Taylor Scott International News
A consultation is underway in the UK on changes to local land registry frameworks with interested parties from the property industry urged to give their opinions. It is currently intended that the Local Land Charges Rules 2017 will come into force on 06 April 2017. However, the rules will only take effect in relation to local authorities in stages, as there will be an incremental roll-out, it has been confirmed. The Infrastructure Act 2015 provides for the transfer of responsibility for Local Land Charges from local authorities to the Land Registry. The plan is for the Land Registry to provide a single, digital Local Land Charges register. ‘In today’s world, it is crucial that public services are available online. Customers expect to be able to access government information without delay or complication, and for a reasonable fee,’ said Graham Farrant, chief land registrar. ‘With our track record for modernising land related systems and our continually evolving digitisation programme, Land Registry is well placed to deliver the single, digital register for Local Land Charges information,’ he explained. ‘A single digital register held by a single provider will reduce overheads and eliminate regional variations in the speed, format and costs of the local land charges service. It will make the local land charges system fit for purpose in a digital era,’ he added. He pointed out that the provisions in the Infrastructure Act 2015 set up the framework for Land Registry to modernise and digitise property searches. ‘We will centralise and digitise local land charge information from the 326 English local authorities that currently hold and supply it. The result will be a far more efficient and cheaper service,’ Farrant said. ‘We will set a standardised national fee and turnaround time in contrast to the existing local variations in service, where fees range between £3 and £96 for the same outcome. A single source for improved access to property information will support a more streamlined conveyancing process and improve the ease of registration,’ he added. ‘This activity will ultimately help people who are buying and selling their homes, and support the Government aim to make dealing with property quicker, cheaper and easier. We are well placed to help achieve that aim because Land Registry is already at the centre of the conveyancing process and is the largest single source of property information. A single provider of local land charge information, rather than the 326 separate providers, and a modern digital system, are what is required for this part of the conveyancing process to underpin the property market,’ he concluded. The consultation seeks views on the proposed draft Local Land Charges Rules 2017 which will provide the framework for how the electronic Local Land Charges Register Service will work. As a result of the changes, the proposed Local Land Charges Register Service to be provided by Land Registry will improve upon the current services by introducing a single digital local land charges register,… Taylor Scott International
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