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Manorial rights and Fracking – Protecting your interests

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In this Q&A, Harrison Drury highlights the impact that fracking could have on manorial rights and what this might mean for property owners.

What are Manorial Rights?

Manorial rights are rights historically held by the lord of the manor, such as sporting rights like hunting and fishing, the rights to hold markets or fairs, and the rights to mines and certain minerals.

It has not been possible to create manorial rights since 1925, but the historic rights are still relatively common. They can be problematic as, even if the rights themselves are not registered, they can bind registered land. Where they still exist, they can be off-putting to a potential purchaser or tenant.

How could the issue of fracking affect manorial rights?

The issue of manorial rights has become more prominent recently because the process of fracking disturbs minerals around the gas being extracted. If those minerals are subject to manorial rights, the owner of those rights can charge for a licence to disturb the minerals.

In addition, since October 12th 2013, unprotected rights are lost if a property is registered for the first time or sold, meaning manorial rights holders are well advised to protect them by registering a caution against first registration or, in relation to registered land that has not been sold since October 12th 2013, a unilateral notice.

How do I know if my property is affected?

The first time most property owners will know of a claim to manorial rights is when a unilateral notice is registered against their title. Owners of unregistered land would not be notified of a caution being registered, but it is possible to check if one exists.

If you purchased land or applied for voluntary first registration after October 12th 2013, and a notice or caution was not on the register at the time, manorial rights cannot affect your property.

What are my options?

An application for the registration of a caution or notice in relation to manorial rights does not need to include any evidence that the rights actually exist, and the property owner can apply at any time to cancel any caution or notice. This means that a property owner has the following choices:

Do nothing

The registration of a caution or notice puts the property in no worse a position than it was previously. However, a higher level of due diligence might be required on the sale or letting of the property, because a potential purchaser or tenant will be aware of the claim to manorial rights.

Apply to cancel the notice or caution

This forces the person claiming manorial rights to prove that claim. They will usually have three weeks to do so and, if they do not, no rights can affect the property. However, if the necessary evidence is produced, the previously questionable entry in the register is ‘upgraded’ to a proven right.

If the property is unregistered, apply for voluntary first registration

If a caution has not previously been registered, first registration of a property will extinguish any claim to manorial rights. Where a caution does exist, it may be registered as a notice on first registration, in which case you have a choice between the two options above.

If you would like to find out how manorial rights might affect you, please contact our residential property team on 01995 607950. We have solicitors based all throughout Lancashire in Preston, Garstang, Lancaster and Clitheroe, and an office in Kendal, Cumbria.


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