The area of each UK title outwith Scotland and each outwith UK title is calculated using Land Register polygon data contained in the RoS Geographic Information System (GIS) instead of the textual area information submitted during the registration process.
A polygon is a closed geometric shape, which represents the mapped extent and location of a title, or part of a title, in the Land Register.
A title could include a bundle of rights, not just ownership rights but also other rights such as access rights. All polygons associated with each title is used in the area analysis, not just ownership polygons. This is because the right associated with each title polygon can only be determined with absolute certainty by manually referring to the description of the property in the title information held on the Land Register.
In addition, due to the way some types of properties are mapped in two dimensions, it is not always possible to calculate the exact area of ownership even where the polygons which delineates ownership is identified. For example, for flatted properties the entire building footprint is mapped for each title contained within the building.
Area calculations may therefore be an overestimate of areas that are owned by owners with an address outwith the UK or owners with a UK address outwith Scotland.
Title polygons are retrieved for each UK title outwith Scotland and each outwith UK title and the area extent dissolved/aggregated by local authority to calculate area totals for each local authority as at 31 December 2022. The total land area for each local authority was calculated using the OS Open Data BoundaryLine Product. Some coastal title polygons extend beyond the boundaries of the BoundaryLine product and these areas are not assigned to any Local Authority.
The total land mass covered by outwith UK titles is therefore more than the sum of the outwith UK title land mass assigned to each of the Scottish local authorities, and the total land mass covered by UK titles outwith Scotland is therefore more than the sum of the UK titles outwith Scotland land mass assigned to each of the Scottish local authorities.
Similarly, some title polygons extend beyond the boundaries of the Scottish Government’s Urban Rural (2015- 2016) dataset and these areas were not assigned an urban/rural classification. The total land mass covered by outwith UK titles is therefore more than the sum of the outwith UK title land mass classified as urban or rural, and the total land mass covered by UK titles outwith Scotland is therefore more than the sum of the UK titles outwith Scotland land mass classified as urban or rural.
In the Land Register, the polygons which make up a title can overlap with each other or with the polygons which make up other titles. The outwith UK titles contain overlapping areas with different interests (e.g. tenancy vs ownership). The total land mass covered by the outwith UK titles is therefore less than the sum of the outwith UK titles land mass classified as different interest categories, and the total land mass covered by UK titles outwith Scotland is therefore less than the sum of the UK titles outwith Scotland land mass classified as different interest categories.
Similarly, the total land mass covered by the outwith UK titles is less than the sum of the outwith UK titles land mass classified by country, and the total land mass covered by UK titles outwith Scotland is less than the sum of the UK titles outwith Scotland land mass classified by country/region.