Lucy Barber shares her views with The Times on Land Registry delays
Across England and Wales, countless homeowners are facing stress and uncertainty when submitting applications with the Land Registry. Due to longstanding delays, and lack of staffing or funds, property owners are seeing transfers and registrations of ownerships taking at least a year or two to be registered, having to turn to their solicitors to help prove ownership to complete simple tasks like setting up utilities. For other concerns, like removing restrictive covenants, even after waiting years there can be no end in sight.
The backlog is partially due to stamp duty holidays during the pandemic leading to an increase in the numbers of registrations, but can also be attributed to a need for technical experts. When plans are assessed by a caseworker, years after the fact, any irregularities on plans or plots that need addressing become ultimately more difficult – the sellers won’t be around to help.
Speaking to The Times, I explained how we frequently see delays affecting our clients.
“One of my team checked to see how long it would take to register a simple freehold transfer [of ownership] and they were getting return dates of 2025 or even 2026. If you’ve got a freehold transfer, it’s a 50/50 chance it’ll come back quicky. If you’ve got a new lease for a home on a development you bought off-plan [before it was built], that’s almost certainly going to be a two-year wait before you’re registered as the owner.
Lots of people still feel very uneasy about the fact they are not yet the registered owner of their property. They also can’t send evidence to local authorities or utility companies that they own the property unless they’ve got a letter from their solicitor. We are writing lots of letters saying ‘we acted for this person and can confirm they purchased this property on that date’.”
Applicants can ask for prioritisation in some instances, but this doesn’t solve the overall backlog and delays. The industry is doing all it can to help the Land Registry and property owners, but more support is needed.
Read the full article here in The Times.
