Torrens Title System

A system for recording land titles under which a court may direct the issuance of a certificate oftitle upon applic
ation by the landowner.
The Torrens title system is a method of registering titles to real estate. Real estate that isrecorded using this m
ethod is also called registered property or Torrens property. The system isused in the British Commonwealth c
ountries, including Canada, and in Europe but has not beenwidely adopted in the United States. The first U.S.
Torrens system was enacted by Illinois in1897.
The system is named after Sir Robert R. Torrens, who introduced it in South Australia in 1858and later lobbied
for its adoption in other parts of the country. He wrote several books on thesubject, arguing that his system sim
plified the transfer of real property and eliminated the needfor repeated examinations of land titles.
Under the traditional system of transferring, or conveying, land, the history of the property inquestion must be e
xamined to ensure that the seller can convey good title to the purchaser.When property is sold, a deed is filed
and recorded with the county land office; the deedcontains the names of the seller and the buyer; the ownershi
p relationship of the sellers andbuyers, if more than one seller or one buyer is involved (for example, joint tena
nts or tenants incommon); and the legal description of the property being transferred. This information isabstra
cted from each deed and recorded in a document called an Abstract of
Title. An attorneyor a real estate title examiner inspects each entry to determine that good title has been passe
dwith each transaction. If any problems exist with the title, they must be remedied before thepurchaser may obt
ain good title.
A Torrens system does away with this process. A court or bureau of registration operates thesystem, with an e
xaminer of titles and a registrar as the key officers. The owner of a piece ofland files a petition with the registrar
to have the land registered. The examiner of titles reviewsthe Legal
History of the land to determine if good title exists. If good title does exist, the registrarissues a certificate of titl
e to the owner. This certificate is ordinarily conclusive as to the person'srights in the property and cannot be ch
allenged or overcome by a court of law. If a mistake ismade by the examiner of titles, an insurance fund pays t
he person who holds a claim againstthe land. The fees charged to examine and register property pay for the in
surance fund and theoperation of the registration office.
When the owner sells the property, the certificate alone is evidence of good title, eliminating theneed for a new
examination of title. The purchaser presents the deed and the certificate of title tothe registrar, who records the
purchaser's name on the title.
The one drawback to a Torrens system is the initial cost of registering the property. The systemis most effectiv
e when unimproved land is subdivided for the first time because it reduces thenumber of deed entries an exami
ner must review.

Republic v. Umali

The Torrens system was adopted in this country because it was believed to be the most effective
measure to guarantee the integrity of land titles and to protect their indefeasibility once the claim of
ownership is established and recognized. If a person purchases a piece of land on the assurance that
the sellers title thereto is valid, he should not run the risk of being told later that his acquisition was
ineffectual after all. This would not only be unfair to him. What is worse is that if this were permitted,
public confidence in the system would be eroded and land transactions would have to be attended by
complicated and not necessarily conclusive investigations and proof of ownership. The further
consequence would be that land conflicts could even be more numerous and complex than they are
now and possibly more abrasive if not even violent.