Leases where the landlord's title is also subject to compulsory registration

Where a landlord who is required to apply for first registration of his/her estate, grants a lease out of that estate, the tenant cannot register the lease until the landlord's title has been registered.

An example would be where a person buys an unregistered freehold estate that is subject to compulsory registration, and immediately grants a lease to a tenant before the freehold has been registered. The tenant cannot register the lease until the landlord's title has been registered.

Reason

The tenant cannot apply to register the lease because the legal estate is not vested in the landlord until his/her title has been registered. Consequently, no legal estate can be vested in the tenant. The tenant cannot apply to register the landlord's title as he/she is not a successor in title to the reversionary estate.

Solution

The solution is for the tenant to insist that the landlord registers his/her title before the lease is completed. If the landlord has not registered his/her estate within two months of its acquisition, the tenant can apply for a caution against first registration using form CT1, or register a class C(iv) land charge. Further information can be found in Land Registry Practice Guide 1 - First registrations.