Land Registry workload ’collapses’ amid property slump

Permalink: Land Registry workload ’collapses’ amid property slump
by Kay Murchie

The Land Registry said the property market slump has resulted in its “workload and income having fallen off a cliff”.

According to the organisation, 627 houses a day were registered in England and Wales in January - compared with 2,526 a day during the same month last year.

Furthermore, the total number of all applications handled by the group during the year to 31 March slumped to 26.7 million, compared with 36.3 million the previous year.

As a result, the Land Registry’s income from registration fees collapsed from £482,944 in 2007/2008 to £308,050 in 2008/2009.

In order to retrieve some income, the Land Registry increased its fees last month which made the sale and purchase of a property slightly more costly. However, at the time the organisation pointed out that, since 1993, a range of its fees had actually been reduced.

The fee for registering a property worth £100,000 rose from £100 to £130 and for a property worth £1 million from £420 to £550. For an average priced home at £153,000, the increase amounted to £50.

Furthermore, charges for providing information, including official searches and official copies, are up from £6 to £8.

Peter Collins, chief land registrar and chief executive, said: “To put it bluntly, our workload and income have fallen off a cliff. It’s probably the most difficult period in our long history. “

The housing market slump meant the Land Registry has been forced to reduce its headcount, axing around 1,100 staff this year through voluntary redundancies and voluntary early retirement.

The Land Registry covers England and Wales and records and guarantees the ownership of domestic and commercial property.

The organisation enables anyone to find out who owns land, whether there is a mortgage or legal restriction on it, and how much was paid when it was last sold.