HM Treasury has announced the creation of £26 million fund to encourage councils in England and Wales to transfer local land charges data to HM Land Registry’s LLC Register.
Land Registry said that transition payments will be made available for local authorities that transfer the data within an agreed timescale.
In addition, they will continue to receive existing burdens payments – covering any burden that increases the cost of providing a service – which takes the overall financial support available to more than £40 million.
Land Registry said the new payments will be made when a council meets scheduled milestones, which should provide it with more financial certainty that it can meet the costs.
The LLC Register provides a centralised platform for searching for local land charges. Since its launch in 2018 only 12 councils had signed to use it by early this year, while Land Registry had announced plans to migrate them in clusters and hit a target of 60 during 2021-22. It followed this in April with the announcement that five more were to join soon.
Karina Singh, Land Registry director of transformation, said: “We understand the uncertain economic landscape facing many local authorities and the resourcing issues this creates. In the UK, property remains one of the single largest investments many people make. We want to help buyers get the information they need, in a faster and simpler manner.
“Research suggests that 6% of property transactions fail, costing between £700 and £2,700 per transaction. By enabling earlier access to LLC information these costs should reduce, making the conveyancing process better for all parties.”
Image from iStock, sodafish
