Here is a simple, easy-to-understand Glossary of Terms designed help demystify the complex language of property registration:
Folio: A specific file or constituent part of the register that contains the individual ownership details for a single property. Every registered property has its own unique Folio number.
Registered Land: Property where the title has been officially registered in the Land Registry. When land is registered here, there is no need to consult the older Registry of Deeds system
Unregistered Land: Property where the title is not yet registered in the Land Registry. Instead, the existence of documents dealing with this property is recorded in the Registry of Deeds to establish priority over who owns what
Conveyance: A deed used to transfer the ownership of property from one party to another. A conveyance can happen in exchange for money (a sale) or it can be voluntary (a gift)
Deed: A formal written document on paper, vellum, or parchment that legally passes an interest, right, or property to someone else, or creates a binding obligation
Grantor and Grantee: In property transactions, the Grantor is the person giving or selling the property (such as the vendor, lessor, or mortgagee), while the Grantee is the person receiving or buying it (such as the purchaser, lessee, or mortgagor)
Fee Simple: The largest and most complete form of freehold property ownership you can have. It means the property is fully yours, and it is fully assignable (you can sell it) and inheritable (you can leave it to your heirs)
Mortgage / Charge: Any charge or lien placed on a property as security for borrowed money or money's worth
Easement (e.g., Right of Way): A right that a property owner or occupier has over the land of a neighbor. Common examples include a right of way to pass through the neighbour's land, or rights to light, support, and water
Adverse Possession (Squatter’s Title): Gaining legal title to land through long, continuous possession of it. This requires the "squatter" to be in actual occupation of the land, performing acts of ownership that physically dispossess the original owner for a required period of time