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It may come as a shock to many landowners that the ownership of minerals beneath their land is by no means guaranteed says commercial property agent Prop-Search, even if there is no mention of a third party's ownership of those minerals, either in the recent title needs or in the registered title.
Samantha Jones, a Surveyor at Prop-Search, says: “Ownership of some minerals is reserved by statute such as oil and gold but other ownership to include commodities such as stone, sand and limestone may be buried in ancient law and customs.”
The Land Registry, which aims to make the register as complete a record as possible of matters affecting land, is trying to clear up one aspect of this by ensuring that those who have ‘manorial rights' which may include minerals rights - as well as sporting and other rights - must prove and register those interests.
The Land Registration Act 2002 states that all manorial rights must be registered by 13th October 2013. From this date manorial rights will no longer be overriding interests and if these rights are not registered they could be overlooked and will not bind buyers of the land if it's transferred.
Samantha continues: “Copyhold ownership, whereby tenants held rights in land from ‘lords of the manor', was gradually replaced by freehold ownership during the 19th and early 20th century. As a result, many ‘lords of the manor' may well have retained ownership of minerals and the same may also have occurred when land within a manor was enclosed under an Enclosure Award. These manorial rights currently take precedence over the landowner's rights whether or not they are known to the landowner.”
Whilst no new manorial rights have been created since 1925, there are lots of historical ones in existence with The Doomsday Book listing 13,418 ‘lords of the manor'.
A number of large landowners are now taking steps to register manorial minerals to protect these potentially valuable assets for the future. The Church Commissioners, a body which manages the Church's investments, has already applied to the Land Registry to register the Church's ownership of mineral rights which have become detached from the ownership of the surface land. The Duchy of Cornwall has also started this process to the alarm of many homeowners who had no inkling that they did not own any minerals beneath their properties.
Samantha adds: “In some cases, these rights may have a significant effect on the value of the owner's interest, if potential development is expected or the minerals are valuable. Indium that is used in the liquid crystal displays of iPads, smart phones and televisions is one particular mineral which has increased in value over the past few years.”
There are no Land Registry fees payable for registration applications made before 13 October 2013 but any applications made after this date will attract a fee.
Prop-Search advises that as ever when buying land, a little research goes a long way. It is advisable to find out as much as you can about any reserved mines and minerals: what is reserved, to whom and with what ancillary rights? The Land Registry is always a good starting point and will state on the title to the surface land whether mines and minerals (and any rights) are reserved, however this is not conclusive and often does not state the owner. Pre-registration deeds should therefore also be consulted and are often more useful than the title register.
Further information or advice can be obtained from Prop-Search's Northamptonshire or Milton Keynes offices - www.prop-search.com