) the conduct of transfers and the publication of information relating to transfers;

[F3 (ba) authorising the Registrar to refuse to register the ownership of any unregistered land where this Act or some other statutory provision does not make it compulsory to register that ownership;]

(c) the making, keeping and indexing of[F3 the register or the Statutory Charges Register];

(d) the authentication and preservation of documents relating to title and generally for the custody of documents received in the Land Registry and for providing copies of, or extracts from, such documents;

(e) the precautions to be taken, the notices to be given and the evidence to be adduced in all proceedings in connection with registration, and the persons to whom, and the circumstances under which, reference is to be made in respect of the examination of any title to land proposed to be registered;

[F3 (ea) registration of a title by reference to a map other than the registry map pending the making of an entry on the registry map;]

(f) the furnishing of addresses by persons whose names are entered on[F3 the register or the Statutory Charges Register];

(g) the registration of title on the exchange of holdings;

(h) the registration, by way of a note on the[F3 title register], of any easement or right created by a document which appears to affect adversely the land, and so far as practicable by reference to the document creating the same;

(i) consequential matters in relation to the creation and effect of any additional burden prescribed by virtue of entry 16 in Part I of Schedule 6;

(j) the form in which, and conditions under which, entries in[F3 the register or the Statutory Charges Register] are to be made and may be modified or cancelled, the order in which entries relating to the same land are to be made and the correction of clerical errors in[F3 the register or the Statutory Charges Register] or in any document connected with registration;

(k) the form and contents of documents required or authorised to be used or given under or for the purposes of this Act;

F4 [(l) the costs to be charged by, or allowed to, solicitors or other persons in relation to this Act in respect of contentious business (within the meaning of the Solicitors (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 [1976 NI 12] ), the persons by and to whom such costs are to be paid and the taxation of such costs by the taxing master of the [F5 Court of Judicature] or other taxing officer;

(m) the award by the Registrar of costs in respect of any proceedings on a hearing before him, and the measurement of such costs by the Registrar, with the consent of all the parties concerned and having regard to the provisions of any order made by the Non-contentious Costs Committee under Article 64 of the Solicitors (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 [1976 NI 12] , or the taxation of such costs by the taxing master of the [F6 Court of Judicature] or other taxing officer;

(mm) the enforcement through the Enforcement of Judgments Office of awards by the Registrar for the payment of costs;]

(n) requiring security for the costs of any appeal under this Act;

(o) adapting this Act to the registration of ownerships under the Small Dwellings Acquisition Acts (Northern Ireland) 1899 to 1948, and providing for the easy transfer of such ownerships;

(p) prescribing the particulars to be furnished on, and the mode of, registration of any statutory charge.

[F7 (q) the postponing of the registration of a notice under section 67A(1) or a bankruptcy inhibition under section 67A(3) where the name, address and description of the debtor or bankrupt appearing in the notice for the registration of the bankruptcy petition or bankruptcy order are not identical to those stated in the[F3 title register], until the Registrar is satisfied as to the identify of the debtor or bankrupt;

(r) the requiring of the official receiver to notify to the Registrar any mistake occurring in the bankruptcy order or any other fact relevant to any proposed amendment in the[F3 title register]; and the enabling of the Registrar to make any consequential amendment;

(s) the providing for the whole or partial cancellation (subject to notice to the official receiver or trustee in bankruptcy) of a bankruptcy inhibition registered under section 67A(3) in prescribed circumstances.]

[F3 (t) regulating the manner in which documents lodged in the Land Registry are to be preserved or recorded, and the destruction of such documents where they have become superseded by entries in the title register or have ceased to have effect.]

(4) Rules made under subsection (3) shall be subject to negative resolution.

F1 Words in s. 85(2)(a) substituted (1.10.2009) by Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4), ss. 59(5), 148(1), Sch. 11 para. 6; S.I. 2009/1604, art. 2(d)

F2 S. 85(2A) inserted (3.4.2006) by Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4), ss. 15(2), 148(1), Sch. 5 para. 19; S.I. 2006/1014, art. 2(a), Sch. 1

F3 1992 NI 7

F4 1978 NI 4

F5 Words in s. 85(3)(l) substituted (1.10.2009) by Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4), ss. 59(5), 148(1), Sch. 11 para. 6; S.I. 2009/1604, art. 2(d)

F6 Words in s. 85(3)(m) substituted (1.10.2009) by Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4), ss. 59(5), 148(1), Sch. 11 para. 6; S.I. 2009/1604, art. 2(d)

F7 1989 NI 19