Sasine Register about to close to standard securities

Security deeds will only be able to be registered in Scotland's property registers from Friday of this week, 1 April, if the property is registered in the Land Register of Scotland, rather than the older Register of Sasines, which is being phased out.

The new rule affects anyone remortgaging a property that does not already have a Land Register entry. It means that the title to the property will be converted to a Land Register title as part of the remortgage process. 

Land Register titles provide land and property owners with a state-backed guarantee of title and make future transactions easier, faster and cheaper. Owners registering a property as part of a new security transaction will only pay the normal security registration fee of £60.

Scottish ministers have set a target of having all property in Scotland included on the Land Register by 2024, in order to provide a single, comprehensive, publicly searchable register of who owns what property in the country. It is expected that the new rule regarding standard securities will result in around 5,000 additional applications to the Land Register each year, making an important contribution towards its completion.

Sasine securities signed before 1 April 2016 will not be accepted for recording in the General Register of Sasines if received on or after that date.

Registers of Scotland has published two Q&A series on the change, one for solicitors and lenders, and one for borrowers taking out new loans.