Torrens title is a system of land title where a register of land holdings maintained by the state guarantees indefeasible title to those included in the register. It differs markedly from the old system title, which depends on proof of an unbroken chain of title back to a good root of title. The Torrens title system was introduced in South Australia in 1858, formulated by then colonial Premier of South Australia Sir Robert Torrens. Since then, it has become pervasive around the Commonwealth of Nations and very common around the globe, the United States being a notable exception.

Limits of deeds registration

Prior to Torrens title and under the general deeds registration system, land owners needed to prove their ownership of a particular piece of land back to the earliest grant of land by the Crown to its first owner. This event could have occurred hundreds of years prior and could have been intervened by dozens of changes in the land's ownership. A person's ownership over land could also be challenged, potentially causing great legal expense to land owners and hindering development because land owners were concerned that their title over land could be overturned at any time, wasting the funds they invested in the property. A register of who owned what land was maintained, but it was unreliable and could be challenged in the courts at any time. The limits of the deeds registration system meant that transfers of land were slow, expensive, and often unable to create certainty of title.

Creation

In order to resolve these deficencies, Torrens introduced the new title system in 1858, after a boom in land speculation and a haphazard grant system resulted in the loss of over 75% of the 40,000 land grants issued in the province (now state) of South Australia. He established a system based around a central registry of all the land in a jurisdiction (in his case, South Australia) and recording its owner. All transfers of land are recorded in the register. Most importantly, the owner of the land is established by virtue of their name being recorded in the government's register. The Torrens title also records easements and the creation and discharge of mortgages.

The historical origins of the Torrens title, however, are a matter of considerable controversy. Torrens himself acknowledged adapting his proposals from earlier systems of transfer and registration, particularly the system of registration of merchant ships in the United Kingdom. James E. Hogg, in Australian Torrens System with Statutes (1905), has shown that Torrens derived ideas from many other sources and that he received assistance from a number of persons within South Australia. Stanley Robinson, in Transfer of Land in Victoria (1979) has argued that Ulrich Hübbe, a German lawyer living in South Australia in the 1850s, made the most important single contribution by adapting principles borrowed from the Hanseatic registration system in Hamburg.

Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that Torrens' political activities were substantially responsible for securing acceptance of the new system in South Australia and eventually, in other Australian colonies.

Adoption

Other Australian colonies introduced similar legislation between 1862 and 1875.

The bill to introduce Torrens title in South Australia was deeply unpopular among lawyers at the time of its introduction because it would reduce the amount of work, and therefore the amount of money that they could earn in the field of conveyancing. The Torrens system was also a marked departure from the common law of real property and its further development has been characterised by the reluctance of common law judges to accept it.

Nevertheless, it has since become popular throughout the globe as it addresses two major problems identified with poverty in the third world by Hernando de Soto that of uncertainty surrounding land ownership and confusion around land transactions.

Strata titles are an enhancement of Torrens Title for apartment buildings.