CHARGES AGAINST LAND

Taranaki Daily News, 12 September 1930, Page 7

CHARGES AGAINST LAND

LAW AFFECTING REGISTRATION. AMENDING BILL IN THljl HOUSE. } (By Wire—Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, Last Night. A Bill to amend the Statutory Lund. Charges Registration Act of 1928 was introduced m the House to-day on the Hon. E. A. Ransom’s motion. An explanatory memorandum attached to the measure states that seC 1tion 5 of the Bill as introduced, in 1928 was an adoption of section 13 of tne Land Charges Act of 1925, an imperial measure which makes it clear tiiat a land charge to which the Act applies can be prejudiced only by a subsequent transaction that is registered before the registration of the charge. In this respect the provisions of the 1928 Bill conformed to the Imperial Act. Section 5 of the Statutory Land Charges’ Registration Act, 1928, was substituted for the original clause 5, and at least one public authority had been advised that the effect or the section referred to is to render charges void against prior as well as against subsequent purchases. This reading reduces the Act to an absurdity. It is considered desirable, however, to remove every possible doubt that can interfere with public undertakings, and the purpose of clause 2 of the present Bill is to affirm the intention of the Act that any land charge can be prejudicially affected only if it remains unregistered until a subsequent transaction is registered in respect of the same land.

Clause 3 of the present Bill reinstates, with slight modifications, clause 9 of the Bill of 1928, which was deleted in the course of the passage of the Bill through Parliament. Its sole purpose is to avoid a possible conflict of law. Certain charges are by statute created first charges, with respect to certain other classes of charges. Courts have held that by their very nature they are first charge's. Clause 3 preserves this priority, notwithstanding that by 'the Land Transfer Act and the Deeds Registration Act instruments registered in respect of the same interest in the land arc entitled to priority according to their respective, dates of registration.