Section 47 Mortgage and Property Law of Lagos State

Section 47 of the Mortgage and Property Law of Lagos State 2010 is about Reconveyances of mortgages by indorsed receipts. It provides as follows:

(1) A receipt indorsed on, written at the foot of, or annexed to a mortgage deed for all money secured by it, which states the name of the person who pays the money and is executed by the charge by way of legal mortgage or the person in whom the mortgaged property is vested and who is legally entitled to give
a receipt for the mortgaged money shall operate, without any conveyance, surrender, or release –

(a) where a mortgage takes effect by demise or sub-demise as, a surrender of the term, so as to determine the term or merge the same in the reversion immediately expectant thereon;

(b) where the mortgage does not take effect by demise or sub-demise as a reconveyance to it to the extent of the interest which is the subject matter of
the mortgage, to the person who immediately before the execution of the receipt was entitled to the equity of redemption; and in either case, as discharge of the
mortgaged property from all principal money and interest secured by and from all claims under the mortgage, but without prejudice to any term or other interest which is paramount to the estate or interest of the mortgage or other person in whom the mortgaged property was vested.

(2) Provided that where the money appears to have been paid by a person who is not entitled to the immediate equity of redemption, the receipt shall operate as if the benefit of the mortgage had by deed transferred to him; unless –

(a) it is otherwise expressly provided; or
(b) the mortgage is paid off out of capital money, or other money in the hands of a personal representative or trustee properly applicable for the discharge of the mortgage, and it is not expressly provided that the receipt is to operate as a transfer.

(3) Nothing in this section confers on a mortgagor a right to keep alive a mortgage paid off by him, so as to affect prejudicially, any subsequent
encumbarancer, and where there is no right to keep the mortgage alive the receipt does not operate as a transfer.

(4) This section does not affect the right of any person to person to require reassignment, surrender, release or transfer to be executed in lieu of a receipt.

(5) A receipt may be given in the form contained in the First Schedule to this Law with such variations and additions, if any, as may be deemed expedient; and where it takes effect under this section, it shall (subject as hereinafter provided) be liable to the same stamp duty as if it were a reconveyance under
seal.

(6) In a receipt given under this section the same covenants shall be implied as if the person who executes the receipt had by deed been expressed to convey the property as mortgagee subject to any interest which is paramount to the mortgage.

(7) Where the mortgage consists of a mortgage and a further charge or of more than one deed, it shall be sufficient for the purposes of this section, if
the receipt refers either to all the deeds whereby the mortgage money is secured or to the aggregate amount of the mortgage money thereby secured and for the time being owing, and is indorsed on, written at the foot of, or annexed to one of the mortgage deed.

(8) This section applies to the discharge of a charge by way of legal mortgage and to the discharge of a mortgage, whether made by way of statutory mortgage or not, executed before or after the commencement of this Law, but only as respects discharge affected such commencement.

(9) The provision of this section relating to the operation of a receipt shall (in substitution for the like statutory provisions relating to receipt given by
or on behalf of a building, friendly, industrial or provident society) apply to the discharge of a mortgage made to any such society, provided that
the receipt is executed in the manner required by the statute relating to the society, but nothing in this section shall render a receipt given by or on behalf of
any such society liable to any stamp duty which would have been otherwise payable.

(10) This section does not apply to the discharge of a charge or encumbrance registered under the Registration of Title Law.

(11) In this section “mortgaged property” means the property remaining subject to the mortgage at the date of the receipt.