Checking for Competing Titles Within a Tenement Steading

General

Section 73 of the 2012 Act sets out the terms of the Keeper's warranty, under which she warrants that the title sheet is accurate. If a competition in title is registered, this results in an inaccuracy in one or more title sheets. It is because of this that plans settlers check the cadastral map (and any groupings showing supplementary data, as well as older SPLs on the index layer) to look for competing titles with existing registrations before completing the mapping of an application. If a competition is found, the application will be considered for rejection.

Under both the 2012 and 1979 Acts, it is possible to register flats or units within tenement or other sub-divided buildings where some or all of the rights and pertinents are given verbally in the title sheet rather than being mapped on the cadastral map or as supplementary data. So it is important when plans settling an application within a tenement that a check is also made to make sure there are no competitions with verbal rights and pertinents in previous registrations (PRs) and the current application.

Useful Links

When to Accept Verbal Descriptions for Areas of Exclusive and Common Ownership, and Other Pertinents

When to Map Areas of Exclusive and Common Ownership, and Other Pertinents

How to check for competitions in title in a tenement

Take a note of all rights and pertinents that form part of your application - this can include references shown on a deed plan or verbal references (for example, a verbal description of the flat location (northmost flat on the 3rd floor) or a deed plan showing the extent of exclusive garden ground within the tenement steading).
Search the Index map in the Plan Creator for any plans references that appear to include part of your rights and pertinents - take a note of these title numbers. Alternatively, a similar search can be carried out using the Plan Viewer (PV).
Do a Point Search in the Index map within your tenement and make a list of the titles that fall within your tenement steading, including those that have supplementary data or SPLs affecting your block. If appropriate, any scanned images assigned to a PR should also be checked.
You can view the title descriptions for each title in the right-hand Title Details panel of the Plan Creator or PV to quickly compare the description of each registered flat with your flat description, as well as its rights and pertinents. Read through the property section to check for an apparent competitions (for example, both the PR and your current application verbally include the 2nd coal cellar from the west on the basement level).
If there is an apparent competition in title, either with a verbal reference or a plans reference, refer to your referral officer to consider the current application for rejection.

There is a useful rule of thumb with regard to descriptions of parts of tenements and deciding whether a competition in title exists. Sometimes, from different floor level plans in our title or between titles, it can appear at first glance as if two references compete - for instance, a third floor flat and the common stairwell. However, as well as looking at the extent shown on the plan and taking account of any stated floor levels in the deed, we should also take into account the verbal description itself.

So if something is described as a common stairwell, then that verbal description acts to restrict the extent to only the part of the building occupied by the common stairwell. So even when the reference of the third floor flat appears to extend into or over the reference for the common stairwell, there is no competition. The flat is the part or slice of the tenement building occupied by the flat, and the common stairwell is the part or slice of the tenement occupied by the common stairwell. To avoid confusion, it is often best to show such "overlapping" references in different groupings (see examples 1 and 2, above).

If you are in any doubt about whether apparently overlapping references within a tenement are in competition or not, please speak with your referral officer.