Land Registry (Fees) Order (Northern Ireland) 1996

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order.)

This Order prescribes the fees to be taken in the Land Registry for the purposes of the Land Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1970 and the manner in which those fees are to be paid.

The Order revokes and replaces the Land Registry (Fees) Order (Northern Ireland) 1988. In addition to minor and drafting amendments, it makes the following changes of substance—

(a) the general provision limiting the fee payable in respect of an application or dealing which is refused, withdrawn or abandoned has been extended to include the refusal, withdrawal or abandonment of an application to register a charge created by an order made under Article 46 of the Judgments Enforcement (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (Article 8);

(b) fees have been imposed on an application for the registration under paragraph 4 of Part IV of Schedule 2 to the Land Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1970 of notice of an order charging land made under Article 46 of the Judgments Enforcement (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 and in respect of an application for the cancellation of such registration (paragraphs 2 and 7(i) of Schedule 1);

(c) the abatement of the fee payable for the registration of a charge lodged at the same time as a transfer or lease of the same land has been extended and now applies to the registration of any charge and to the registration of a notice under Article 48 of the Judgments Enforcement (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (paragraph 2 of Schedule 1);

(d) fixed fees are now payable on applications for the first registration under Part II of the Land Registration Rules (Northern Ireland) 1994 where formerly they were calculated by reference to a scale; where such an application is made by a solicitor in Form 1 prescribed by the Land Registration Rules (Northern Ireland) 1994 the fee payable will be £50 and where the application is not in that form the fee payable will be £150 (paragraph 5 of Schedule 1);

(e) a fee of £25 has been prescribed in respect of an application to register the official receiver or a trustee in bankruptcy as owner of land and provision has been made that no fee will be payable for the renewal or cancellation of an entry in the title register of notice of the presenting of a bankruptcy petition, or for the rectification of the title register effected at the request of the official receiver (paragraph 7(1) of Schedule 1 and Article 9 and paragraphs 18 and 19 of Schedule 2);

(f) the fee of £15 formerly payable in respect of an official search as to entries in a specified folio (including an official certificate of the result of such search) has been reduced to £10 (paragraph 9(i) of Schedule 1);

(g) the fee of £10 formerly payable in respect of an official priority search (including an official certificate of the result of such search) has been increased to £15 (paragraph 9(k) of Schedule 1).

(h) provision has been made that no fee will be payable for registration of a charge created by an order made under Article 46 of the Judgments Enforcement (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 when notice of that order has been entered on the title register under paragraph 4 of Part IV of Schedule 2 to the Land Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1970 or for cancellation of such a notice or a notice under Article 48 of the Judgments Enforcement (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 upon registration of the charge (Article 9 and paragraph 6 of Schedule 2); and

(i) provision has been made that no fee will be payable for the registration of a notice of the deposit of a certificate of title to secure the payment of money where the notice has been lodged in the Land Registry consequent on an order made by the Registrar for the production of the certificate of title (Article 9 and paragraph 15 of Schedule 2).