Housing Act 1985

154 Registration of title.

(1) Where the landlord’s title to the dwelling-house is not registered, section 123 of the [1925 c. 21.] Land Registration Act 1925 (compulsory registration of title) applies in relation to—

(a) the conveyance of the freehold or the grant of a lease in pursuance of this Part, or

(b) the conveyance of the freehold in pursuance of such a right as is mentioned in paragraph 2(1) or 8(1) of Schedule 8 (terms of shared ownership lease; right to freehold on acquiring 100 per cent. interest),

whether or not the dwelling-house is in an area in which an Order in Council under section 120 of that Act is for the time being in force (areas of compulsory registration) and, in the case of a lease, whether or not the lease is granted for a term of not less than 40 years.

(2) Where the landlord’s title to the dwelling-house is not registered, the landlord shall give the tenant a certificate stating that the landlord is entitled to convey the freehold or make the grant subject only to such incumbrances, rights and interests as are stated in the conveyance or grant or summarised in the certificate.

(3) Where the landlord’s interest in the dwelling-house is a lease, the certificate under subsection (2) shall also state particulars of that lease and, with respect to each superior title—

(a) where it is registered, the title number;

(b) where it is not registered, whether it was investigated in the usual way on the grant of the landlord’s lease.

(4) A certificate under subsection (2) shall be—

(a) in a form approved by the Chief Land Registrar, and

(b) signed by such officer of the landlord or such other person as may be approved by the Chief Land Registrar.

(5) The Chief Land Registrar shall, for the purpose of the registration of title, accept such a certificate as sufficient evidence of the facts stated in it; but if as a result he has to meet a claim against him under the Land Registration Acts 1925 to 1971 the landlord is liable to indemnify him.

(6) Sections 8 and 22 of the Land Registration Act 1925 (application for registration of leasehold land and registration of dispositions of leasehold) apply in relation to a lease granted in pursuance of this part notwithstanding that it is a lease for a term of which not more then 21 years are unexpired or, as the case may be, a lease granted for a term not exceeding 21 years.