ABSTRACT
On 1 December 1990, all land in England and Wales became subject to compulsory first registration of title. In effect, this means that on the first conveyance of a title to an estate in unregistered land (or one of several other dealings with it: s 4 of the Land Registration Act (LRA) 2002), the title must be registered and thereafter, ceases to be governed by unregistered land rules. It is most unlikely, therefore, that a question in an examination will turn on the conveyance of an unregistered title unless it is made clear that the relevant transactions are all completed before 1990 or that the transaction triggers compulsory first registration of title under the 2002 Act. That does not mean, however, that the rules concerning unregistered land are no longer important. There are many situations where questions concerning the enforceability of interests in unregistered land are relevant, especially as a vehicle for assessing a student’s understanding of other areas of law.
