Under Alberta's Land Titles Act, what is the primary characteristic that distinguishes the Torrens system from the Registry system?
Correct Answer
A) The government guarantees title and compensates for losses from registration errors
Under the Torrens system the register itself is the title: a certificate of title is conclusive proof of ownership (Land Titles Act s. 62), and a person who loses land or an interest through the operation of the system may claim damages against the Registrar (s. 168), paid out of the General Revenue Fund (ss. 175, 180). In a Registry system, the government records documents but does not guarantee title, so buyers rely on searching the chain of ownership.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
The defining feature of Torrens is the state guarantee: the certificate of title is conclusive (s. 62), and people who lose land or an interest through registration errors or fraud can recover damages from the Registrar (s. 168), paid from the General Revenue Fund. This answer states that guarantee.
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