Unpacking Schedule 4 of the Land Registration Act 2002: To what extent does the statute promote a narrow interpretation of 'mistake'?

Abstract

The Law Commission enthusiastically predicted that the Land Registration Act 2002 would orchestrate a ‘conveyancing revolution’. It was hoped that the register could provide prospective purchasers with a largely comprehensive insight into the state of various land titles – much like a mirror (albeit one which is subject to a limited number of cracks). This in turn could reduce the extent to which purchasers need to peak behind the curtain in order to ascertain title encumbrances, accelerating the conveyancing process. Reducing uncertainty for buyers is therefore a key aim of the Act. Linked to this, the Act ensures that a newly registered proprietor is the guaranteed owner of an estate, notwithstanding any defects in the underlying transaction. However, the statutory vesting of title does not give rise to indefeasibility; proprietors’ titles are vulnerable to rectification. This is available in the event of a mistake, the correction of which would prejudicially affect the proprietor. The meaning of mistake is not entirely clear as Parliament did not choose to adopt a statutory definition.

This thesis investigates how mistake ought to be construed for the purposes of the Act. In particular, it explores whether the statute promotes the narrow interpretation of mistake which has emerged in two recent Court of Appeal judgments. To do so, it will examine whether the scope of rectification has been limited by key statutory provisions, not least those pertaining to title security and priority disputes. Ultimately, it will be argued that the statute establishes a non-absolute title guarantee which is perfectly reconcilable with a broad corrective power. Moreover, a range of erroneous omissions and deletions from the register can be construed as mistakes. Consequently, the thesis contends that the approach taken by recent case law is unnecessarily restrictive (not least in relation to voidable dispositions of property).