Glossary · UK
What is Manorial Rights?
Historic rights, such as mineral or sporting rights, retained by a lord of the manor over land they once owned, which can still bind a current owner even though registration deadlines have now passed.
Full Definition
Manorial rights are historic legal rights, dating from the feudal manorial system, that a lord of the manor (or their successors) retained over land even after that land was sold off, most commonly rights to minerals beneath the surface, sporting rights (such as shooting or fishing), and rights to hold fairs or markets. Like chancel repair liability, manorial rights are an example of a right that can bind land without appearing in an owner's own title deeds, because the right belongs to the manor rather than being recorded against the affected plot in the same way an ordinary covenant or easement would be. The Land Registration Act 2002 required lords of the manor to register any surviving manorial rights as a notice against affected titles by 12 October 2013 in order for those rights to remain binding on a new owner who buys registered land after that date; rights that were not registered in time generally lost their ability to bind a subsequent purchaser for value, though rights that were registered in time, or that affect land that has not changed hands since, can still apply. In practice, most manorial rights today have little real-world impact on an ordinary homeowner, since actually exercising mineral or sporting rights over residential land is rare, but conveyancing solicitors still flag any registered manorial rights notice on a title so a buyer can decide whether to seek specific indemnity insurance or further information before proceeding, particularly in rural areas where manorial estates historically covered large tracts of land.