HUNDREDS OF thousands of documents, some dating from the late 19th century, are to be destroyed as part of the Property Registration Authority’s move towards e- conveyancing.
In early 2007 the authority – formerly the Registrar of Deeds and Titles – announced that land certificates were to be abolished by December 31st, 2009, and replaced by an electronic system. Land certificates were introduced in 1892 when the Land Registry was established.
The function of land certificates was to certify the ownership of a particular folio of land. The certificates record all relevant details concerning the ownership of registered land which are also recorded on the land register.
The authority estimates there are about 700,000-800,000 land certificates. Although some are in the possession of property owners, many are held by banks or solicitors as security.
Under section 73 of the Registration of Deeds and Title Act 2006, banks are required to pass on any land certificates in their possession to the authority before December 31st where they will be destroyed. While this has no legal ramifications for banks or property owners – the property ownership will be recorded electronically and the banks can register a lien on the property – the original documents are to be shredded.
Although the majority of land certificates date from the 1970s, some of the land certificates are more than 100 years old.
A spokesman for the authority said that 150,000–200,000 land certificates have already been received and destroyed since the announcement of the abolition of the certificates. He said staff had been advised to “keep their eye out” for certificates that look particularly interesting.
It is not clear how many documents have been saved and where these documents are being kept.
A spokesman for the National Archives said it was not taking any of the documents. He said the preservation of these documents was not in the remit of the National Archives, as the Land Registry keeps the original folio record.
The spokesman for the authority said there has been a small number of inquiries from property owners relating to land certificates. The authority’s website states that all land certificates will be destroyed, but “in exceptional cases if a request is made to reissue for historical or sentimental reasons, the authority will endeavour to meet such requests where possible”.
The Irish Timeshas learned that several people who have approached the authority about gaining access to their land certificates, have met with resistance.
Steven Smyrl, chairman of the Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations, has sharply criticised the decision to destroy the land certificates. “They can be rubber stamped as cancelled and returned to the owners, or the relevant bundles of certificates could be sorted by county and donated to local county archives.”
He said that because of the 1922 fire which destroyed the Public Records Office, Ireland has a paucity of surviving documents, and that local archives would be keen to house the original land certificates.
