"With property transactions taking record time to complete, it is imperative that we work as partners to innovate and remove friction so that the process is as quick and painless as possible."
The strategy focuses on delivering digital tools and automation to speed up the home buying process.
The Land Registry admitted that the current homebuying process "does not meet some basic expectations for a modern, professional service" and says the main aim of its strategy is to "urgently build [its] resilience to volatility in the property market which is the leading cause of application backlogs".
Currently, 1 in 5 applications to HM Land Registry (more than 3,500 applications every day) require it to follow up with the applicant to resolve an issue in the application. This increases to around 2 in 3 for more complex applications.
Under the new strategy, many more land registration processes will be automated to significantly improve service speeds and allow more focus on complex applications.
An investment to automate most changes to the land register by 2025 will result in the end-to-end automation of up to 70% of all updates to the register. It estimates that by 2025, automated applications will be completed within one day - many of them in seconds.
A lack of upfront information can cause up to 8% of property transactions to fall through, costing the buyer up to £2,700 per transaction. Therefore, Land Registry plans to digitise the information conveyancers need most and allow people to access information on ownership, location, mortgages, local land charges and more in real time.
Chief executive of HM Land Registry, Simon Hayes, said: “Strategy 2022+ comes at a pivotal moment. The very high level of activity in the property market in recent times has underlined the urgency with which all players in the market need to work together to improve the system.
“With property transactions taking record time to complete, it is imperative that we work as partners to innovate and remove friction so that the process is as quick and painless as possible.
“For HM Land Registry, that means a step-change in our offering to customers so that they receive an outstanding, fully digital service. As we do so, we are placing people – those buying and selling property – at the heart of our transformation.”
Beth Rudolf, director of delivery at the Conveyancing Association, commented: “The delivery of the Digital Registration Service is very encouraging in an industry where we need to deliver digitally to reduce extended transaction times and fall-through rates… automation and digital registrations will undoubtedly reduce requisitions and therefore free up HMLR staff and conveyancers to carry out more complex work. Identifying for lenders in the meantime that an application has been received and is not at risk of cancellation is vital while the Land Registry clears its backlog, and would reduce wasted resources.”
Charles Roe, director of mortgages at UK Finance, said: “UK Finance welcomes HM Land Registry’s Business Strategy to enable England and Wales to benefit from a world-leading digital property market by 2027. We look forward to working with HM Land Registry as it embraces digital technology to enhance and speed up the home buying and selling process for all.”
James Tucker, CEO and founder of Twenty7Tec, added: “It’s long overdue, but the roadmap to a digital-first approach from the Land Registry is something that the housebuying and housebuilding industries are bound to welcome. We’ve spent seven years making the mortgage market more efficient and this move by Land Registry will begin to make end-to-end digital-first property market a reality. There’s a lot more to be done, but it’s an exciting development.”
