On 19/05/2013,
you requested for the version in force on 19/05/2013
incorporating all amendments published on or before 19/05/2013.
The closest version currently available is that of 12/11/1993.
PART XIX
MISCELLANEOUS
165.
—(1) Except as provided in this section, the Registrar shall not register any instrument affecting part of the land in a folio until he is satisfied that —
(a)
the authority for the time being charged with the duty of controlling or supervising the subdivision of the land has certified that the lawful requirements of that authority relating to subdivision have been complied with; and
(b)
the boundaries and dimensions of part of the land in a folio described in an instrument are in accordance with the final boundaries and dimensions shown in the plan lodged with and approved by the Chief Surveyor.
(2) Where the Registrar has created a new folio pursuant to a registration of part of the land which is not conclusive as to boundaries and dimensions, he shall enter thereon a caution to that effect, and he shall cancel that caution when the boundaries and dimensions have been shown on the plan lodged with and approved by the Chief Surveyor.
(3) No compensation shall be paid out of the assurance fund for any loss caused or occasioned by any inaccuracy of the boundaries and dimensions shown on a folio which bears a caution as is provided in subsection (2).
(4) Nothing in this section shall prevent the entry of a caveat, nor the registration of —
(a)
an easement;
(b)
a mortgage or charge;
(c)
a lease for a term of 7 years or less which can, by the exercise of an option of renewal, be prolonged for a period exceeding 7 years; or
(d)
any other instrument or class of instruments which may from time to time be prescribed.
166.
—(1) A person named in an instrument as acquiring registered land in a fiduciary capacity may be described in that capacity and the instrument may disclose brief particulars of the trust relating to the consideration paid and for providing that the person named assumes liability only to the extent of an estate or interest of which he is a trustee.
(2) The Registrar shall not enter particulars of the trust except that he may describe the person having fiduciary capacity as a trustee in a folio or the relevant instrument but the description of a person as trustee in the folio or the instrument shall not affect the operation of section 47.
(3) Subject to the provisions of any caveat affecting the land, a registered proprietor who is a trustee shall hold the estate or interest of which he is a registered proprietor on trust for the persons and purposes to which it is applicable by virtue of the instrument creating the trust, but purchasers dealing with the registered land which is held in a fiduciary capacity shall not be concerned to enquire whether a dealing of that land is within the powers of the proprietor and they are entitled to assume that the proprietor has all the powers of disposition of a beneficial owner and as the absolute proprietor of the estate or interest in question.
167.
—(1) Where by any Act or instrument or by law any person is exonerated from inquiring as to any matter or fact relating to a title to, or to a power of dealing with, land, or is protected from the effect of notice of any such matter or fact, then, in registering any instrument relating to that land, the Registrar is not concerned to make any inquiry or search in relation to that land which that person need not have made, nor is the Registrar affected by any notice with which that person need not have been affected.
(2) No action or claim shall be brought against the Registrar or against the assurance fund in respect of a deprivation or loss arising out of any matter into which the Registrar is exonerated from inquiring.
168. The Registrar shall be responsible for collecting such fees as are by this Act or any rules made thereunder directed to be paid, and for accounting for them to the Minister in charge of finance, or as otherwise directed by rules.
169.
—(1) Any person who —
(a)
fraudulently procures, assists in fraudulently procuring, or is privy to the fraudulent procuring of any certificate of title or other instrument, or of any entry in the land-register, or any alteration or erasure of, or addition to, any entry in the land-register, or in any instrument or form issued by the Registrar;
(b)
fraudulently uses, assists in fraudulently using, or is privy to the fraudulent using of any instrument or form purporting to be issued or authorised by the Registrar;
(c)
knowingly misleads or deceives any person authorised by this Act to demand explanation or information with respect to any land, or the title to any land, which is the subject of a primary application or with respect to which any instrument is proposed to be registered or notified; or
(d)
fraudulently removes from the Land Titles Registry any part of the land-register or any instrument issued by the Registrar, or causes any defacement, obliteration, mutilation, or unauthorised entry or alteration to be made thereto,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.
(2) No proceeding or conviction for any act made punishable by subsection (1) shall affect any remedy which any person aggrieved or injured by that act may be entitled to against the person who committed the act or against his estate
170.
—(1) The Minister may make rules not inconsistent with this Act prescribing all matters which are required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed, for carrying out or giving effect to this Act and, in particular, the Minister may make rules —
(a)
prescribing standard covenants and conditions for mortgages limited to the rights and obligations over the mortgaged property;
(b)
regulating the practice of the Land Titles Registry and of any other Government office in relation to matters arising under this Act; and
(c)
prescribing the fees to be taken in the Land Titles Registry for any matter or thing done therein under this or any other Act (including any fees that may be required to be borne by solicitors themselves relating to additional work done by the Registry in relation to instruments lodged and rejected and fresh instruments or amended instruments lodged after such date of rejection), and when and by whom such fees may be dispensed with or remitted.
(2) All rules made under this Act shall be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication in the Gazette.
171. For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that nothing in this Act shall affect the rights conferred on the Public Utilities Board by section 15 of the Public Utilities Act (Cap. 261), the Director-General of Public Works by sections 34 and 35 of the Local Government Integration Act (Cap. 166) and the Director of Water Pollution Control and Drainage under section 16 of the Water Pollution Control and Drainage Act (Cap. 348).
172.
—(1) The Land Titles Act (Cap. 157) (in this Part referred to as the repealed Act) is repealed.
(2) A reference in this Act to land brought under the provisions of this Act shall include a reference to land which has been brought under the provisions of the repealed Act.
(3) Any register, instrument, index or other document maintained under the repealed Act shall be continued to be maintained under the corresponding provision of this Act or any rules made thereunder.
(4) In so far as any entry in a register or instrument was made or other thing whatsoever was done under any provision of the repealed Act, that entry or thing shall have effect as if made or done under the corresponding provision of this Act or any rules made thereunder.
(5) A reference to a caveat in this Act shall include a reference to a caveat lodged and notified in a folio or the Caveat Index under the provisions of the repealed Act.
(6) Any caveat lodged under the repealed Act may, unless it has lapsed or been removed or cancelled in accordance with the provisions of the repealed Act before the commencement of this Act, be extended in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
(7) Any application, instrument or caveat lodged for registration under the provisions of the repealed Act before the commencement of this Act and whose registration was not completed before such commencement shall, where applicable, be deemed to be an application, instrument or caveat lodged for registration under a corresponding provision of this Act.
(8) Where at any time before the commencement of this Act a person —
(a)
was in adverse possession of any registered land; and
(b)
has lodged an application for a possessory title to the land under the provisions of the repealed Act and the application has not been withdrawn but is on such commencement pending in the Land Titles Registry,
the application shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the repealed Act in force immediately before such commencement.
(9) Where at any time before the commencement of this Act a person —
(a)
was in adverse possession of any registered land; and
(b)
was entitled to lodge an application for a possessory title to the land under the provisions of the repealed Act which were in force immediately before such commencement,
he may, within 6 months of such commencement make an application to court for an order to vest the title in him or lodge an application for a possessory title to the land and the application shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the repealed Act in force immediately before such commencement.
(10) Section 87 shall not prevent the registration of leases for a term not exceeding 7 years which were executed before the commencement of this Act and any such lease may be registered under the provisions of the repealed Act as if those provisions were never repealed.
(11) A person who, immediately before the commencement of this Act, held office as the Registrar of Titles, Deputy Registrar of Titles or Assistant Registrar of Titles shall continue to hold such office as if he had been appointed under section 5.
(12) Any written law or other document referring to the repealed Act shall, as far as may be necessary for preserving its effect, be construed as referring, or as including a reference, to this Act.
(13) Except as expressly provided in this section, nothing in this section shall be taken as prejudicing the operation of section 16 of the Interpretation Act (Cap. 1) (which relates to the effect of repeals).
173.
—(1) Where at any time before the commencement of this Act a caveat was notified on a folio or the Caveat Index under the provisions of Part XI of the repealed Act and an extension of caveat was notified on the folio or Caveat Index in respect of the same matter dealt with by the caveat notwithstanding that the repealed Act did not provide for caveats to be extended, the caveat shall not lapse until —
(a)
the expiration of a period of 5 years commencing from the date of the lodgment of the extension of caveat which was accepted and notified on the folio; or
(b)
where more than one extension of caveat has been lodged and notified on the folio before the expiry of each 5-year period from the date of the lodgment of the last extension of caveat which was accepted and notified on the folio, the expiration of a period of 5 years from the date of the lodgment of the last extension of caveat which was accepted and notified on the folio.
(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to a caveat where an order has been made by a court before the commencement of this Act in respect of the validity or priority of the caveat.
174. The Conveyancing and Law of Property Act (Cap. 61) is amended —
(a)
by deleting the words “20 years” in the third line of section 3(3) and substituting the words “12 years”;
(b)
by deleting the words “30 years” in the second line of section 3(4) and substituting the words “15 years”;
(c)
by deleting the words “3 years” in section 53(1) and substituting the words “7 years”;
(d)
by deleting subsection (2) of section 53 and substituting the following subsection:
“(2) This section shall only apply to conveyances executed on or after the commencement of the Land Titles Act 1993.”;
(e)
by inserting, immediately after section 65, the following section:
65A. Where a solicitor produces an instrument as defined in the Land Titles Act 1993 in which consideration is expressed and which has been executed by the person in whose favour the consideration is payable or has been paid or partly payable and partly paid, that instrument shall be sufficient authority to the person liable to pay or give the same for his paying or giving the same to the solicitor, without the solicitor producing any separate or other direction or authority in that behalf from the person who executed or signed the instrument.”; and
(f)
by inserting, immediately after section 66, the following section:
66A.
—(1) Tenants in common who intend to hold their estate or interest in land as joint tenants may jointly declare by a deed of declaration that they hold the estate or interest in their respective shares in the land as joint tenants of the entire estate or interest thereof.
(2) Upon the making of the deed of declaration referred to in subsection (1) —
(a)
where all the tenants in common of the entire estate or interest in the land are the declarants — the estate or interest which they held in their respective shares as tenants in common immediately before the making of such deed shall vest in them as joint tenants; or
(b)
where not all the tenants in common of the entire estate or interest in the land are the declarants —
(i)
the estate or interest which the declarants held in their respective shares as tenants in common immediately before the making of such deed shall vest in the declarants as joint tenants; and
(ii)
the declarants and the other tenants in common shall continue to hold their estate or interest in their respective shares as tenants in common.
(3) Without prejudice to any rule or principle of law relating to severance of a joint tenancy, a joint tenant may sever a joint tenancy of an estate or interest in land by a deed of declaration and by serving a copy of the deed of declaration personally or by registered post on the other joint tenants.
(4) Upon the making of the deed of declaration and the service of the deed of declaration pursuant to subsection (3), the respective estates and interests in the land shall be held by the declarant and the remaining joint tenants as tenants in common in their respective shares.
(5) Where a joint tenant holds an estate or interest in land on trust, the severance of the joint tenancy shall not affect the rights of the beneficiary of the trust or the operation of the law relating to breaches of trust.”.
175.
—(1) Section 5(1) of the State Lands Act (Cap. 314) is amended —
(a)
by deleting the words “under section 8, 12 or 13” in the third line and substituting the words “pursuant to Part II of the Land Titles Act 1993”; and
(b)
by deleting the words “section 106” in paragraph (b) and substituting the words “section 109”.
(2) Section 11 of the State Lands Act is repealed and the following section substituted therefor:
11.
—(1) Pending the issue of a grant or lease for any State land, the Collector of Land Revenue may, where the circumstances so require, issue a Collector’s Certificate in respect of any land which has not been surveyed and demarcated to the satisfaction of the Collector of Land Revenue and the survey has not yet been approved by the Chief Surveyor and include a caution as to the inconclusiveness of the boundaries and dimensions of the land.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Collector of Land Revenue may, where applicable, issue a grant or lease for any parcel of land notwithstanding that its land area is only an estimated area as shown in a plan filed with and approved by the Chief Surveyor and include a caution as to the inconclusiveness of the boundaries and dimensions of the land.
(3) For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2), the Collector of Land Revenue may require the intended grantee or lessee to engage a registered surveyor to carry out a survey in accordance with the provisions of the Land Surveyors Act (Cap. 156) and the Chief Surveyor shall forward the plan to the Collector of Land Revenue after it has been filed with and approved by the Chief Surveyor.
(4) With regard to all land alienated either under subsection (1) or (2) and which has been taken possession of with the agreement of the Collector of Land Revenue, payment of the rent reserved under an agreement for alienation may be demanded and enforced in like manner as if a grant or lease had been issued for a parcel of land with conclusive land area and boundaries.”.
176.
—(1) Section 8 of the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 269) is amended by deleting subsection (2) and substituting the following subsection:
“(2) Such a caveat shall contain the following particulars:
(a)
the names of the caveator and the caveatee and their addresses for the service of notices under this Act;
(b)
a description of the estate or interest in the land given to or claimed by the caveator and, if the caveator is the purchaser or sub-purchaser of the estate or interest claimed in the caveat, the amount of the purchase price and the date of the caveator’s contract or the date on which he exercised the option to purchase the interest in the land, as the case may be.”.
(2) Section 15(1) of the Registration of Deeds Act is amended by deleting paragraphs (a) and (b) and substituting the following paragraphs:
“(a)
if the prior mortgage authorises the making of further advances, or the giving of credit in instalments or on a current, revolving or continuing account or other accommodation; or
(b)
where the prior mortgage does not expressly authorise the making of such further advances, or for the giving of credit in instalments or on a current, revolving or continuing account or other accommodation, if the subsequent mortgagee agrees to such further advances being made or such credit or other accommodation being given.”.
177.
—(1) Section 9 of the Limitation Act (Cap. 163) is amended by inserting, immediately after subsection (2), the following subsection:
(2) Section 16 of the Limitation Act is repealed.
(3) Nothing in this section shall —
(a)
enable any action to be brought which was barred by the Limitation Act immediately before the commencement of the Land Titles Act 1993 (referred to in this subsection as the appointed day);
(b)
affect any action commenced before the appointed day; or
(c)
revive any title to land which was extinguished by the operation of the Limitation Act in force immediately before the appointed day.