How does the land registration system work in Northern Ireland?
Back to FAQ ContentsSince land registration has not yet been extended to all of Northern Ireland, two distinct registration systems continue to operate side by side.
The title to approximately 50% of properties in the province is registered in the Land Registry and the remaining properties are dealt with by the Registry of Deeds. Properties registered in the Land Registry are mainly rural areas or recent development estates on the periphery of towns, while most Registry of Deeds properties are in established urban areas. The latter are sometimes referred as unregistered land.
The third register administered by the Land Registry of Northern Ireland is the Statutory Charges Registry. It is a map based registry which shows registration of charges on land created by or in favour of government departments and public and local authorities under statutory provisions. These include a wide range of matters such as planning restrictions, notices relating to water and sewage, notices relating to roads turbary regulations, ancient monument preservation orders and statutory conditions arising from home improvements grants.
