Privatisation of the Land Register, the PEXA Problem and Monopoly Issues

Over the past 20 years or so, there has been a rush towards privatisation of land registries in Commonwealth countries that provide a State guarantee of title of the registered result. In each, a significant upfront payment has made by the operator to central government, enabling the operator to then have preferential rights to manipulate and use the significant raw data inherent in the register. This paper provides a property law academic’s view of these developments, claiming the initiatives are flawed, and counter to the public interest. It is asserted that the result is the creation of a monopoly, driven by a profit incentive. A recent Australian experience, where a company called PEXA has been created to control the automated conveyancing market, creating a dominant market position is considered, and suggested to create concerns analogous to the privatisation of registries. Using the PEXA example, alternatives to privatising the operation of a land register without creating a monopoly are considered but found to be problematic. Of particular significance, is the fact that the State backed guarantee of the registered result continues under a privatisation model, but with the result that it now underwrites the performance by a private operator, driven by a profit motive.