Why Voluntarily Register Your Land At The Land Registry?

A dispute between a 74 year old farmer and the Church of England has highlighted the benefits of voluntarily registering land at the Land Registry.

The dispute involved 16 hectares of land, part of a 20 hectare farm, owned and run by Richard Tyacke. Unknown to Mr Tyacke, in 2010, the Diocese of Birmingham registered the freehold of the 16 hectares of land in its name by submitting a statement of truth to the Land Registry claiming ownership to the land. This land equates approximately to £500,000 worth of land in today's value. Mr Tyacke only learnt of the Diocese's claim when he discovered two of its managing agents on his farm. When Mr Tyacke confronted them he was informed that they were inspecting the land owned by the Church. Mr Tyacke challenged this assertion and requested that they produce evidence of Diocese of Birmingham's ownership to the land. No documentation was forthcoming.

In 2016 Mr Tyacke applied to register his ownership of his 20 hectare farm at the Land Registry, this is when his...