A Briefing Note on the Registration of easements and profits acquired by prescription (Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011.
The above Act has now been enacted and published.
It includes amendments to the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 and the Registration of Title Act 1964.
Part 8 (Chapter 1) of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 updated the law concerning the acquisition of easements and profits à prendre.
The Law Society made a submission to the Department of Justice in which it expressed concern that in cases in which there was no conflict regarding the existence of an easement, the requirement to obtain a court order would lead to an unnecessary expense for land owners and an increased workload for the courts.
The main purpose of the amendments to the 2009 Act and the Registration of Title Act 1964 in this Bill is to permit the Property Registration Authority to register easements without a court order where there is no disagreement between the parties concerning entitlement to an easement or profit.
Section 41 of this Bill inserts a new section 49A in the Registration of Title Act 1964 which will permit the Property Registration Authority to operate a registration scheme for uncontested easements and profits (the Authority already operates a broadly-similar scheme under the 1964 Act in respect of titles based on adverse possession).
The proposed amendment to section 38(b) substitutes 12 years for 3 years. This will give a dominant owner credit for each year of user period which has already passed. It means that if 15 years’ user period has accrued by 1 December 2009, the easement may be claimed after 5 further years, i.e. 1 December 2014.
The proposed amendments to the 1964 Act will allow a dominant owner who claims to be entitled to an easement or profit à prendre on the basis that the relevant requirements set out in sections 33 to 38 of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 have been met to apply to the Property Registration Authority to register an easement or profit on the Land Registry folio and permit the Authority to do so where the claim has been substantiated to its satisfaction.
A meeting of the Registry of Deeds and Title Rules Committee will be convened shortly to make the necessary rules to facilitate parties who wish to make application to the Property Registration Authority.
The bill may be accessed on the Oireachtas website: http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?fn=/documents/bills28/acts/2011/a2311.pdf
Frank Treacy
Deputy Registrar
3rd August 2011
Updated 11 August 2011