A senior Land Registry executive has insisted he wasn’t blaming conveyancers for transactions delays following a controversial blog last month that highlighted errors on property forms.
The Land Registry’s deputy chief executive Mike Harlow wrote in a blog post last month that around one in five applications to the body have an avoidable mistake or missing information.
This then means the Land Registry has to send a request for information or ‘requisition,” which can delay a property transaction.
He suggested ‘basic errors’ are stopping applications from proceeding.
Conveyancers responded by questioning why they were being singled out.
Speaking on the Conveyancing Matters podcast, Harlow has said the post wasn’t “pointing the finger of blame.”
He said: “We have a significant problem at the with the speed of service with applications to change the register post-completion.
“It is everything we talk about in meetings.
“There are other things that would help conveyancers. If it is harder for us then it is harder for the conveyancing sector.”
He said the blog was a way of putting the issue into the public space so everyone could “tighten up.”
Harlow added: It is quite noticeable that there is a difference between firms doing similar work.
“It is isn’t an issue for some firms.
“Others have a requisition rate of more than 90%.
“It is not endemic, it is about certain firms recognising there is something they can do to help themselves and the Land Registry.”
The podcast is presented by legal property professionals Stuart Forsdike and Lorraine Richardson.
Forsdike said: “Mike reminded us that the Land Registry has no choice over its workload – it is an organisation that has to deal with whatever is sent to it, whenever it is sent.
“As a law firm owner, I can appreciate how challenging this must be. Mike is a figurehead for the Land Registry and often speaks at conferences to those at the top of conveyancing organisations. I hope that conveyancers closer to the coal face will appreciate the chance to hear things about the Land Registry and how it works direct.
Richardson added: “Mike was refreshingly open about the current position of the Land Registry. But he also rightly stressed the collaborative approach taken by the Land Registry and every conveyancing firm in the country and their joint contribution to the property industry, the importance of which underpins so much of the UK economy.”
> Listen to the full podcast episode.
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Transaction delays can’t be caused by errors in registration applications - the registration application isn’t made until after completion. The number of times the LR process interferes with the pace of a live matter is negligible. This whole conversation is irrelevant.
Transaction delays can’t be caused by errors in registration applications - the registration application isn’t made until after completion. The number of times the LR process interferes with the pace of a live matter is negligible. This whole conversation is irrelevant.
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