S10.3 Procedure

The deed should be marked for confirmation if spotted at the Intake stage but it may not become apparent until examination by the drafter. For example, only part of the subjects may be a non domino, such as a cellar or piece of garden ground. This will still be treated as a non domino. Sometimes it may be necessary to contact the agent to confirm the a non domino element of the deed. Such transactions require to be scrutinised very closely because the Keeper has a duty to protect the integrity of the Registers and he cannot accept an application that is “frivolous” or “vexatious”, or, indeed, speculative. That is, someone must have some sort of genuine claim over the subjects and cannot just try to record title over a property that has nothing to do with them but they just happen to know is unoccupied or abandoned.

It may be that the property has been held in the same family for generations without title being taken and the exact links are unclear. Or it could be that an owner has used a strip of ground adjacent to their property continuously without it being in their or their neighbour’s title and a current owner cannot be traced. There are genuine grounds for the recording of such a deed, but the Keeper has to be sure that efforts have been made to find the current owner.

The drafter should try to trace a search sheet for the subjects and ascertain if there might be a competing title. If this is found it should be pointed out to the agent. An a non domino file should be completed for the deed and this should be used on the rubric and minuted:

e.g. ?Note – (and see A.N.D. File No. 54)?z.

All correspondence should be copied and kept with a copy of the deed as part of the file. The a non domino application should be presented to the a non domino Officer for entry in the a non domino log, whether the deed is to remain on record or not.

If there is no supporting evidence supplied by the agent then the deed should be returned asking for as much information as possible. The more information that is supplied the likelier it is that it will be accepted for recording but we cannot make guarantees. Ask for a plan if this has not been included. There is no need to refer the a non domino to a Team Leader until such information has been provided. The Team Leader will make the final decision regarding its acceptability in conjunction with Legal Services.

The deed is drafted in the normal way but a note is put on the search sheet – “To found prescription.”

If the deed is unchallenged for ten years and the ‘owner’ can show possession has been “peaceable, open and without judicial interruption” over the subjects, then the title becomes valid and can no longer be challenged. This explains why such deeds are presented for recording.