Practice Guide 13 – Official searches of the index of relating franchises and manors

Updated: April 2012

Update

This edition of the guide replaces the October 2011 edition. Section 6.3 has been amended as a result of a change in our policy on faxing results.

Scope of this guide

This guide gives details of the information held in the index of relating franchises and manors and the procedures that need to be followed to obtain such information. It is aimed at conveyancers and members of the public and you should interpret references to ‘you’ accordingly. Land Registry staff will also refer to it.

1 Abbreviations used

In this guide:

‘LRA 2002’ means the Land Registration Act 2002

‘LRR 2003’ means the Land Registration Rules 2003

‘the index’ means the index of relating franchises and manors.

2 Introduction

Land Registry keeps an index of verbal descriptions of registered franchises that are relating franchises and of registered manors (r.10(b), LRR 2003).

Any person may apply, in form SIF, for an official search of the index (r.146, LRR 2003). The certificate of result will show whether any registered relating franchise or manor relates to the administrative area(s) searched together with the title numbers that affect and the type of registration. Section 5 Index of verbal descriptions lists the different types of registration that can be revealed on an official search of the index.

3 What is a franchise?

A franchise is a right or privilege granted by the Crown. Examples include the right to take a toll or the right to hold a fair or market. It is an intangible right. It does not involve ownership of the physical land and is separate from any freehold or leasehold interests in the land itself. In legal terms, it is an incorporeal hereditament. The LRA 2002 permits the registration of a franchise with its own title. A franchise in this context does not include any commercial/trading rights or creation of a chartered corporation that have no direct effect on property.

A franchise granted with reference to ‘City of Sunlight’ in 1189 would be difficult to define in 2003 because the boundaries of the city will have changed considerably. This type of franchise is known as a ‘relating franchise’ as it relates only generally to an area. We do not prepare a title plan for a relating franchise registration and it will be entered in the verbal index. On the other hand, an ‘affecting franchise’ that can be defined as affecting a particular area is indexed on the index map.

Practice Guide 18 – Franchises contains further information on franchises. Practice Guide 10 – Official searches of the index map explains how to search the index map in order to ascertain whether an affecting franchise is registered.

4 What is a manor?

The registered manors that appear in the index are for lordship titles. The lordship of the manor is simply the title by which the lord of the manor is known. In many cases the title will no longer have any land or rights attached to it. Because of its origin and lack of physical substance it is also known as an incorporeal hereditament. These registrations do not have title plans and we do not hold any definitive record of the extent of the original manor.

Practice Guide 22 – Manors contains further information about manorial land.

5 Index of verbal descriptions

Land Registry must keep an index from which it is possible to ascertain whether any registered estates or cautions against first registration relate to a parcel of land (s.68, LRA 2002). Because the extent of a relating franchise or manor cannot be determined with any precision, we hold the information in an index of verbal descriptions known as the index of relating franchises and manors (r.10(b), LRR 2003).

The index is arranged by administrative area and contains the title numbers and details of the following types of registration.

• Pending applications for first registration of title to relating franchises.

• Pending applications for cautions against first registration where the subject of the caution is a relating franchise.

• Registered franchises which are relating franchises.

• Registered manors.

• Cautions against first registration where the subject of the caution is a relating franchise.

6 Obtaining information held in the index

6.1 Form SIF

You must use the prescribed form SIF to apply for an official search of the index.

Note: we will reject any application for an official search of the index of relating franchises and manors not made on the prescribed form.

You can obtain form SIF from any law stationer or Land Registry Customer Information Centre. Alternatively, you can download the form from our website.

You may only use form SIF to search against administrative areas. Entries in the index are recorded against the administrative area(s) to which they relate.

You must quote on any search all the current administrative area(s) that apply to the land in which you are interested. For the purposes of applications in form SIF an administrative area is a county or unitary authority.

A list of the administrative areas, together with details of Land Registry offices they are served by, is contained in Appendix B to this guide. We will reject any application that does not refer to a listed administrative area.

We will ignore any additional information supplied such as a detailed property description or a plan. We will process the application by reference to the quoted administrative area(s) alone.

If panel 1 of form SIF is not completed, we will complete the application for both relating franchises and manors.

See the example form SIF, together with hints on how to complete it, in Appendix A.

6.2 Fees

Please see the current Land Registration Fee Order for information on the fees payable for this service.

6.3 Certificate of result

Where possible, the certificate of result will be sent by return of post. Where the search reveals there are entries in the index relating to the administrative area(s) quoted, the certificate will include an extract of the index. Where there are no entries to reveal, the certificate will include a statement to that effect.

Customers not using Business e-services or Business Gateway may ask in writing for the result to be despatched by fax. In that case, no postal copy will be sent as well. 

7 Enquiries and comments

If you have a particular concern that is not covered by this guide, please contact Land Registry in advance of any search – see Contact details. If the problem is particularly complex, it may be better if you make your enquiry in writing at the Land Registry office that will process your application.

If you have any comments or suggestions about any of our guides, please send them to:

Central Operations Group
Land Registry
Trafalgar House
1 Bedford Park
Croydon
CR0 2AQ

(DX 8888 Croydon 3)

You can obtain further copies of this and of all our guides free of charge from Customer Support (see Contact details) or you can download them from our website www.landregistry.gov.uk

8 Appendix A

Example of form SIF

9 Appendix B

The index of relating franchises and manors is arranged by administrative area. The table alongside sets out all the administrative areas suitable for the purposes of a form SIF application together with Land Registry offices they are served by.

Remember

You must specify the current administrative areas for the land in which you are interested. See the example form SIF in Appendix A, which explains how to complete your application.

Please note that Land Registry may be unable to process applications that are incomplete or defective.