What is an Overriding Interest?

Overriding interest is an English land law concept that allows certain interests in a property to be binding on any new owner, even though they are not registered with the Land Registry, as is usually required. Examples of overriding interests could include tenancies of less than seven years, rights of occupation for people who are in occupation but might not be aware of their rights, public rights of way where it is not clear who would have had responsibility for registering them, and rights to light or physical support from adjacent buildings.