Updating Existing 1979 Act Title Sheets - Instructions for Plans and Legal Settlers

No check should be made of an existing 1979 Act title sheet to see if it included verbalised rights to common areas in a development – in other words, the current un-mappable common areas policy will not be applied retrospectively to existing title sheets that we are updating. Such verbal references to common areas will remain in the title sheet until such times as the keeper instigates a program of back conversion.

Please note, however, that if the title sheet being updated is a parent title, and rights to those common areas are being transferred to a 2012 Act TP application, the un-mappable common areas policy will apply to the TP.

Many developments of houses or units were set up under the 1979 Act so that the house or unit was given a plans reference on the Title Plan but the development (often defined in a deed of conditions) was edged red. A typical 1979 Act Property Section description would read:

"Subjects within the land edged red on the Title Plan being 15 CARSON MEWS, DALKEITH EH22 2XX tinted pink on the said Plan".

When converting this into a 2012 Act-style description that refers to a cadastral unit, it will be necessary to amend the property section and the colour references on the cadastral map. In the example used here, the red edge should be amended to a brown edge (if that reference is available), and the plans settler should consider whether to retain the pink tint for the house plot or to change it to a red edge. The updated property section would then read:

"Subjects cadastral unit MIDxxx 15 CARSON MEWS, DALKEITH EH22 2XX edged red on the cadastral map".

The extent of the development or deed of conditions, now edged brown on the cadastral map, will only be referred to in the updated title sheet at those points where the legal settler needs to refer to that extent. See Further Guidance on Mapping & Updating Deeds of Conditions for more details of this style of mapping.

• If an existing 1979 Act title sheet uses a plotted SPL, then when an application over such a title is opened in the Plan Creator, the plans references from each SPL will automatically be added in a separate grouping. Consideration should be given to whether to incorporate that plotted detail into the primary ungrouped layer of the cadastral map, or whether to retain it on an additional grouped layer. Please follow the guidance in Supplementary Data, SPLs and Scanned Plans in the Plan Creator.
• If the detail in the SPL is being moved to the primary ungrouped layer of the cadastral map, or a change is made to the numbering of the supplementary data, the plans officer must also provide the legal settler with details of the changes made so that the title sheet can be updated accordingly (e.g. a title note should be added to the LRS advising that "the areas formerly tinted yellow on SPL MIDxxx-1 have now been tinted yellow on the cadastral map. The SPL is no longer assigned to this title.")

• If an existing 1979 Act title sheet uses a scanned supplementary plan, the action(s) to be taken will depend on the content of the scanned image and the complexity of the titles involved. Please follow the guidance in Assigning Scanned Supplementary Plans in the Plan Creator.
• If the detail is now to be plotted and the scanned plan removed, the plans officer must also provide the legal settler with details of the changes made so that the title sheet can be updated accordingly (e.g. a title note should be added to the LRS advising that "the areas formerly coloured yellow on scanned supp plan -1 have now been tinted yellow on additional cadastral map view 1. The scanned plan is no longer assigned to this title."
• Please note that if the title sheet being updated is a parent title, and ownership rights are shown on a scanned supplementary plan that is being retained in the parent title, if any of those ownership rights are being transferred to a 2012 Act TP application, these ownership references must be transferred to the cadastral map for the TP application. 

• If the existing 1979 Act title sheet describes a flatted subjects as being "within the land edged red on the Title Plan", a check should first be made to see if a tenement steading cadastral unit has already been set up for that tenement block. If one does exist, the title sheet can be updated to refer to it in the property section description - "Subjects part of cadastral unit MIDxxx edged red on the cadastral map being....". 
  
  
• If no tenement steading cadastral unit yet exists, a check should be made to see if the site plan extent edged red on the Title Plan meets the Keeper's requirements for a tenement steading cadastral unit. If it does, the tenement steading cadastral unit can be set up through the title that is being updated. The title sheet can be updated to refer to it in the property section description - "Subjects part of cadastral unit MIDxxx edged red on the cadastral map being....". 
  
  
• If the site plan extent edged red is not suitable to be converted into a tenement steading cadastral unit, the guidance in Identifying the Tenement Steading Extent should be followed to set up a tenement steading cadastral unit through the title that is being updated. The title sheet can be updated to refer to it in the property section description - "Subjects part of cadastral unit MIDxxx edged red on the cadastral map being....".
  
  
• If there are plans references shown on the Title Plan that pertain to the flat, then these should not be shown on the primary ungrouped layer of the cadastral map - instead, they should be moved into a grouping containing supplementary data. The plans officer must also provide the legal settler with details of the changes made so that the title sheet can be updated accordingly (e.g. a title note should be added to the LRS advising that "the flat formerly tinted blue on the Title Plan has now been tinted blue on supplementary data 1."

• If the existing 1979 Act title sheet describes a flatted subjects as being "within the land edged red on the Title Plan", a check should first be made to see if a tenement steading cadastral unit has already been set up for the individual tenement block in which the flat lies. If one does exist, the title sheet can be updated to refer to it in the property section description - "Subjects part of cadastral unit MIDxxx edged red on the cadastral map being....". 

• If no tenement steading cadastral unit yet exists, the current site plan extent is unlikely to be suitable for conversion as it includes more than one block or a whole development. The guidance in Identifying the Tenement Steading Extent should be followed to set up a tenement steading cadastral unit through the title that is being updated. The title sheet can be updated to refer to it in the property section description - "Subjects part of cadastral unit MIDxxx edged red on the cadastral map being....". 
  
  
• If there are plans references shown on the Title Plan that pertain to the flat, then these should not be shown on the primary ungrouped layer of the cadastral map - instead, they should be moved into a grouping containing supplementary data. The plans officer must also provide the legal settler with details of the changes made so that the title sheet can be updated accordingly (e.g. a title note should be added to the LRS advising that "the flat formerly tinted blue on the Title Plan has now been tinted blue on supplementary data 1."

• There may still be a requirement to show the former site plan extent on the cadastral map but with an updated plans reference, particularly if this extent is co-extensive with the deed of conditions. For example, the deed of conditions extent (the former site plan extent) could be updated to a brown edge on the cadastral map, and will only be referred to in the updated title sheet at those points where the legal settler needs to refer to that extent.  See Further Guidance on Mapping & Updating Deeds of Conditions for more details of this style of mapping.
  
  
• Remember that the un-mappable common areas policy should not be retrospectively applied to 1979 Act titles being updated (see section, above).

• If the existing 1979 Act title sheet describes a flatted subjects by references to tints but without referring to a site plan extent, a check should first be made to see if a tenement steading cadastral unit has already been set up for the individual tenement block in which the flat lies. If one does exist, the title sheet can be updated to refer to it in the property section description - "Subjects part of cadastral unit MIDxxx edged red on the cadastral map being....".
  
  
• If no tenement steading cadastral unit yet exists, the guidance in Identifying the Tenement Steading Extent should be followed to set up a tenement steading cadastral unit through the title that is being updated. The title sheet can be updated to refer to it in the property section description - "Subjects part of cadastral unit MIDxxx edged red on the cadastral map being....". 
  
  
• The plans references shown on the original Title Plan that pertain to the flat should not be shown on the cadastral map - instead, they should be moved onto supplementary data.
  
  
• If the flat forms part of a development, there may still be a requirement to show the extent of the development/deed of conditions on the cadastral map but with an plans reference other than a red edge. For example, the deed of conditions extent could be shown with a brown edge on the cadastral map, and will only be referred to in the updated title sheet at those points where the legal settler needs to refer to that extent.  See Further Guidance on Mapping & Updating Deeds of Conditions for more details of this style of mapping.
  
  
• Remember that the un-mappable common areas policy should not be retrospectively applied to 1979 Act titles being updated (see section, above).

The style for Lease (& Sub-lease) title sheets being created under the 2012 Act is different from the style formerly created under the 1979 Act - see the Further Guidance section Mapping Leases for more detail. Until such times as a conversion project is run, the new style will not be retrospectively applied to existing Lease title sheets when a new Sub-lease is being registered. Only a few basic steps are currently required to update the cadastral map and the title sheet for 2012 Act-compliance (see table, below) and to make them compatible with the Plan Creator (see Further Guidance page on Updating DMS titles to Plan Creator compliance ). In addition, the Sub-lease must be added to a Schedule of Sub-Leases in the existing Lease title sheet.

The parent title will be updated to the 2012 Act style (see entry in table, below, for Updating 1979 Act parent title when 2012 Act TPs are removed). However, if the parent title was originally set up under the 1979 Act practices to include the lease at length in the burdens section of the parent title sheet, or to show plans references for conditions in the lease (for example, rights of access in favour of the tenant), this style should not be altered when the parent title is updated - in other words, the current leases policies will not be applied retrospectively to existing title sheets that we are updating.

However, the new title sheet and cadastral unit for the TP subjects which are subject to the existing lease will be set up fully in the 2012 Act style - see Further Guidance section Mapping Leases for full details. The lease will be referred to in a Schedule of Leases, and the only plans reference shown will be for the extent of the leased subjects (if less than the extent of the cadastral unit). Any other rights described in the lease will be covered by the Tenants' Rights note that will be included in the burdens section.

Under the 2012 Act, section 73(2)(i), the Keeper does not warrant that a boundary has not been affected by alluvio. Therefore, any existing 1979 Act notes that exclude indemnity in relation to a natural water boundary should be updated in 1979 Act titles when they are being updated. The 1979 Act notes are normally in the form:

"Note: The boundary between the points arrowed and lettered A and B in blue on the Title Plan is the medium filum of the Bow Burn. Indemnity is excluded in terms of Section 12(2) of the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979 in respect of any loss arising as a result of the said boundary being declared or found to follow a different line from that shown on the Title Plan at any time."

For new 2012 Act titles, there is no requirement to provide a separate plans reference for a natural water boundary on the cadastral map, nor is there normally a requirement to add a note relating to the natural water boundary to the property section of the title sheet (see Further Guidance page How to Map Natural Water Boundaries for full details). For 1979 Act titles being updated, however, the descriptive part of the original note should be retained and amended whilst the part relating to indemnity should be deleted. The form of note on an updated 1979 Act title will therefore normally be in the form:

"Note: The boundary between the points labelled A and B in blue on the cadastral map is the medium filum of the Bow Burn."

For new cadastral units mapped under the 2012 Act, it is longer appropriate to use enlargements as the cadastral map is a seamless map layer. The Plan Creator has been developed in line with this decision and there is no functionality to create an enlargement or enlarged plan within it.

However, there are many existing titles that were previously mapped in the DMS or OPS Tool that contain enlargements or enlarged plans. The Further Guidance page Enlargements and Enlarged Plans in Previously Mapped Titles sets out how these should be handled if you have to update such a title due to a later application, map update, etc.

When you are dealing with the registration of a lease or a sub-lease, it is often the case that you will also need to interact with another existing title or pending application, such as the title for the ownership of the property being leased /sub-leased, or a title sheet for a head lease when you are registering a sub-lease. See the Mapping leases section for current mapping practices for registering leases.