If registration isn't within the OS1 priority period, what is the effect on the transfer?

• A. It remains effective only in equity and the buyers do not become legal owners.
• B. It immediately becomes a legal charge on the property.
• C. It is void and cannot be registered at a later date.
• D. It has no effect on ownership or registration.

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that legal ownership requires registration. The OS1 priority period is the window during which the transfer must be registered to secure legal title. If registration isn’t completed within that window, the buyer’s position rests only on equity rather than legal ownership. That means the purchaser does not become the legal owner of the property; the registered owner remains the seller on the title, and the buyer’s rights are weaker and more easily affected by competing interests. So the transfer is not void or transformed into a legal charge; it simply hasn’t yet conferred legal ownership, leaving the buyer with an equitable interest.