The role of the Sasine Drafter

Once a deed has been recorded in the Sasine Register it cannot be amended. It is extremely important, therefore, that any defects in a dual registered deed are identified in order that the agent may be given the chance to amend the deed. If a deed that doesn't comply with the requirements of the Title Conditions Act is recorded in the Sasine Register the effect is that those real burdens have not been validly created.

Similarly, if the deed refers to an area identified on the deed plan, and no such plans reference has been made on the deed plan, amendment of the deed is not possible once the deed has been recorded in Sasines.

The consequences of a recorded deed being defective, for the Land Register application, are extremely serious. If the Land Register presenting agent wishes to amend the deed to create the real burdens, or to amend the deed plan, his only remedy will be to cancel the Land Register application, amend the deed then re-present the deed for dual registration in the Land Register and rerecording in the Sasine Register.

As the Land Register application cannot be legally examined until the Title Plan has been completed, there is an inevitable delay before any failure to create real burdens would be identified by the Legal Settler, so the role of the Sasine Drafter in identifying any defects in the deed at an early stage is vital.

It is also vitally important that the Sasine minute accurately reflects the reason for the dual registration and that it is entered on the correct Search Sheet. Legal settlers have to establish whether the subjects they are registering are affected by real burdens created since the Appointed Day. If a legal settler were to register subjects and omit a deed creating real burdens in error, the result could be that the right to enforce those real burdens is lost forever, and the Keeper could be liable to an indemnity claim. It is extremely important, therefore, that a legal settler is able to accurately identify any post Appointed Day deeds creating real burdens from the Search Sheet.

Procedures to be followed if one of the rules for the creation of real burdens has not been complied with

In order for a deed to create real burdens, all of the rules set out in Rules for the creation of real burdens must be complied with.

All applications for dual registration in the Land Register and Sasine Register should be checked by one of the Land Register Intake RO1 referral officers before the application is sent to Sasine Intake. If the application fails to comply with the requirements of s.4 the application should be rejected before it is sent to Sasine Intake.

However, it is possible that failure to comply with the requirements of s.4 might not be noticed until after the deed has been sent to Sasines, in which case one of the Land Register Intake RO1 referral officers should be contacted. If the referral officer confirms that the deed fails to comply with the rules in s.4 the deed should be withdrawn from the Sasine Register, and the Land Registration application should be cancelled.

Procedure to be followed if a dual registered deed is being withdrawn from the Sasine Register for any other reason

If a dual registered deed is to be withdrawn from the Sasine Register because of a reason unconnected with the Title Conditions Act, one of the Land Register Intake RO1 referral officers should be consulted. If in agreement, they will confirm that the deed should be withdrawn from the Sasine Register, and the Land Registration application should be cancelled.

Re-presentment of a withdrawn dual registered deed

Although rare, it has been known for an agent to re-present a withdrawn deed for Sasine recording without applying for dual registration in the Land Register at the same time. When a dual registered deed that has previously been withdrawn is re-presented for Sasine recording, therefore, it is vitally important to check that the deed has also been re-presented in the Land Register on the same day. If an application for First Registration has not been made on the same day as the date of representment in the Sasine Register refer to a Sasines RO1 referral officer for advice on how to proceed.

Stop at Despatch procedure

Dual Registered deeds should be clearly marked with a blue "Stop at Despatch" card so that Sasine Despatch staff are able to identify them. After recording, dual registered deeds are not returned to the agent, but are sent to the relevant Land Register Support sections for association with the LR application. A second copy of the L14A should also be attached to the deed, to enable LR support staff to associate the deed with the LR application.

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