What is the Land Registry?

As the name suggests, HM Land Registry is responsible for registering the ownership of land and property in England and Wales.

When you buy a property, it will be recorded on the Land Register, which is an exhaustive list of more than 25 million titles for homes.

Every registered property has a land title with a government guarantee, and a title plan, which has information about the boundaries.

If you’re house hunting, the Land Registry is a great resource for researching sold prices in your chosen area.

How much is the Land Registry fee?

The amount you pay to the Land Registry is less daunting than some of the other costs of buying a home.

The exact fee depends on the property’s price tag; for a home worth £200,001 to £500,000, the charge is £270 under the scale 1 fees for standard transactions.

The fees are usually cheaper if done electronically, and you pay the money upfront through your solicitor, who will categorise it as a ‘disbursement’ on your bill. You can read the full list of Land Registry charges online.

How to register a house with the Land Registry

If you’ve bought a property since 1990, it’s almost certainly registered with the Land Registry, so you don’t need to worry.

However, there may be circumstances where you inherit land or property that was never registered, in which case, you will need to do so.

It’s worth checking the property’s status on the Land Registry’s online portal. If you’re certain the property is unregistered, you will need to produce the original deeds in order to prove your ownership claim.

And if you’re unable to find that dusty document in the cellar, you can submit a deeds request form to the Land Registry.

Want to know more? Read all about deeds.

How long does it take to update the Land Registry?

It can take a number of weeks for the Land Registry to update its information about a property. The exact length of time depends on their workload and the complexity of the transaction.

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If you’re interested in selling smarter, get in touch today. Nested.com - The modern way to move.