Deeds Registries Regulations, 2025

These regulations replace the Deeds Registries Regulations, 2018 and rebuild the deeds registry around a digital register. They come into effect on a date the Minister fixes by statutory instrument, so the clock does not start on gazetting.

The headline is the validation and securitisation of title. The Registrar must require all holders of old title deeds — any title deed issued before these regulations — to submit copies for validation within 24 months of publication, furnishing the originals for verification. Validation checks the authenticity of each deed and its compliance with the Act, and the Registrar may demand further evidence of ownership.

On successful validation the Registrar issues a securitised deed: an electronic deed, authenticated and recorded in the digital registry under section 90(1)(a) of the Act, with a printed copy issued to the owner on securitised paper. The old deed must be surrendered when the new one is collected. Obsolete records may be destroyed once their contents are digitised, and fraudulent submissions or misrepresentation during validation are punishable under the Act.

The transitional rule is the one property owners must diarise: old title deeds continue to be recognised for 24 months from commencement — extendable by notice in the Gazette with the Minister's approval — and after that only securitised deeds are valid for legal and administrative purposes.

The rest of the regulations modernise practice: deeds must be on A4 security paper bought from a designated supplier, in permanent black ink of at least 11 point, written both sides with a 35 mm left margin and the top half of the first page left blank for endorsements; documents must disclose identity, place and date of execution; and there are detailed rules for powers of attorney, transfers, partitions, mortgage bonds, cancellation of lost bonds, appeals from the Registrar, notarial bonds and leases. Registry business is to be conducted electronically, in person or through an agent — not by correspondence or telephone unless invited — with public records open from 8am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm and electronic services available at any time. Fees are set in the Second Schedule, with no charge where the fee would be paid from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.