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Torrens title is a system of land title where a register of land holdings maintained by the state guarantees indefeasible title to those included in the register. It difers markedly from the old system title, which depends on proof of an unbroken chain of title back to a good root of title. The Torrens title system was introduced in South Australia in 1858, formulated by then colonial Premier of South Australia Sir Robert Torrens. Since then, it has become pervasive around the British Commonwealth and very common around the globe.
Limits of deeds registration
Prior to Torrens title and under the general deeds registration system, land owners needed to prove their ownership of a particular piece of land back to the earliest grant of land by the Crown to its first owner. This event could have occurred hundreds of years prior and could have been intervened by dozens of changes in the land's ownership. A person's ownership over land could also be challenged, potentially causing great legal expense to land owners and hindering development because land owners were concerned that their title over land could be overturned at any time, wasting the funds they invested in the property. A register of who owned what land was maintained, but it was unreliable and could be challenged in the courts at any time. The limits of the deeds registration system meant that transfers of land were slow, expensive, and often unable to create certainty of title.
Creation
In order to resolve these deficencies, Torrens introduced the new title system in 1858, after a boom in land speculation and a haphazard grant system resulted in the loss of over 75% of the 40,000 land grants issued in the colony of South Australia. A German lawyer, Ulrich Hübbe, contributed to the development of the Torrens title system, using principles borrowed from the Hanseatic registration system in Hamburg. By training a lawyer specialising in merchant shipping, Torrens developed a system of registration based on that used for the registration of merchant ships in the United Kingdom established a system based around a central registry of all the land in a jurisdiction (in his case, South Australia) and recording its owner. All transfers of land are recorded in the register. Most importantly, the owner of the land is established by virtue of their name being recorded in the government's register. The Torrens title also records easements and the creation and discharge of mortgages.
Adoption
Other Australian colonies introduced similar legislation between 1862 and 1875.
The bill to introduce Torrens title in South Australia was deeply unpopular among lawyers at the time of its introduction because it would reduce the amount of work, and therefore the amount of money that they could earn in the field of conveyancing. The Torrens system was also a marked departure from the common law of real property and its further development has been characterised by the reluctance of common law judges to accept it.
Nevertheless, it has since become popular throughout the globe as it addresses two major problems identified with poverty in the third world by Hernando de Soto that of uncertainty surrounding land ownership and confusion around land transactions.
Strata titles are an enhancement of Torrens Title for apartment buildings.
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