News focus: HM Land Registry delays mount as solicitors fume

A property solicitor contacted me recently to declare that ‘we have a crisis on our hands’ at HM Land Registry (HMLR) (pictured above). This was not long after a letter to the Gazette reported a delay relating to the acquisition of a London residential property. This simple transfer was completed on 21 March. When is the new ownership registration expected to be completed? January 2024.

I canvassed other conveyancers to gauge their experiences. The replies were outspoken.

‘“Oh my god” is my instant reaction,’ said one solicitor who wished to remain anonymous. ‘Absolutely shocking. I have an application which completed in August 2021 and it is still awaiting processing. It is a first registration and we know that the time for completing those applications is longer, but that is over a year and nothing has happened.’

The solicitor had several buyers who agreed to purchase a property – only to find out that the seller had itself acquired the property within the last year and the registration was not completed.

To clarify, if registration is not completed, the ‘owners’ are not established as such at HMLR. ‘We get so much grief from lenders about the delays, and clients also complain about not having their titles registered. It is like we are constantly firefighting on behalf of the registry,’ the solicitor said.

Yet the picture is mixed. Peter Ambrose, managing director of conveyancing specialist The Partnership, said his firm has seen significant improvements. For instance, completion of new registrations within a month is fairly common. ‘Unfortunately, for older registrations we are still experiencing significant delays,’ Ambrose said. ‘In particular, new leases are very challenging, with 18 months not being unusual.’

For instance, a new lease registered in October 2021 is not due to be completed until September 2023. Another registered in June 2021 is not expected to be completed before April 2023. ‘For clients who need to remortgage or want the peace of mind that they actually own their properties, this is extremely frustrating,’ Ambrose added. ‘That said, we have several clients who need to sell and the expedited service is definitely helpful.’

'We get so much grief from lenders about the delays, and clients also complain about not having their titles registered'

Anonymous solicitor

John Stephenson, a partner at BDB Pitmans, said clients are shocked when they are told routine transactions can take more than 18 months to register.

‘Land Registry will expedite in cases where sale or refinance is being held up on production of the memorandum of sale or the mortgage offer with the request,’ he said. ‘But even then, there is usually a month before registration is completed. Land Registry is clearly woefully under-resourced and it is getting worse by the month.’

The Gazette put these examples to the registry.

It responded that anyone about to remortgage or sell their property within 18 months of moving should ask their conveyancer to check the registration status of their property as soon as they can. Requesting an expedited process will reduce the risk of delay. To improve service, in a ‘minority of cases’ some applications are being brought forward and processed before older ones. This might be done to help train new caseworkers or to test new application lodging and processing systems.

‘We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience as we work to increase capability and capacity, to speed up processing times for customers,’ the registry said.

Requisitions are being raised for one in five applications. This is causing ‘extensive’ delays and affecting speed of service. Around 65% of complex applications, and two-thirds of new lease applications, cannot be completed on the basis of information submitted, requiring the registry to go back to the applicant.

A registry spokesperson added: ‘HM Land Registry continues to deliver the essential services that enable the property market to function throughout an extremely busy period for the market. Customers with a registration application that must be completed urgently can request for it to be expedited through our free service. Over 95% of expedited applications are completed within 10 working days.

‘Applications to create a new entry in the register take more time than applications simply to change it as they often involve processing large amounts of detailed information, and sometimes require third-party services such as surveys.

‘Usually, the time taken to register a property does not affect property transactions as registration takes place after a sale has been completed and the property ownership is securely held as soon as we receive the application. However, improving speed of service is our top priority. Our new Strategy 2022+ sets out how we will significantly increase the use of automation to deliver a better service for our customers.’

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