can a land registry application take over 6 months?
Discussion
We bought a house in April 2017, it was a self-build place so it was a one off, built in the former garden of my neighbours place. All seemed fine until we had knock at the door earlier this year, my neighbour was in the process of selling his house and through the searches and checks it turns out the people we bought from had taken to much land.
It amounted to a 1m wide strip running from the front of the property to the back...so maybe 20-30 square meters of land. My neighbour has been great about it and we reached an agreement where he would transfer the land to me for a nominal amount. All went through fine and we received notification from our solicitor handing the conveyancing that everything was done and the documentation had all been submitted to the land registry. This was on the 22nd of June 2018.
I admit that I then pretty much forgot about it and didn't follow up until recently.
We are now going through a process of remortgaging the house and the solicitor handing this work has found that there is still an application pending which means they cannot progress through with the remortgage until it's resolved.
The solicitor handing the original land transfer are telling me it was actually submitted on the 16th of July.
It seems really odd that what should probably be a pretty regular piece of work for the land registry would take so long...and I can't seem to see anything that allows me to look for myself both the current status and the date it was actually submitted from the LR website (unless I am missing something obvious).
Apologies for the long post, but what I am trying to find out is if there is anyway that I as a non-professional can find out whats going on with the land registry...anyone know?
It amounted to a 1m wide strip running from the front of the property to the back...so maybe 20-30 square meters of land. My neighbour has been great about it and we reached an agreement where he would transfer the land to me for a nominal amount. All went through fine and we received notification from our solicitor handing the conveyancing that everything was done and the documentation had all been submitted to the land registry. This was on the 22nd of June 2018.
I admit that I then pretty much forgot about it and didn't follow up until recently.
We are now going through a process of remortgaging the house and the solicitor handing this work has found that there is still an application pending which means they cannot progress through with the remortgage until it's resolved.
The solicitor handing the original land transfer are telling me it was actually submitted on the 16th of July.
It seems really odd that what should probably be a pretty regular piece of work for the land registry would take so long...and I can't seem to see anything that allows me to look for myself both the current status and the date it was actually submitted from the LR website (unless I am missing something obvious).
Apologies for the long post, but what I am trying to find out is if there is anyway that I as a non-professional can find out whats going on with the land registry...anyone know?
I think you should ask your solicitor to chase the Land Registry.
Earlier in the year transfers of part, which yours is, were taking c. 67 working days, on average, to process.
I would have thought that the value in the original plot & house should be sufficient for the remortgage to continue. Take this up with the new lender, or better still, if you used a mortgage broker get them to address the issue.
Good luck.
NJSS
Earlier in the year transfers of part, which yours is, were taking c. 67 working days, on average, to process.
I would have thought that the value in the original plot & house should be sufficient for the remortgage to continue. Take this up with the new lender, or better still, if you used a mortgage broker get them to address the issue.
Good luck.
NJSS
Yep I have been chasing (probably annoying them quite a lot in the process!)...it's going to cost up to about £500 a month until it's sorted so I am pretty motivated!
I'll talk again with the new lender, they were saying that as it's in process they can't get access to the title deeds until it's completed so they can't complete my re-mortgage.
I'll talk again with the new lender, they were saying that as it's in process they can't get access to the title deeds until it's completed so they can't complete my re-mortgage.
Just looking at your profile and I see that you're in Hertfordshire, that is part of the problem 
When I sold my flat in WGC the searches alone took eight weeks...
Just take heart that you and your neighbour managed to come such an amicable agreement with resorting to lawyers, good luck with getting it sorted.
When I sold my flat in WGC the searches alone took eight weeks...
Just take heart that you and your neighbour managed to come such an amicable agreement with resorting to lawyers, good luck with getting it sorted.
We had a ‘boundary issue’ when buying our current place in that the Title Plan showed that part of the garden and part of the house were within the neighbour’s boundary. The neighbours were happy to effectively sign over this slice of land and the vendor’s solicitor took care of this. We completed the day after the Transfer form (TR1 if I remember rightly) was submitted to the Land Registry. We received the confirmation last week that the transfer had finally been registered.
How long did this take from submission to receipt of confirmation from the Land Registry? Thirteen months...
How long did this take from submission to receipt of confirmation from the Land Registry? Thirteen months...
mathmos said:
they can't get access to the title deeds until it's completed so they can't complete my re-mortgage.
This doesn't ring true.Firstly there are no title deeds, the title to your property is registered.
Secondly a copy of the Land Registry entries can be obtained at any time, on-line, for a very modest fee.
Either you have misunderstood, or someone is taking the p..s.
NJSS
Mathmos
Has your solicitor asked the Land Registry to "expedite" the application because the delay is holding up the re-mortgage?
This should get them to deal with outstanding issues without further delay & certainly within another 10 to 15 working days.
It may be that they will then need to raise requisitions (questions that need to be dealt with before the registration is concluded). This could cause further delay, but at least a dialogue between the LR & your solicitor ia established, and your solicitor should be able to get things resolved reasonably quickly.
When concluded you, and some of those who have posted above, should consider a formal complaint to the LR regarding delays.
I note that in the financial year to March 2012 HMLR made a handsome surplus of over £81 million, so they should have the funds to provide a super service.
NJSS
Has your solicitor asked the Land Registry to "expedite" the application because the delay is holding up the re-mortgage?
This should get them to deal with outstanding issues without further delay & certainly within another 10 to 15 working days.
It may be that they will then need to raise requisitions (questions that need to be dealt with before the registration is concluded). This could cause further delay, but at least a dialogue between the LR & your solicitor ia established, and your solicitor should be able to get things resolved reasonably quickly.
When concluded you, and some of those who have posted above, should consider a formal complaint to the LR regarding delays.
I note that in the financial year to March 2012 HMLR made a handsome surplus of over £81 million, so they should have the funds to provide a super service.
NJSS
I have done a little more research on the internet, and dug this up from November 2015:-
"Land Registry CEO invites emails on delays
Breaking News
At the Society of Licensed Conveyancers (SLC) Annual Conference today the CEO of Land Registry, Graham Farrant, was challenged following his talk, about the impact on conveyancers of long delays on registrations. One delegate complained about some registrations taking more than 18 months and their disappointment in the seemingly heavy focus of Land Registry on the Local Land Charges (LLC) rather than on improving efficiency.
In response to this statement, Graham invited conveyancers to email him directly about registrations which have been outstanding for long periods of time, specifically for more than 12 months. His email address is:-
graham.farrant@landregistry.gsi.gov.uk "
I'm not suggesting that you email Graham Farrant - but you could ask your solicitor to do so, and maybe also you could both raise the issue with your local MP.
NJSS
"Land Registry CEO invites emails on delays
Breaking News
At the Society of Licensed Conveyancers (SLC) Annual Conference today the CEO of Land Registry, Graham Farrant, was challenged following his talk, about the impact on conveyancers of long delays on registrations. One delegate complained about some registrations taking more than 18 months and their disappointment in the seemingly heavy focus of Land Registry on the Local Land Charges (LLC) rather than on improving efficiency.
In response to this statement, Graham invited conveyancers to email him directly about registrations which have been outstanding for long periods of time, specifically for more than 12 months. His email address is:-
graham.farrant@landregistry.gsi.gov.uk "
I'm not suggesting that you email Graham Farrant - but you could ask your solicitor to do so, and maybe also you could both raise the issue with your local MP.
NJSS
Edited by NJSS on Monday 31st December 11:07
As NJSS has said, your solicitor should put in a request that the existing application is expedited. Usually, LR will prioritise an application if there’s a reasonable explanation as to why it’s necessary.
You might also try posting on the LR support forum - https://support.landregistry.gov.uk/landregistry/c... It’s read by LR staff and they’ll often tell you what’s happening and help you deal with it.
You might also try posting on the LR support forum - https://support.landregistry.gov.uk/landregistry/c... It’s read by LR staff and they’ll often tell you what’s happening and help you deal with it.
When I bought the twin garage next to my house I ended up with two sets of deeds. This (for some reason I don't understand) made it almost impossible to get insurance on the garage
So I spoke to a local solicitor and agreed a price to get the two deeds merged.
2 months later it was done. The solicitor even returned part of the money as they had overcharged for the work done.
[Agreed price was approx 400+, they returned 130 ish]
But it took two months to do
So I spoke to a local solicitor and agreed a price to get the two deeds merged.
2 months later it was done. The solicitor even returned part of the money as they had overcharged for the work done.
[Agreed price was approx 400+, they returned 130 ish]
But it took two months to do
Pro Bono said:
As NJSS has said, your solicitor should put in a request that the existing application is expedited. Usually, LR will prioritise an application if there’s a reasonable explanation as to why it’s necessary.
You might also try posting on the LR support forum - https://support.landregistry.gov.uk/landregistry/c... It’s read by LR staff and they’ll often tell you what’s happening and help you deal with it.
They have ignored my last one where i have individual 6 building plots waiting to be charged as soon as the registration has finished to raise the funds for the builds but LR are now into month 8...You might also try posting on the LR support forum - https://support.landregistry.gov.uk/landregistry/c... It’s read by LR staff and they’ll often tell you what’s happening and help you deal with it.
(for those in the know - lender has made completed registration a condition prior to release.)
Rude-boy said:
Pro Bono said:
As NJSS has said, your solicitor should put in a request that the existing application is expedited. Usually, LR will prioritise an application if there’s a reasonable explanation as to why it’s necessary.
You might also try posting on the LR support forum - https://support.landregistry.gov.uk/landregistry/c... It’s read by LR staff and they’ll often tell you what’s happening and help you deal with it.
They have ignored my last one where i have individual 6 building plots waiting to be charged as soon as the registration has finished to raise the funds for the builds but LR are now into month 8...You might also try posting on the LR support forum - https://support.landregistry.gov.uk/landregistry/c... It’s read by LR staff and they’ll often tell you what’s happening and help you deal with it.
(for those in the know - lender has made completed registration a condition prior to release.)
Thanks for the advice all.
For context the solicitors dealing with the remortgage have been engaged by the bank as part of the deal we are taking up (lets call them A), seems to be one of these on-line only firms and I am not paying for them directly.
The solicitor (B) dealing with the transfer of land is a local company.
Solicitor B has expedited with the LR and is continuing to chase but they haven't had a result yet.
The message I got back from A was "We have tried to pull the property title from Land Registry and it has a pending application which means we cannot proceed until they have completed this application". After talking about it with B we suspect that what they were trying to get deeds on was the land that's being transferred rather than our property, as that's the bit that's in progress.
Again B have been very helpful and have pulled the property title copy for me and I've sent it to A through their on-line system...still waiting for them to respond to the info I've sent....I am going to give them a chase later today.
For context the solicitors dealing with the remortgage have been engaged by the bank as part of the deal we are taking up (lets call them A), seems to be one of these on-line only firms and I am not paying for them directly.
The solicitor (B) dealing with the transfer of land is a local company.
Solicitor B has expedited with the LR and is continuing to chase but they haven't had a result yet.
The message I got back from A was "We have tried to pull the property title from Land Registry and it has a pending application which means we cannot proceed until they have completed this application". After talking about it with B we suspect that what they were trying to get deeds on was the land that's being transferred rather than our property, as that's the bit that's in progress.
Again B have been very helpful and have pulled the property title copy for me and I've sent it to A through their on-line system...still waiting for them to respond to the info I've sent....I am going to give them a chase later today.
blueg33 said:
The lender thing is what my solicitor does.............
Yeah, CML require 6 months from date of registration of new prop as a rule, in this case though the lender is happy to waive that once it has been registered but LR have taken for ever to split out of the mother title. Doesn't help that there are 6 applications and they raised a requisition on one of those that was answered by return and it was pointed out it would affect all the applications. Cue one requisition, asking the same question, every 4 or 5 days on the other titles, one at a time.I have a feeling that someone is training on my applications...
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