The Land Registry has prescribed a form of lease that was to be used in all cases where the lease can be registered. This was done to ensure that leases can be easily registered, and also to facilitate electronic conveyancing that was very recently introduced. However, after careful consideration it was decided against the use of such a common form. Instead, the Land Registration (Amendment) (No.2) Rules 2005 (SI 2005/1982) provides that certain leases should contain prescribed clauses.
These prescribed clauses have to be compulsorily used for leases made after 19th June 2006. They are granted out of registered land and are compulsorily registrable.
A lease cannot be a prescribed clause if it arises out of a variation of lease that is deemed surrender and re-grant, or if it is expressly required by any of the following;
a) An agreement entered before 19th June 2006
b) A court order
c) An enactment, and
d) A necessary consent or licence for the grant of lease made before 19th June 2006.
When the applicant claims that the lease is not a prescribed clause lease because of the existence of the above exception, he is required to provide a conveyancer’s certificate or any other suitable evidence along with his application.
The wordings required in the prescribed clauses lease should appear in the beginning of the lease or immediately after the front cover sheet of the content page.
A new amendment introduced in 2003 provides that the required wordings should also give instructions as how the prescribed clauses are to be completed. These clauses can sought in detail from www.landreg.gov.uk
Photo courtesy: Martin Pettitt
