Check for Common Areas & Shared Plots - FR Plans - RA - Tenement

Process Steps

Check for common areas and shared plots

3.1 Read the deed for extent to check for any part of the property being registered that is a common area.

3.1.1 Check the Common Areas questions in Part B of the Application for Registration form to see if the question "Does the deed being registered transfer any area of ground that is owned in common with another person or persons?" has been answered. This question can help you establish if there are any common areas being registered in the application.

3.1.2 If the answer is Yes, check the answer to the next question, "If yes, has the area been included in any registered title(s)?". Again, if the answer is Yes, take a note of any title number given in the response as this information can help with identifying PRs with extents that may be used to help the mapping process.

3.2 If there are no common areas being registered, proceed straight to the next part of the process - Map the Title - FR Plans - RA - Tenement

Common areas and shared plots within the tenement steading

• If there are common areas being registered that fall within the tenement steading, section 16 of the 2012 Act provides that these may be acceptable for registration if they are shown on a deed plan, described with a full bounding description, or described verbally.

3.3 If there are no common areas being registered that fall within the tenement steading, proceed to 3.6

3.4 Common areas within the tenement steading that are shown on a deed plan or described with a full bounding description will be mapped if the deed plan or bounding description provided is acceptable.

• The plans references for common areas within the tenement steading will not be shown on the primary ungrouped layer of the cadastral map. Instead they will be shown in one or more groupings containing supplementary data for the flat or unit.

3.4.1 If the deed plan or bounding description is unacceptable, refer to a referral officer for possible rejection.

3.4.2 Check if the 25 metre rule applies to any of the common areas.

• • If the rule does not apply, proceed to 3.4.3.
  • If the rule does apply, refer to a referral officer for guidance.

3.4.3 Check any PRs you have already identified at steps 2.12 and 3.1.2, and take a note of any that contain plotting that may be used to help the mapping process.

3.5 Common areas within the tenement steading that are described verbally can be included verbally if the verbal description is acceptable.

3.5.1 If the verbal descriptions of the common areas are unacceptable:

• • if the description is in the DIR, refer to the referral officer to consider for rejection;
    
  • if the description is in a previously recorded deed, it will be treated as pro non scripto (in other words, it will be omitted from the title sheet). Take a note of this as you will need to advise the legal settler of this decision in the notes on the LRS.

3.5.2 If the verbal descriptions of the common areas are acceptable, take a note of this as you will need to advise the legal settler of this in the notes on the LRS.

Common areas and shared plots outwith the tenement steading

• If there are common areas being registered that fall outwith the tenement steading, these are not covered by the provisions of section 16 of the 2012 Act. Therefore, they must be defined on an acceptable deed plan or in an acceptable full bounding description before they can be included in the title sheet.
• As section 16 does not apply, consideration must be given to whether the common area should be mapped as a pertinent of the primary plot (the flat or unit), whether a shared plot title sheet should be set up under section 17, or whether the procedures known as the transitional provisions should be followed.

3.6 If there are no common areas being registered that fall outwith the tenement steading, proceed straight to the next part of the process - Map the Title - FR Plans - RA - Tenement

3.7 If there are common areas being registered that fall outwith the tenement steading, check if the deed plan or bounding description is acceptable.

3.7.1 If the deed plan or bounding description is unacceptable, refer to a referral officer for possible rejection.

3.7.2 If the deed plan or bounding description is acceptable, proceed to step 3.8.

3.8 Does the deed for extent fully define all common areas that lie outside the tenement steading?

• This check is particularly aimed at common areas in a development of more than one block of flats, or a development with one block of flats and several houses, all of which share common amenity ground, etc.
• This check is not required for common areas that fall within the tenement steading.

3.8.1 If the deed for extent fully defines all the areas of common ownership that lie outside the tenement steading, proceed to step 3.9.

3.8.2 If the deed for extent does not fully define one or all of the common areas that lie outside the tenement steading, use the Common Areas - include, omit or reject flow chart to work out the action to take for each such area of common ownership.

3.8.3 If the result of the flow chart is that the application should be rejected, refer to a referral officer to consider for rejection.

3.8.4 If the result of the flow chart is that a right to a common area should be omitted from the title sheet,

• Take a note of the right and the deed it is contained in as you will need to inform the legal settler of its omission by way of a title note on the LRS at a later stage in the process.
• Proceed to step 3.8.5.

3.8.5 If the result of the flow chart is that a right to a common area should be included in the title sheet, proceed to step 3.9.

3.9 If there are common areas being registered,

• SO1 and RO2 Plans Officers should proceed to 3.10,
• Referral Officers should proceed to 3.11.

Plans Officers

3.10 Consider the common areas outwith the tenement steading and decide if they should be mapped as pertinents of the primary plot. See Mapping Common Areas and Shared Plots for guidance.

3.10.1 If the common areas are pertinents, then the mapping process in Map the Title - FR Plans - RA - Tenement - external common areas, transitional provisions should be followed. Proceed straight to that process.

3.10.2 If the common areas are not pertinents, then use the FR shared plot flow chart & the Further Guidance on Mapping Common Areas & Shared Plots to establish which mapping process should be followed.

3.10.3 If the flowchart directs you to map the common areas outwith the tenement steading under the transitional provisions, proceed straight to the next part of the process - Map the Title - FR Plans - RA - Tenement - external common areas, transitional provisions.

3.10.4 If the flow chart directs you to to have FS or AS applications created, follow the instructions in FR - When to Create or Add to a Shared Plot Title Sheet.

3.10.5 Then take on the new application(s) at Plans Settle and proceed to the next part of the process - Map the Title - FR Plans - RA - Tenement - Sharing Plots.

3.10.6 If you are unsure, or there appears to be an issue with a common area, refer to your referral officer for guidance. You may wish to use the FR Common Areas Referral Form, a pulse note on the CMS, or other locally agreed method for referring applications.

3.10.6.1 Once the referral officer has responded, follow their instructions and proceed as set out in the relevant steps, above. 

Referral officers

3.11  Upon receipt of a referred application, check that the referral contains sufficient information for you to make a decision.

• If the referral is not complete, return it to the plans settler & request they add the missing information.
• If the referral has been made for common areas that fall within the tenement steading, return the application to the plans settler and direct them to follow the steps at 3.3 - 3.5, above.

3.12 If the case has been referred on the LRS, take on the application at Plans Settle on the LRS.

3.13 Using the information provided in the referral, supported by an Index Map search if necessary, use the FR tenement shared plot flow chart & the Further Guidance on Mapping common areas & shared plots to decide which process should be followed.

3.14 Once the decisions have been made on the appropriate style of mapping for the common areas outwith the tenement steading, respond to the referral.

For example:

• how many new shared plot title sheets should be set up (FS applications), and which common areas are to be included in each,
• which existing shared plot title sheets should be added to (AS applications), and which common areas are to be added to each, or
• shared plot title sheets are not appropriate in this application, so instruct that the common areas are mapped either under the transitional provisions or as a pertinent of the primary plot.

3.15 Where appropriate, release the application back to the plans settler on the LRS.