This blog post is by Wendy Georgeson, Senior Registration Officer, Registers of Scotland

One of the most common reasons for rejection in first registration cases is that the answers given to the burdens and servitudes questions on the application form are inconsistent with the information in the deed being registered.

To avoid rejection, there are four key points to remember:

1. If the disposition you’re registering narrates deeds for burdens, the answer to the burdens question on the form should be “yes”. If you answer “no”, this means the form and deed are contradictory, and we can’t proceed with registration (see example below).

   

2. If you’ve answered the burdens question “yes”, make sure the information on the form ties-in with what’s in your disposition. For instance, if your disposition narrates four burdens deeds, but you only list three on the form, this means the form and deed are contradictory, and we can’t proceed with registration (See example below). If there’s a reason why one deed isn’t listed, tell us on the form, e.g. “deed X contains burdens that no longer subsist”.

   

3. If you’ve answered the burdens question “yes”, be sure to submit the deeds or tell us why you haven’t. If you know we’ve seen the deeds before, make this clear on your form, e.g. “the keeper has seen deeds 1 to 4 before – see MID1234”, or “deeds 1 to 4 form part of a research area”.
4. Finally, be sure to submit the breakaway deed with every application, even where the subjects are in a research area. Only common burdens deeds are examined when a research area is prepared, and not individual breakaway deeds.