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We answer your financial queries Patricia Watson Consultant at Clarendon Planning & Development Email: pwatson@clarendonpd.co.uk www.clarendonpr.co.uk Q: Given that the provisions of the Land Registration etc (Scotland) Act 2012 came into force in December, will this affect me as a landowner? A: Land Registration will affect all landowners in Scotland, irrespective of how much or how little land they own as the government is looking to complete a map-based register of all land ownership by 2024. This will replace the Sasine Register of individual title deeds, the world’s oldest land register. Registers of Scotland (RoS) states that only about 27 per cent of titles are currently held on the modern map-based system so your interests may well still be deed-based. Whilst there is a cost for recording dues (currently from £60 to £7,500) and professional fees, modernisation of the system is not something to necessarily approach with trepidation as it brings benefits and, in particular, certainty as to what you own being delineated on plan with a state-backed warranty (that is if you proactively embrace the opportunity). By contrast, Sasine titles can be ambiguous and the process of registering land can even identify ground that you didn’t know you owned or avoid two titles overlapping.

Alternatively, ‘Keeper-Induced Registration’ is on the horizon, a new power enabled by the 2012 Act to be tested later this year. This allows the Keeper of RoS to transfer titles on to the new system in pursuance of the 2024 target without an application from the landowner. Whilst cost free, dependant upon the complexity of your title, and third-party interpretation, the end result may not accurately reflect your ownership or attract RoS warranty. It is worth noting that the government has guaranteed a 25 per cent discount in application fees noted above until 2017 for ‘voluntary’ registration, however, prescriptive ‘deed plan criteria’ must be followed to accompany an application. As experienced Land Agents, Clarendon can guide landowners through the registration process and associated options.