Land Registry expects ‘minimal disruption’ if strike goes ahead

The Land Registry has said it anticipates ‘minimal disruption’ if a civil service strike goes ahead.

Civil servants across 126 public sector workplaces, including the Land Registry, have backed strike action over pay, pensions, jobs and redundancy terms. 

The Public and Commercial Services Union, which is calling for a 10% pay rise, pensions justice, job security and no cuts to redundancy terms, has written to the Cabinet Office to demand “meaningful negotiations.”

Unless substantial proposals are received from the Government, the union said it will agree a programme of industrial action at its meeting on Friday 18 November.

There have been warnings that a Land Registry strike could delay requests for information and property sales.

But the Land Registry has aimed to reassure users in a statement to Estate Agent Today, which said: “HM Land Registry is reviewing the controls it has in place to mitigate and reduce the impacts of all identified risks potentially arising from single day or sustained action.

“Currently, we anticipate minimal disruption to our services by planning for different scenarios.”

Commenting on the prospect of Land Registry strike action, Matthew Thompson, head of sales at agent Chestertons, also remained calm.

He said: “The majority of transactions are actually done electronically via the government gateway these days which means a strike would not create any major concern for the vast majority of our clients. 

“If everything shuts down for a number of weeks, however, the strike could lead to a wider transaction backlog but this is unlikely to happen as there is a legal requirement for the Land Registry to stay updated.

“The only buyer demographic that might be seeing an immediate delay due to this strike are those involved in complicated transactions that require manual checking such as a new title for a new build home.”