You are on page 1of 2

Torrens Title System

A system for recording land titles under which a court may direct the issuance of a certificate of
title upon application by the landowner.
The Torrens title system is a method of registering titles to real estate. Real estate that is
recorded using this method is also called registeredproperty or Torrens property. The system is
used in the British Commonwealth countries, including Canada, and in Europe but has not
beenwidely adopted in the United States. The first U.S. Torrens system was enacted by Illinois
in !"#.
The system is named after Sir Robert R. Torrens, who introduced it in South $ustralia in !%!
and later lobbied for its adoption in other parts ofthe country. &e wrote se'eral boo(s on the
sub)ect, arguing that his system simplified the transfer of real property and eliminated the need
forrepeated e*aminations of land titles.
Under the traditional system of transferring, or con'eying, land, the history of the property in
+uestion must be e*amined to ensure that theseller can con'ey good title to the purchaser.
,hen property is sold, a deed is filed and recorded with the county land office- the deed
containsthe names of the seller and the buyer- the ownership relationship of the sellers and
buyers, if more than one seller or one buyer is in'ol'ed .fore*ample, )oint tenants or tenants in
common/- and the legal description of the property being transferred. This information is
abstracted fromeach deed and recorded in a document called an $bstract of Title. $n attorney
or a real estate title e*aminer inspects each entry to determinethat good title has been passed
with each transaction. If any problems e*ist with the title, they must be remedied before the
purchaser mayobtain good title.
$ Torrens system does away with this process. $ court or bureau of registration operates the
system, with an e*aminer of titles and a registraras the (ey officers. The owner of a piece of
land files a petition with the registrar to ha'e the land registered. The e*aminer of titles re'iews
the0egal &istory of the land to determine if good title e*ists. If good title does e*ist, the registrar
issues a certificate of title to the owner. Thiscertificate is ordinarily conclusi'e as to the person1s
rights in the property and cannot be challenged or o'ercome by a court of law. If a mista(eis
made by the e*aminer of titles, an insurance fund pays the person who holds a claim against
the land. The fees charged to e*amine andregister property pay for the insurance fund and the
operation of the registration office.
,hen the owner sells the property, the certificate alone is e'idence of good title, eliminating the
need for a new e*amination of title. Thepurchaser presents the deed and the certificate of title to
the registrar, who records the purchaser1s name on the title.
The one drawbac( to a Torrens system is the initial cost of registering the property. The system
is most effecti'e when unimpro'ed land issubdi'ided for the first time because it reduces the
number of deed entries an e*aminer must re'iew.
B$C23R4U56 47 T&E T4RRE5S S8STE9 47 RE3ISTR$TI45
: In this system, title by registration ta(es the place of ;title by deeds< of the system under the
;general< law
: $ sale of land for e*ample is effected by a registered transfer, upon which a certificate of title
is issued
o Certificate is guaranteed by statute, and with certain e*ceptions, constitutes indefeasible title
to the land mentioned therein
o Under old system, the same sale would be effected through con'eyance, depending on its
'alidity, apart from intrinsic flaws, on the correctness of a long series of prior deeds, wills, etc.
: 4b)ect of the Torrens system= to do away with the delay, uncertainty, and e*pense of the old
con'eyancing system
: 3enerally, by ;Torrens< systems are meant those systems of registration of transactions with
interest in land whose declared ob)ect is, under go'ernmental authority, to establish and certify
to the ownership of an absolute and indeafisible title to realty, and to simplify its transfer.

You might also like