Deeds Registries Act, 1937 (Act No. 47 of 1937)Chapter III : Registration of LandSubstituted Title Deeds38. Certificate of registered title taking place of lost or destroyed deed |
| (1) | If the title deed of any land has been lost or destroyed and the registry duplicate of such title deed has also been lost or destroyed, the registrar shall, on written application by the owner of the land, accompanied by a diagram of the land, if no diagram thereof is filed in the registry or in the office of the surveyor-general concerned, execute a certificate of registered title in respect of such land in accordance with the diagram of the land. |
| (2) | Before issuing the certificate the registrar shall, at the expense of the applicant, publish in the prescribed form notice of intention to issue the certificate in two consecutive ordinary issues of the Gazette and in two consecutive issues of a newspaper printed in the division, district or county in which the land is situate, or if there is no such newspaper then in any newspaper circulating in such division, district or county. |
| (3) | A draft of the proposed certificate and a copy of the diagram, if any, accompanying the application, shall be open for inspection in the registry free of charge by any interested person, for a period of six weeks after the date of the first publication of the notice in the Gazette, during which period any person interested may object to the issue of the certificate. |
| (4) | Any person who has lodged with the registrar an objection to the issue of the certificate may, in default of any arrangement between him and the applicant, apply to the court within one month after the last day upon which an objection may be lodged, for an order prohibiting the registrar from issuing the certificate, and the court may make such order on the application as it may deem fit. |
| (5) | A certificate of registered title issued under this section shall be as nearly as practicable in the prescribed form and shall take the place of the lost or destroyed title deed and shall embody or refer to every condition, servitude, bond, lease or other encumbrance which according to the records of the registry was embodied or referred to in the lost or destroyed title deed or in any endorsement thereon. |