Legal body: Land Registry ‘must get house in order’ after strikes

Conveyancers are warning that this week’s Land Registry strikes could have a knock-on effect on property sales once staff return to work.

Land Registry employees have been striking this week as part of wider public sector action over pay, pensions, redundancy terms and job security.

The Land Registry has said disruption should be minimal but the Society of Licensed Conveyancers (SLC) has this week expressed concern that the five-day strike, which ends today, could exacerbate “unacceptable delays” in processing non-standard registration transactions and then impact other work on property sales.

The statement said: “The delays which have been in excess of 12 months for what seems like an eternity, have a serious impact on conveyancers in both time and money, and in turn can cause delays in the home buying and selling process.”

Simon Law, chairman of the SLC said: “it seems that every time the Land Registry make some progress in addressing the delays in non-standard registrations, something comes along to derail their efforts. We do not opine on the rights or wrongs of strike action, but we are truly exasperated by the delays which have been on-going for several years. 

“The recent implied criticism of conveyancers in respect of requisitions cannot obfuscate the fact that the Land Registry still have much to do to get their own house in order.

“SLC frequently gets complaints from members about the delays at the Land Registry and the fact that the rework and cost involved diverts them from their primary activity of efficiently progressing home buying and selling transactions for their clients.”

He said the SLC will continue to work with the Land Registry to raise standards, adding: “We continue to be concerned that first registration and new title applications are still taking months, if not years to complete. 

“The use of the expedite service will only increase as the impact of rising costs are felt by clients when they come to the end of their fixed rate deals. The SLC feels more needs to be done and strike action should/could have been avoided.”