Deed Plan Must Be Acceptable

Essential criteria for new deed plans

If all of the five criteria listed below are met, the new deed plan is acceptable.

View the full guide published by the Keeper for conveyancers and other legal professionals on Deed Plan Criteria

 Examples of acceptable and unacceptable plans

Figure 1 - unacceptable deed plan	Figure 2 - extract from OS map	Figure 3 - acceptable deed plan
This deed plan meets some but not all of the criteria for accurately identifying a property on the cadastral map, and therefore cannot be accepted for registration. Although it is at an appropriate scale, is drawn to scale, has a north arrow, and contains a single metric measurements, it does not contain sufficient surrounding detail to identify it accurately on the cadastral map. This particular style of deed plan is often known as a floating shape plan.	The subjects shown on the plan in Figure 1 could be any of the three properties coloured on this extract from the OS map. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aliquam dictum ex hendrerit suscipit sollicitudin. Pellentesque efficitur id lorem id eleifend. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aliquam dictum ex hendrerit suscipit sollicitudin. Pellentesque efficitur id lorem id eleifend.	This deed plan meets the criteria for accurately identifying a property on the cadastral map and can therefore be accepted for registration. It is at an appropriate scale, is drawn to scale, has a north arrow, contains metric measurements, and contains sufficient surrounding detail to identify it accurately as the property coloured pink on Figure 2.

Essential criteria for previously recorded or registered deed plans

If all of the five criteria listed below are met, the previously recorded or registered deed plan is acceptable.

 Examples of acceptable & unacceptable plans

Figure 1 - unacceptable deed plan	Figure 2 - extract from OS map	Figure 3 - acceptable deed plan
This deed plan meets some but not all of the criteria for accurately identifying a property on the cadastral map, and therefore cannot be accepted for registration. Although it is at an appropriate scale, is drawn to scale, has a north arrow, and contains a single metric measurements, it does not contain sufficient surrounding detail to identify it accurately on the cadastral map.  This particular style of deed plan is often know as a "Floating Shape" plan.	The subjects shown on the plan in Figure 1 could be any of the three properties coloured on this extract from the OS map. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aliquam dictum ex hendrerit suscipit sollicitudin. Pellentesque efficitur id lorem id eleifend. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aliquam dictum ex hendrerit suscipit sollicitudin. Pellentesque efficitur id lorem id eleifend.	This deed plan meets the criteria for accurately identifying a property on the cadastral map and can therefore be accepted for registration. It is at an appropriate scale, is drawn to scale, has a north arrow, contains metric measurements, and contains sufficient surrounding detail to identify it accurately as the property coloured pink on Figure 2.

If the property to be registered is a flat or unit within a tenement, flatted or other sub-divided building, the Keeper will represent that tenement and all registered flats within it as a single cadastral unit on the cadastral map. Where possible, the tenement steading cadastral unit will comprise the extent of all flats, their rights and pertinents. If this is not possible, provided certain requirements are met, a restricted extent can be set up comprising the extent of all registered flats, their rights and pertinents; if a restricted extent is used, it may be updated by the keeper to include any additional areas of ground registered as part of future applications to register further flats in the same tenement.

Often, the Keeper will already hold an acceptable extent for the tenement steading. However, there will also be instances when the Keeper does not already hold an acceptable extent for the tenement steading. In such instances, either (1) a plan or suitable description of the extent of the full tenement steading cadastral unit, or (2) a plan or suitable description of the tenement building itself, and of all the rights and pertinents of the flat that are located outwith the building must be supplied in the application otherwise the application will be rejected -  See Further Guidance on acceptable deed plans, bounding descriptions and identifying the tenement steading extent;

The tenement steading provided in the application can be:

• shown on a new deed plan attached to the DIR;
• by inclusion in the application as a separate plan; this plan may be referred to in the application form although it is not essential for the application form to include the reference;
• shown on a previously recorded or registered deed plan; or
• a verbal or bounding description contained in a previously recorded or registered deed.

A style of property description occasionally seen is for the plot of land to be described by reference to a deed plan and then to be supplemented by a verbal description of the foreshore ex adverso the defined plot of land. By using the term ex adverso, the description is limiting the lateral boundaries to those at the extremes of the landward boundaries; and by using the term foreshore, the description is limiting the landward and seaward boundaries to the high and low water marks, respectively. This is an acceptable style provided:

• it is clear from the verbal description which boundary is being referred to;
• the plot shown on the deed plan extends to the high water mark; and
• it is the whole foreshore (from the high to the low water) that is included in the description, not just an undefined part of it.

The extent of the foreshore described in the deed should be included within the mapping of the cadastral unit: a separate reference for the foreshore will only be required if legal advise that a reference is required for burdens, etc. When plotting the foreshore, the seaward boundary is the mean low water mark of ordinary spring tides (the line of which is marked "MLWS" on the OS map). The lateral boundary of the section of foreshore is a line drawn seawards from the end of the land boundary, perpendicular to a straight line drawn parallel to the average direction of the coast. See Mapping Natural Water Boundaries for more guidance on water boundaries in general.

If the property to be registered is all or part of an older farm or a country estate, the deed for extent may describe the property by reference to a plan and to parcel or field numbers. The parcel or field numbers correspond to numbers shown on a particular edition of a County Series or Ordnance Survey map, and must be checked against that edition as the numbers sometimes changed over time when, for example, fields were divided or merged. In such deeds, a copy or extract of the relevant map version normally forms the basis of the deed plan. If a copy of the deed with no plan attached is submitted (for example, a copy of a deed recorded prior to 1934 when recorded deeds began to be photocopied for the archive rather than copied by hand), the parcel or field numbers on their own are not sufficient to establish the extent of the property.