Agents facing sales delays amid possible Land Registr...

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15 November 2022

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By Marc Shoffman

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Agents facing sales delays amid possible Land Registry strikes

Estate agents could face new transaction delays after the Land Registry and its Scottish equivalent were among Government departments and civil servants to back strike action.

The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) balloted civil service members on strike action this month over pay, pensions, jobs and redundancy terms.

A total of 126 departments passed the 50% turnout threshold and backed strike action.

This includes Land Registry staff, who voted for strike action by 82.5% to 17.5%.

The Registers of Scotland had backing from 90.6% of staff for strikes, while 87% of staff at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities backed industrial action.

Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman, said the stoppage couldn’t come at a worse time for the property industry.

He told Estate Agent Today: “It’s hard enough to get sales ‘over the line’ at the moment and transaction times are lengthening due to concerns over rising interest rates and economic uncertainty, so any further action compromising sales would be terrible news.

“I’m particularly mindful of those who have to move for financial or health reasons - and maybe even abroad - who perhaps have taken months to line up moving dates with those having equally important reasons.”

He said a strike would have more damage the further buyers and sellers have travelled along the transaction line but will be hugely disruptive generally.

Leaf added: “Let’s hope we have sufficient notice of the dates so we can at least advise our buyers and sellers to prepare as much as possible although it seems inevitable some sales will be compromised or lost if changes can’t be made in time.

“We always say a healthy property market is not only good for property people but the economy as a whole bearing in mind the dependency of so many other businesses on the
moving process.”

Agents north of the border may face similar delays if a strike goes ahead at the Registers of Scotland.

David Alexander, chief executive of estate agent DJ Alexander Scotland, said: “While it is understandable that members of the PCS union feel the need to take action to secure higher wages it is inevitable that this will impact on the speed at which property transactions can be carried out.

“It is, therefore, essential for agents to ensure that their homebuyers and sellers are made aware of any potential delays in the buying and selling process. Better to prepare clients for the worst rather than have them suddenly faced with an unexpected delay and become frustrated by a slowing in the process.”

He said it was unfortunate to be happening at a time when many homebuyers are trying to accelerate the buying process due to uncertainty over mortgage offers.
Alexander added: “While it obviously depends on the level of industrial action and the number of strike days this will undoubtedly cause delays in the buying and selling process. I would hope that strike action can be averted and that normal service will remain.”

The Bold Legal Group's Rob Hailstone added: "It is well documented that there are already some serious delays at the Land Registry and only this month HMLR Chief Executive Simon Hayes issued an apology for the delays conveyancers are experiencing.

"Add to that the recent article in The Telegraph: Mortgage deals collapse as civil servants allowed 60 days off a year and a pretty grim picture is emerging. Some of the more complex registrations are not expected to be completed until 2024.

"Despite these delays, most sales and purchases could possibly, with some extra work, still go ahead, and there may be a way of proceeding if the registration of the property a client wants to buy is not concluded. Problems will only really arise if a new buyer wants to sell or re mortgage before their purchase registration is complete. However, it would certainly be prudent of agents and conveyancers to let clients know that registration delays are likely and how they might affect them going forward.

"These delays also add more work on already heavily burdened conveyancers as they have to keep making sure that their client’s title/ownership is protected and keep lenders up to date."

The PCS, which is calling for a 10% pay rise, pensions justice, job security and no cuts to redundancy terms, has written to the Cabinet Office to demand “meaningful negotiations.”

Unless substantial proposals are received from the Government, the union said it will agree a programme of industrial action at its meeting on Friday 18 November.

The Land Registry said in a statement: "HM Land Registry is reviewing the controls it has in place to mitigate and reduce the impacts of all identified risks potentially arising from single day or sustained action.

“Currently, we anticipate minimal disruption to our services by planning for different scenarios.”

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- Algarve Investor
- 15 November 2022 09:29 AM
Civil servants and the Land Registry striking doesn't really add up with the government's rhetoric that the strikers are militants or disrupters or the Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati.

There is a serious problem here which is only going to get worse with the savage Autumn Statement later this week.
janet byers

15 November 2022 09:58 AM
Bu they are Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati.
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- James ellis
- 15 November 2022 10:11 AM
Agreed - reminds me of the early 70's. The economy was only salvaged as a result of Mrs Thatcher's strong stance - there won't be another saviour this time around in the light of how Mrs Truss was treated by the press.
Algarve Investor

15 November 2022 10:59 AM
The same Liz Truss who almost tanked the economy because of her refusal to listen and slavish devotion to an ideology that clearly didn't work? The same Liz Truss who only put her friends and allies in Cabinet, regardless of whether they were fit for the job? The same Liz Truss who was outlasted by a lettuce?

I'm no fan of Thatcher, not one bit, but she was a conviction politician. Truss was the complete opposite of that and completely incompetent.

The press or media weren't to blame for Truss's downfall - she and Kwarteng managed that all by themselves. And we'll all be paying for their mistakes for a good while.
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- janet byers
- 15 November 2022 11:39 AM
Truss not the pm what on earth are you ranting about
It is like tory supporter ranting about the imbeciles Corbyn or Abbott
They were conviction politicians
Convinced that to be anti-Semitic and give aid and support terror groups like Hezbollah and Hamas was a good idea

- Isobel Brookfield
- 15 November 2022 22:10 PM
Will anybody notice if the Land Registry goes on strike? Their pace of work is almost imperceptible currently as it is.