Judgments Act 1855 (Imp)

The Act rests on two principal legal devices: (A) a conveyance-timing rule that determines whether real property is liable for antecedent personal liabilities of a prior mortgagee (s 11); and (B) a registration-for-notice rule that conditions the enforceability against purchasers of life annuities and rentcharges on the lodgement of a memorandum at a central registry (s 12). Associated administrative rules govern search rights, fees and who may conduct searches (ss 12-13). The Act also carves out an exception for annuities created by testamentary disposition (s 14).

Conveyance-timing rule (s 11)

• Who decides the outcome: the courts exercising powers to issue or enforce writs of execution, elegit or extent, in the event of enforcement. The statute operates as a substantive bar to taking the land in execution if its conditions are satisfied.
• Trigger: a conveyance executed after the Act that vests the legal or equitable estate or disposing power in a purchaser or mortgagee for valuable consideration, and payment in full of the prior mortgagee prior to or at that conveyance.
• Effect: the land is not liable to be taken in execution or charged with judgments, decrees, orders or rules against the prior mortgagee, nor subject to writs of extent or other Crown processes described in s 11.

Registration-for-notice rule for annuities/rentcharges (s 12)

• Who pays: the annuity or rentcharge remains ineffective as against purchasers unless the grantor (or person seeking priority) leaves a memorandum at the registry; the entry attracts a prescribed fee of two shillings and sixpence.
• What must be left: a memorandum stating the name, usual or last known place of abode, and the title, trade or profession of the person whose estate is intended to be affected; the date of the deed, bond, instrument or assurance granting the annuity; and the annual sum or sums to be paid (s 12).
• Who decides: the senior master of the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster must enter the particulars in an alphabetical book and record the day, and must charge an entry fee; persons are “at liberty” to search on payment of one shilling.

Search rights and procedure (s 13)

• Searches may be performed by parties themselves, subject to the office’s proper regulations.
• Fee rule: one shilling payable for one search, and that single payment covers searches for more than one name if the names relate to the same transaction.

Exception (s 14)

• Annuities or rentcharges created by will are excluded from the Act’s registry requirement and thus follow the law outside this statute.

Administrative detail: the registry is a single officer in a named court (the senior master of the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster) and the statute prescribes both the format of entry (alphabetical by the name of the person whose estate is affected) and the fees for entry and search (s 12). The compilation table shows historical amendments and deletions of other sections, which affects the statute’s present operation in WA.

These concepts allocate who bears the cost of providing notice (the person who creates the annuity or the party seeking to protect the annuity’s priority), who bears the search cost (purchaser or other interested party), and who decides whether the statutory preconditions for immunity are met (the courts, in enforcement proceedings, and the senior master for record-keeping).

The Act’s text identifies a compact set of affected actors and the way each actor’s legal position changes.

Purchasers and subsequent mortgagees

• Primary beneficiaries under s 11. If a conveyance executed after the Act vests an estate or interest in a purchaser or mortgagee for valuable consideration and the prior mortgagee has been paid off prior to or at the conveyance, the purchaser’s interest “shall not be taken in execution” for the prior mortgagee’s judgments or Crown liabilities. The purchaser gains immunity from certain pre-existing liabilities of the prior mortgagee.

Prior mortgagees

• The mortgagee who is paid off prior to or at the conveyance is the debtor whose personal liabilities the Act addresses. If they have outstanding judgments, recognisances, or Crown debts, those personal liabilities remain against the mortgagee personally, but s 11 prevents those liabilities from operating as a charge on the property once the mortgagee has been paid off and the conveyance takes effect.

Creditors of mortgagees and judgments creditors generally

• Where the conditions in s 11 are met, those creditors cannot take the land vested in the purchaser or mortgagee in execution; their enforcement remedies against the mortgagee remain but cannot attach the land that has been vested in a purchaser or mortgagee under a qualifying conveyance.

The Crown and Crown processes

• Section 11 explicitly contemplates Crown liabilities and processes (writ of extent and other process issued by or on behalf of Her Majesty), and excludes the land from being rendered liable in respect of Crown judgments, recognisances, inquisition, obligation or acceptance of office by the mortgagee once the mortgagee has been paid off prior to or at conveyance.

Grantors of life annuities and rentcharges

• Under s 12, a life annuity or rentcharge “granted after the passing of this Act” will not affect lands as to purchasers, mortgagees or creditors unless and until the specified memorandum is lodged with the senior master. The grantor therefore bears the burden of registration if the annuity is to be effective against subsequent purchasers.

Parties conducting conveyancing searches

• Section 12 entitles “all persons” to search the book on payment of one shilling. Section 13 allows the parties themselves to make searches under “proper regulations in the office”, which changes the search market by allowing purchasers or their solicitors to conduct searches directly rather than having to employ a searcher or intermediary.

Senior master of the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster

• The senior master is allocated the administrative duty to receive memoranda, to enter particulars into an alphabetical book and to charge prescribed fees (s 12). That officer is therefore central to the notice regime and the fees form an administrative income for that office.

Mortgage lenders and conveyancers

• Lenders taking security over land must assess whether a mortgagee has been paid off and whether any annuities or rentcharges have been registered under s 12, because the presence or absence of registration and the timing of payment/conveyance determine whether land can be made liable. Conveyancers’ due diligence practices are therefore directly affected.

Persons holding annuities by will

• Specifically excluded from s 12’s registration requirement by s 14. The text therefore creates a class distinction between annuities created inter vivos and those created testamentarily.

Registrants, record-keepers and searchers

• The Act prescribes fees (two shillings and sixpence for entry; one shilling for search). Who actually pays those fees depends on which party seeks to protect an annuity (entry fee) and which party seeks to search the register (search fee).

Geographic and practical reach

• The statute as drafted names an officer of the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster. The compilation table states this Imperial Act was adopted in WA from 15 July 1867. That adoption places these procedural obligations and registry mechanisms into WA law (subject to later deletions and repeals recorded in the compilation table). Users should note the registry specified is a named Westminster office; the Act places the recordkeeping and search processes with that office in the statute text (s 12), and the compilation table records the adoption date and later amendments.

In all these instances, the Act changes who pays (entry fee, search fee), who decides (the senior master for entries; courts for enforcement), and what behaviour will change (grantors must lodge memoranda to preserve priority; purchasers or their agents must search the specified book to locate annuities; purchasers gain immunity for property conveyed after the Act where mortgagees were paid off).

The Act primarily establishes duties related to notice and record-keeping and rights in enforcement contexts.

Rights created or clarified

• Purchaser/mortgagee immunity: Where a conveyance executed after the Act vests an estate in a purchaser or mortgagee for valuable consideration and the prior mortgagee was paid off prior to or at conveyance, the purchaser’s lands are immune from being taken in execution under writs such as elegit, writs of execution or writs of extent in respect of judgments, decrees, orders or rules against the mortgagee or Crown liabilities as described (s 11). This is a right enforceable against judgment-creditors and the Crown’s processes once statutory conditions are met.
• Right to search: “All persons shall be at liberty to search” the book and related registers in the senior master’s office on payment of one shilling (s 12). Section 13 expands the practical right by allowing parties to make searches themselves under “proper regulations in the office”.

Duties imposed

• Duty to lodge a memorandum (or equivalently, duty to ensure a memorandum is lodged): Annuities and rentcharges granted after the Act (except those by marriage settlement) will not affect lands as to purchasers, mortgagees or creditors unless a memorandum containing specified particulars is left with the senior master (s 12). The duty falls on the person seeking the annuity’s priority; leaving the memorandum is a precondition for the annuity to affect subsequent purchasers.
• Duty of the senior master: On receiving a memorandum, the senior master must “forthwith enter the particulars aforesaid in a book in alphabetical order by the name of the person whose estate is intended to be affected” and must record the year and day of the month when the memorandum is left, and is entitled to an entry fee (s 12).
• Duty to pay fees: The person lodging the memorandum must pay the entry fee for the senior master’s entry (two shillings and sixpence) and anyone searching the book must pay one shilling (s 12). Section 13 limits the search fee to one shilling per search even if multiple names are searched where the names relate to the same purchase, mortgage or transaction.
• Duty to observe formal content: The memorandum must include specified particulars: the name; the usual or last known place of abode; and the title, trade or profession of the person whose estate is intended to be affected; the date of the instrument granting the annuity; and the annual sum or sums to be paid (s 12). Missing particulars will mean the memorandum does not satisfy the Act’s precondition and the annuity will not bind purchasers.

Enforcement mechanisms and limits

• The Act’s protective mechanics operate by preventing specific enforcement processes from affecting land when statutory conditions are met. Section 11 identifies the writs and processes (elegit, writ of execution, writ of extent) and categories of Crown processes, and declares that lands vested in purchasers or mortgagees under qualifying conveyances “shall not be taken in execution” or be charged by such processes.
• There are no express criminal penalties or fine-based sanctions in ss 11-14. The operative enforcement is therefore civil and procedural, reliant on the courts and the senior master’s record-keeping.

Implicit procedural duties

• The text implies an administrative duty on the office to make the registers available for search and to regulate party-conducted searches (“under proper regulations in the office”) (s 13). Those regulations are not specified in the Act and therefore rest with the office’s practice.

Who pays, who decides, and who acts

• Who pays: the person lodging an entry pays the two shillings and sixpence entry fee; searchers pay one shilling; purchasers (or their searchers) bear the search cost.
• Who decides: the senior master decides to accept and record memoranda and charge fees; courts decide disputes about whether lands are immune from execution under s 11.
• Who acts: grantors lodge memoranda to obtain priority; purchasers or their conveyancers search the book to discover recorded annuities; the senior master acts to record entries.

In short, the statute sets out a notice architecture that assigns duties to those who seek to give an annuity effect against purchasers and confers rights of immunity to purchasers where the statutory conditions in s 11 are satisfied. The statute prescribes procedural steps, required content of memoranda, and fees, but leaves details of search regulation to the office.

The Act contains no express criminal penalties, monetary fines for non-compliance with duties (beyond the administrative fees), or statutory sanction clauses. Its enforcement is primarily civil and procedural. The text provides direct legal effects that operate as either a bar or a condition in enforcement and title disputes.

Enforcement by nullification of execution remedies (s 11)

• Mechanism: Section 11 enforces its policy by rendering the lands of a purchaser or mortgagee immune from particular enforcement writs and processes if the statutory preconditions are met. The court, when asked to issue or enforce a writ of elegit, a writ of execution, or a writ of extent, must apply the statutory bar where lands are vested in a purchaser or mortgagee under qualifying conveyance and the mortgagee was paid off prior to or on the conveyance. The practical enforcement is therefore via judicial application of the statute during any execution or enforcement proceeding.
• Who enforces: the court that would otherwise issue execution or enforcement process, and potentially the defendant purchaser or mortgagee who can plead the statute as a defence to an enforcement application.

Record-keeping and fee enforcement (s 12)

• Mechanism: Section 12 makes an annuity or rentcharge ineffective as to purchasers, mortgagees or creditors unless the memorandum is left and entered. The “penalty” for non-compliance is in rem inefficacy against subsequent purchasers , i.e. failure to register means the annuity does not affect purchasers. The senior master’s role in recording, and the entry fee entitlement, are the Act’s administrative enforcement devices.
• Fee enforcement: payment of two shillings and sixpence is prescribed for entries; payment of one shilling is required for searches. The Act does not set penalties for non-payment; impliedly the office will refuse to make an entry without payment and refuse to provide search access until fees are paid.

Search regulation enforcement (s 13)

• The statute permits parties to make searches themselves “under proper regulations in the office.” The Act does not specify those regulations; enforcement of them rests with the office that manages the registry. Any denial of search rights or regulation-based refusals would be enforced administratively by that office and subject to judicial review only through ordinary channels.

No criminal sanctions or alternative remedies

• The Act does not create offences or include civil damages remedies for improper conduct in relation to entries or searches. The primary legal effect for non-compliance is that interests are not binding on purchasers.

Interaction with Crown processes (s 11)

• The Act specifies certain Crown processes that cannot render the land liable once the mortgagee has been paid off prior to or at the conveyance. Enforcement of that immunity in proceedings involving writs issued by or on behalf of Her Majesty will be a judicial question; the text itself precludes the taking in execution of such lands under the described Crown processes when the statutory conditions are met.

Statutory deletions and repeals affecting enforcement

• The compilation table notes deletions of sections 1-8 (Courts Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2004 s 20(1)(g)) and of s 9 (Statutes (Repeals and Minor Amendments) Act 2025 s 4(1)(h)), and that s 10 was repealed by The Debtors Act 1871 s 23. Those deletions may remove other enforcement or procedural mechanisms originally in the Imperial Act; only ss 11-14 remain operative in this compilation for the protections and registration duties described above.

Practical enforcement consequences

• In practice, enforcement is about pleading and proof: a purchaser asserting immunity will need to demonstrate the conveyance was executed after the Act and that the mortgagee had been paid off prior to or at the conveyance; similarly a claimant asserting an annuity against a purchaser must show compliance with the memorandum requirements in s 12. The Act places the burden of compliance on those seeking to affect purchasers, and the remedy for non-compliance is ineffectiveness against purchasers rather than a fine.

The Act was enacted with explicit reference to, and interaction with, earlier Imperial Judgments Acts and later local legislation. The compilation material and the Act’s own preamble identify the legislative context and how the statute sits relative to other statutory instruments.

Preamble and related Imperial Acts

• The preamble lists earlier Imperial Acts dealing with judgments, lis pendens and debtor remedies (Judgments Acts 1838, 1839, 1840 and related Chancery of the County Palatine enactments). The Act’s text is framed as extending protections and procedures relating to judgments, decrees, orders and lis pendens, and its substantive protections (s 11) and registry mechanism (s 12) are part of that family of reforms.

Adoption in Western Australia

• The compilation table records that the Imperial Act was adopted into WA law by the Imperial Acts Adopting Ordinance 1867, commencing 15 July 1867. This adoption imports the Act’s terms into WA law subject to local amendment or repeal, as noted in the compilation entries.

Subsequent WA modifications and repeals

• Sectional deletions and repeals: the compilation table records that ss 1-8 were deleted by the Courts Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2004 s 20(1)(g) (which commenced 1 May 2005), s 9 was deleted by the Statutes (Repeals and Minor Amendments) Act 2025 s 4(1)(h) (commenced 26 Sep 2025), and s 10 was repealed in WA by The Debtors Act 1871 s 23. Those later Acts have changed the statute book; users should consult the compilation table for precise amendment history. The remaining operative provisions in this compilation are ss 11-14.

Interaction with local title and property regimes

• The Act governs priority and enforceability questions in relation to conveyances and annuities. It is silent about any specific land registration or Torrens title machinery, and instead relies on a central memorandum registry for life annuities and rentcharges at the senior master’s office. Where other statutes establish registration schemes for land or encumbrances, the interplay will depend on those statutes’ text and whether they displace the Act’s regime. The text of this compilation does not specify any displacement; it identifies the Act’s own requirements.

Effect on enforcement remedies and Crown enforcement

• Section 11 interacts directly with enforcement procedures and Crown processes by limiting the ability of judgment-creditors and Crown officers to take lands in execution where the statutory conditions are satisfied. Where other statutes set out enforcement routes (e.g. rules for executions, garnishee proceedings or land charges regimes), the courts will need to reconcile those statutes with s 11 when deciding whether property can be made liable.

Registration and notice doctrines

• The Act converts certain types of incumbrances (inter vivos life annuities and rentcharges) into interests that must be the subject of a recorded memorandum to be effective against purchasers. That structure creates a statutory notice requirement for those interests; any parallel land charges or registry statutes enacted later would need to be read against this statutory scheme to determine which registry or process governs priority.

Procedural and practice rules

• Section 13 authorises parties to conduct searches themselves subject to the office’s regulations. If other statutes or court rules prescribe search processes, fees or admissible procedures, those instruments will interact with the office’s regulations and the Act’s one-shilling fee rule. The Act leaves the detailed regulation to the registry.

Statutory hierarchy and repeal

• The compilation table shows later WA laws have deleted or repealed some sections. Where later WA statutes conflict with the Act’s remaining provisions they would govern to the extent of the inconsistency. The compilation table should be consulted to identify which parts of the Imperial Act remain in force in WA.

In sum, the Act forms part of a network of judgments and property statutes. Its operative mechanisms,immunity for purchasers when mortgagees are paid off prior to conveyance, and a registration requirement for inter vivos annuities,must be read alongside other local property and enforcement legislation to determine current practical effects in WA.

The compilation table attached to the statutory text sets out the adoption date and subsequent legislative changes relevant to Western Australia.

Adoption and commencement

• The Judgments Act 1855 (Imperial) was assented to on 26 April 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c. 15). The compilation records that it was adopted in Western Australia by the Imperial Acts Adopting Ordinance 1867, with a commencement date of 15 July 1867 (see compilation table and note 1).

Later relevant enactments recorded in the compilation table

• The Debtors Act 1871 (34 Vic. No. 21), s 23: The table notes that s 10 of the Imperial Act was repealed in WA by The Debtors Act 1871 s 23. The Debtors Act 1871 is listed with assent dated 13 January 1871 and commenced 13 January 1871 (see compilation table). The footnote also indicates a commencement of 1 April 1871 for some application; the compilation notes the repeal of s 10 in WA by that 1871 Act (see notes).

• Courts Legislation Amendment and Repeal Act 2004 (No. 59 of 2004), s 20(1)(g): The compilation table reports deletion of ss 1-8 by s 20(1)(g) of that Act. The 2004 Act received assent 23 November 2004 and the relevant provisions commenced 1 May 2005 (see compilation table).

• Statutes (Repeals and Minor Amendments) Act 2025 (No. 14 of 2025), s 4(1)(h): The compilation table reports deletion of s 9 by s 4(1)(h) of the 2025 Act. That Act received assent 25 September 2025 and commenced 26 September 2025 (see compilation table).

Reprints and editorial notes

• The compilation notes a reprint as at 26 October 1999. The statutory text in this compilation has been updated to reflect deletions identified above. The notes also identify that the short title Judgments Act 1855 was given by the Short Titles Act 1896 (UK) and cross-reference related Judgments Acts of 1838, 1839 and 1840 adopted in WA and reproduced in the same part of the publication.

Practical consequence of amendments recorded

• The deletions of ss 1-8 and s 9 mean those original provisions are no longer part of the statute as applied in WA. Section 10 had earlier been repealed in WA by The Debtors Act 1871. The compilation leaves ss 11-14 as the operative parts reproduced in this edition. Users must consult the compilation table and the amending Acts cited to determine precisely which provisions remain in force and whether any further local amendments apply.

Citation and authority notes

• The compilation includes references to Halsbury’s Statutes and identifies the Imperial origin of the text. It also includes editorial notes on adoption and the license for the published compilation (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence).

When relying on the Act in practice, practitioners should verify the current text via the official WA legislation database, check for any further amendments since the compilation date, and consider how the 2004 and 2025 amendments and the 1871 repeal have altered the statute’s scope in WA.

The reproduced compilation contains no reported cases or litigation history interpreting these specific sections. The text cites related statutes and secondary references (for example reference to Halsbury’s Statutes of England), but does not list or reproduce judicial authorities that have construed ss 11-14 in Western Australia or elsewhere.

What the compilation records

• The compilation includes only the Imperial text and the statutory amendment/repeal history recorded in the compilation table. It does not include any case law entries, references to judicial interpretation, or reported decisions applying the Judgments Act 1855 (Imp) within Western Australia.

Implication for legal research

• The absence of case citations in this compilation means practitioners must consult separate case law databases and court reports to find judicial interpretation of ss 11-14. The Act’s wording raises issues of timing (when a conveyance is “executed after the passing of this Act”), proof (establishing the mortgagee was “paid off prior to or at the time of the execution of such conveyance”), and the sufficiency of memoranda under s 12, each of which are likely to have been the subject of judicial consideration historically. However, the compilation provides no summaries of such decisions.

Recommended next steps for practitioners (based on the compilation’s absence of litigation history)

• Search WA court decisions and English decisions for judicial constructions of similar provisions in the Imperial Judgments Acts referenced in the preamble (Judgments Acts 1838-1840 and related statutory material).
• Check whether any WA legislation or court rules have further modified the interpretation or operation of ss 11-14 since adoption.
• Where factual disputes about payment of a mortgagee or the validity of a memorandum arise, prepare to prove statutory preconditions to a court in enforcement proceedings.

In short, the compilation does not document any litigation history; practitioners should look to external case law research to discover how courts have applied these provisions.

The Act’s text contains several practical traps and timing-sensitive requirements that affect priority, enforceability and due diligence.

Timing of conveyance and payment

• The protection in s 11 applies only where a conveyance is “executed after the passing of this Act” and where the mortgagee “shall have been paid off prior to or at the time of the execution of such conveyance”. That language makes two timing points critical: (i) the conveyance execution date relative to the Act’s operation; and (ii) the timing of payment to the mortgagee relative to the conveyance. If the mortgagee is not paid off prior to or at the conveyance, the purchaser’s protection under s 11 will not attach. Practitioners must collect contemporaneous evidence of payment and the conveyance date.

Scope of protected liabilities

• Section 11 enumerates the writs and processes from which the land is protected (writ of elegit, other writs of execution, writ of extent and “other process issued by or on behalf of Her Majesty” in the described circumstances). These are specific legal processes; other methods of enforcement (for example, charging orders or later statutory land charge regimes) are not mentioned in the Act and may not be covered. One must not assume blanket immunity from all forms of enforcement beyond the listed processes.

Registry location and practical accessibility (s 12)

• Section 12 requires a memorandum to be left with the senior master of the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster and recorded in an alphabetical book there. For Western Australian practice, the mandated registry in Westminster may raise practical difficulties, given geographic distance, unless local adaptation has been made by WA statute or practice. The compilation confirms adoption into WA law but does not adapt the registry location. Practitioners should check local procedural adaptations or equivalent registries used in WA after adoption.

Formality and content of memoranda (s 12)

• The memorandum must contain precise particulars: name; usual or last known place of abode; and the title, trade, or profession of the person whose estate is intended to be affected; the date of the instrument; and the annual sum. Omission of any of these particulars risks the memorandum failing to satisfy the statutory condition, leaving the annuity ineffective against purchasers. The Act does not provide remedial registration procedures for defective memoranda.

Fees are prescribed in historical currency (s 12)

• The entry fee is fixed at two shillings and sixpence, and the search fee at one shilling. These amounts are expressed in historical currency and the compilation does not indicate contemporary equivalents or whether fees have been modernised. Practitioners should verify current applicable fees and whether local legislation has updated or replaced the fee regime.

Search coverage and single-fee nuance (s 13)

• Section 13 allows parties to search themselves and caps the fee at one shilling “although more names than one shall be searched for where such names relate to the same purchase, mortgage, or other transaction.” That single-fee rule applies only where the multiple names relate to the same transaction. Misunderstanding the scope of “same transaction” could lead to under-budgeted due diligence costs.

Exclusion for testamentary annuities (s 14)

• Annuities or rentcharges given by will are excluded from the Act’s registration requirement. Practitioners must therefore treat testamentary annuities under the alternative legal rules that govern testamentary dispositions; the Act will not render such interests ineffective as to purchasers for want of registration under ss 12-13.

Deleted and repealed provisions

• Sections 1-8 and s 9 have been deleted by later WA statutes per the compilation table, and s 10 was previously repealed by the Debtors Act 1871 in WA. Those deletions may remove other provisions that historically interacted with ss 11-14. Practitioners should not assume the missing sections still apply and should consult amending legislation for current scope.

Burden of proof in disputes

• The Act’s protective and registrational effects will require proof: purchasers asserting immunity must prove the mortgagee was paid off prior to or at the conveyance; claimants of annuities must show a compliant memorandum was left and recorded. The Act does not specify evidentiary rules; the onus will be addressed under ordinary civil procedure.

No civil damages or penalties for registry failure

• Failure to register an annuity does not give rise to statutory penalties; it simply renders the interest ineffective against purchasers. Claimants cannot rely on the Act to obtain damages for failure to register; their remedy is restricted to proving the annuity’s effect against non-purchasers or before the purchaser.

Administrative discretion and unspecified regulations

• Section 13 allows searches “under proper regulations in the office”. The Act does not specify those regulations, leaving their content to administrative decision. That creates uncertainty about exact search procedures and any practical limitations or requirements imposed by the office.

In short, the main practical “gotchas” arise from timing (payment and execution), strict formalities for the annuity memorandum, the physical and procedural locus of the registry, the historical fee schedule, and the absence of statutory penalties beyond loss of priority. Each of these creates risks for purchasers, claimants and conveyancers unless the statutory requirements are carefully observed and contemporaneous evidence preserved.

The Act prescribes a small, concrete set of compliance steps for two discrete tasks: (A) preserving the priority of a life annuity or rentcharge against purchasers; and (B) ensuring a purchaser’s immunity under s 11 is available and provable.

A. Preserving a life annuity or rentcharge against purchasers (s 12)

1. Prepare the memorandum in the form required by the Act. The memorandum must contain:

   • the name of the person whose estate is intended to be affected by the annuity or rentcharge;
   • the usual or last known place of abode of that person;
   • the title, trade or profession of that person;
   • the date of the deed, bond, instrument or assurance whereby the annuity or rentcharge is granted;
   • the annual sum or sums to be paid (s 12).

2. Lodge the memorandum with the senior master of the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster.

   • The Act requires the memorandum to be “left” with that officer who must then “forthwith enter” the particulars in an alphabetical book (s 12). Practitioners should obtain and preserve the office-stamped receipt or a copy of the entry showing the day and year of lodgement, since the date and the fact of entry are the statutory triggers.

3. Pay the required entry fee.

   • The senior master is entitled to two shillings and sixpence for every such entry (s 12). Verify whether WA law or the registry’s practice has updated the fee; if not, ensure payment is made in accordance with the registry’s directions.

4. Check and keep a copy of the registry entry.

   • Obtain a certified copy of the book entry or a registry certificate showing the particulars and the date of entry. The statutory efficacy of the annuity against purchasers depends on the memorandum having been left and entered; documentary proof is therefore the key compliance deliverable.

5. Advise potential purchasers or their conveyancers promptly.

   • To avoid disputes, provide notice and copies of the memorandum/registry entry to the purchaser or their legal representative, and record the fact of registration in the conveyance documentation.

B. Purchaser/mortgagee due diligence to secure immunity under s 11

1. Verify the execution date of the conveyance.

   • Section 11 applies where the conveyance is executed after the Act. Confirm the conveyance is in fact executed after the Act’s commencement date as adopted in WA (15 July 1867 per compilation) or as otherwise required by subsequent WA legislation.

2. Obtain contemporaneous proof that the prior mortgagee was paid off prior to or at the time of the conveyance.

   • The purchaser must be able to establish payment to the mortgagee occurred “prior to or at the time of the execution of such conveyance” (s 11). Practical proof includes receipts, account statements showing discharge of the mortgage, release or reconveyance documentation, or escrow disbursement records.

3. Search the annuities/rentcharges book and related registers.

   • Pay the search fee and conduct searches at the senior master’s office to identify any recorded annuities or rentcharges under s 12. Under s 13 parties may search themselves “under proper regulations in the office”; if other names relate to the same transaction, the single one-shilling fee covers multiple-name searches for that transaction.

4. Record evidence of the searches.

   • Keep copies of search results and receipts evidencing payment of the search fee. If a search shows a memorandum recorded, proceed with caution and address any annuity claims in the conveyancing documentation.

5. When acting as a lender or mortgagee, require representations and warranties from the seller regarding payments to prior mortgagees and disclosure of annuities.

   • Where relevant, include contractual clauses requiring the vendor to produce evidence of discharge of mortgages and to warrant no unregistered annuities exist other than those disclosed.

C. Administrative and practical steps

1. Confirm current fee structures and registry location in WA.

   • The Act specifies historical fees (two shillings and sixpence for entries, one shilling for search) and a named registry. Practitioners should verify whether WA practice has created an equivalent local registry, modernised fee schedules, or otherwise adapted the procedure since adoption.

2. Preserve documentary proof in conveyancing bundles.

   • Entry receipts, search certificates, payment receipts and proof of discharge should be included in the conveyancing file and be capable of being produced in any enforcement dispute.

3. If drafting memoranda on behalf of a client, ensure all prescribed particulars are accurate and complete.

   • Omissions risk the annuity failing to bind purchasers.

4. If relying on the purchaser’s immunity, be prepared to plead and prove the statutory prerequisites in any enforcement proceeding.

   • Gather contemporaneous evidence of payment to the prior mortgagee, the conveyance execution date, and any relevant registered memoranda for annuities.

D. Special considerations

1. Testamentary annuities

   • The Act does not require registration for annuities given by will (s 14). For such interests, determine applicable testamentary and probate rules and any alternative registration or notice regimes.

2. Local legislative changes

   • Check for subsequent WA statutes that may have amended, replaced or supplemented the Act’s provisions, particularly given the deletions and repeals recorded in the compilation table. Confirm whether local rules have relocated the registry function to a WA court office.

3. Administrative regulations

   • Section 13 allows searches “under proper regulations in the office”. Before attempting a party-conducted search, obtain the office’s current regulations and comply with any procedural requirements.

Checklist summary (practical quick reference)

• For annuity grantor: prepare full memorandum as per s 12; lodge with senior master; pay entry fee; obtain registry receipt/certificate.
• For purchaser/creditor: obtain proof vendor paid off prior mortgagee at or before conveyance; search the annuities book and other registers; preserve search receipts and entry copies; include contractual warranties in sale/purchase documentation.
• For solicitors/conveyancers: verify current registry location and fee modernisation; ensure memoranda are properly drafted and lodged; retain documentary proof of payment and registry entries; advise clients of the risk from unregistered annuities.

Following these steps, grounded in the text of ss 11-14, is the means by which parties fulfil the Act’s formal preconditions and preserve or obtain the rights the Act creates.