Chapter 3 Animated diagram: Unregistered land

Start by identifying the interest in land. Next, ask yourself: is the interest legal or is it equitable? If the interest is legal, then in unregistered land legal interests are binding against the whole world, they're universally enforceable. If the interest is equitable, ask yourself: is the interest capable of being overreached? Noting the exceptions in section 2 [3] of the LPA 1925.

If the interest is capable of being overreached, next ask: has overreaching actually taken place? This means seeing if the requirements for overreaching, in sections 2 and 27 of the LPA 1925, have been met. If they have, then the interest is detached from the land and sounds, or is reflected in the proceeds of sale.

There is no interest which is capable of being enforceable against a third party. If, however, the requirements for overreaching have not been met or the interest is not capable of being overreached, you next ask: can the interest be registered as a land charge under the Land Charges Act 1972? If the answer to that is no, then we turn to consider whether the disponee is Equity’s Darling.

The disponee is the person to whom the land, subject to the interest, has been transferred. Equity’s Darling requires you to look at the elements of the doctrine of notice and to see if they're satisfied. If the disponee is Equity’s Darling, then the interest is not binding on them. But if the disponee is not Equity’s Darling, then the interest is binding.

If an interest can be registered as a land charge, then the next question to ask is: was the interest actually registered as a land charge? If the answer to that is no, then you need to consider the effect of non-registration. And that depends on which class of land charge could have been registered. And looking at sections 4 [5] and 4 [6] of the Land Charges Act 1972, this will tell you whether the interest is binding or whether the interest is void. If the interest was registered as a land charge, then the interest will be binding as registration constitutes actual notice of the interest under section 1.9.8.1 of the Law of Property Act 1925.