HM Land Registry Update – Is my Property registered?
HM Land Registry (HMLR) is amongst 124 government departments that will strike on 1st February amidst ongoing disputes over pay, pensions, jobs, and redundancy terms, the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union announced on Wednesday.
HMLR said at the end of 2022 that they were attempting to reduce the impact of strikes on property transactions, stating they’re “reviewing the controls it has in place to mitigate and reduce the impacts of all identified risks” arising from strike action, adding they “anticipate minimal disruption”
We will of course be working with them to minimise and hopefully eliminate any disruption for ongoing transactions.
But for those of our clients who have already purchased New Homes with us we are currently struggling with a wider problem caused by substantial registration delays at the Land Registry.
Despite the challenges of Lockdown and Covid over the last few years, the property market has been exceptionally strong, mainly due to the need for people to review and change lifestyle but also the impact that the Stamp Duty incentive schemes offered by the Government created substantial demand.
Coupled with this and the difficulties in working practices at HMLR, there have been considerable delays in post completion transactions which have resulted in some property applications completing up to 24 months after being lodged at the Land Registry.
The reasons for this have in the main been down to a volume but also complicated transactions needing certain experienced Land Registry staff to complete, which in the main, have created the delays on top of the need for the Land Registry to continue and prioritise certain services that they offer.
There is a link available via their GOV.UK blog which gives support and updates in respect of current transaction times and delays.
Improving our service speeds - HM Land Registry (blog.gov.uk)
The Land Registry guarantee does cover you during the ‘registration gap’ while the application is not being processed.
We are able to ask for applications to be expedited but due to the size of the backlog the Land Registry will require evidence of financial loss or distress. For example if you have a sale or re mortgage agreed which cannot proceed until the title is updated.
We are dealing with any correspondence received regarding the overdue applications as soon as we receive correspondence from the Land Registry but we are at the moment very much tied to their timescales. We hope a resolution to the issues at the Land Registry can be resolved soon and of course if your application is received earlier than they currently estimate (which we hope it will) then we will let you have a copy as soon as we receive it.
If you are concerned about your application, or need it to be expedited then please get in touch with your lawyer or email us at enquiries@c-g-m.co.uk and we can confirm the current anticipated date