NOTICE
Hamilton County, Ohio - Registered Land Abolishment
On August 6, 2014, the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners passed Resolution 25 to abolish Registered Land in Hamilton County.
Due to stay of lawsuit “Implementation Date” of September 5, 2014 was delayed until later.
Effective, Tuesday, November 10, 2015 @ 3:00 PM any Registered Land document presented for recording will be recorded in the traditional recording system pursuant to Ohio Revised Code O.R.C. 5310.50, by the Hamilton County Recorder’s Office.
Standard recording fees will apply - $34.00 for the first two pages and $8.00 for each additional page thereafter for most documents.
Instruments for the conveyance or encumbrance of registered land that on and after November 10, 2015 @ 3:00 PM, shall be filed in the traditional recording system as provided in O.R.C. 5310.41 and O.R.C. 5310.45 of the Ohio Revised Code. No new certificate of title will be issued and documents will be returned after scanning into the Hamilton County Recorder’s Office computer system.
Documents with legal descriptions will be entered, verified and indexed into the Geographical Index (9th Series PDI).
Until there has been a conveyance of the property, in preparing the prior instrument reference on each such instrument of conveyance or encumbrance, the certificate of title that pertains to the land shall be identified as the prior instrument by the document’s preparer.
Any pending Registered Land court cases on or prior to November 10, 2015 at 3:00 PM will be handled pursuant to O.R.C. 5310.44.
Registered Land
In some counties, certain property is registered under the Torrens Act. This “Registered Land” has boundaries certified to be correct; title is guaranteed by a state insurance fund.
What is Registered Land?
Sir Robert Torrens, the Colonial Treasurer and Registrar for South Australia, advocated for the conveyance reform in 1852 and conceived the concept of Registered (Torrens) Land. He published a Torrens Bill in 1856 and it was adopted in 1858. This is how Torrens (Registered) land received its name. There are three basic keys to the Torrens Bill. All properties would have one document, all interests are registered, and the government guarantees the title.
This concept was adopted by the State of Ohio, and under this Act, any property owner can voluntarily petition to have his land “registered”. Registered Land survey boundaries are guaranteed correct by the state. The title is guaranteed by the state insurance fund against loss to the property owner from land examiner and/or Recorder errors.
It is also subject to specific Ohio Revised Codes where adverse possession cannot be claimed against Registered Land, and property owners must be notified of any involuntary liens within a specified time.
All parcels that are registered under provisions of this law have a document known as a Certificate of Title that shows ownership. A Registered Land Examiner approved by the Court of Common Plea must handle most of the paper work involved with a Certificate of Title, and the Court must approve any changes to Registered Land.
There is presently more Registered Land in Hamilton County than any other county in the State of Ohio.
Since the 19th century, private title insurance companies have been established to guarantee a clear title to prospective buyers of real estate. Mortgagors may require a private title insurance company to guarantee the title to protect the lending institutions and their investors even though the property is “registered land”.
For more information see the Registered Land navigation submenu on the left.