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Issue 9

9 November 2023

Welcome to issue 9 of Practice and Process. We amended just a couple of practice guides in October but we have plenty of other updates for you, including important changes to our practice on amending deeds and documents during registration and the launch of our new range of videos aimed at members of the public, which you might wish to share with your clients.

PG14

Which practice guide has changed?
Practice guide 14: Charities: advice for applications sent to HM Land Registry

When did it change?
16 October 2023

What has changed?
We have amended section 4.3 to reflect current practice on dispositions which do not require registration to be completed.

What does it mean for customers?
Information about the effect of restrictions and the dispositions they may cover can be found in section 3.1 of Practice Guide 19: notices, restrictions and the protection of third-party interests in the register.

PG68

Which practice guide has changed?
Practice guide 68: Amending deeds that effect dispositions of registered land

When did it change?
30 October 2023

What has changed?
We have added section 5.

What does it mean for customers?
New guidance is available about HM Land Registry’s statutory discretion to alter documents accompanying an application under rule 130 Land Registration Rules 2003.

Process changes

Amending a deed or document during registration -– important changes to note

When a deed or document has been amended on behalf of the parties, we currently ask the person who has made the amendment to endorse it with their initials or countersignature. We also require confirmation as to who made this amendment and that they had the authority of the parties to do so.

Please note our practice will change on Monday 13 November 2023 and will apply to all cases processed on or after that date, regardless of when they were lodged.

We will still require an amendment to a deed to be countersigned or initialled, but will now assume this has been done with the consent or authorisation of all of the parties to the deed. We will also place reliance upon this assumption and will not request further confirmation.

A number of our requisitions, relating to amendments, will be standardised to include the following wording where possible:

“A conveyancer must only initial the deed on behalf of a party when they are authorised by that party to do so. A conveyancer must only initial the deed on behalf of all the parties to the deed when they are authorised by all the parties to do so. HM Land Registry will rely on your having satisfied yourself that whoever initials the amendments has the required authority to do so.”

Telephone requisitions

HM Land Registry stopped raising telephone requisitions in early 2020. In light of feedback from our customers we have reviewed our policy and will restart the use of telephone requisitions in certain limited situations. For example you may receive a telephone requisition asking for permission to do something (for example to take a fee) or for confirmation of something (for example the correct spelling of a name). Our caseworkers will not always be able to raise these points by telephone, in certain circumstances it may be more sensible to explain the point in writing, and neither will they ask you to call them back or provide a direct line or email address. If the point cannot be resolved at first contact a written requisition will be raised instead.

Check out our new videos for non-conveyancers

We regularly talk to conveyancers about aspects of land registration and some have asked if there’s anything we can do to help their clients with specific types of quick and easy application that don’t necessarily require legal expertise. Applications such as updating an address for service or completing a form ID1, for example. 

The good news is we have listened, understood and yes, there is! As well as updating and refreshing our guides to completing commonly used forms, namely AP1, AS1, TR1 and ID1 – all coming soon – we are creating short videos on a range of specific topics that you can share with your clients. 

Currently available within the Public Guidance playlist on our YouTube channel, and the public guidance page within the HM Land Registry training hub, are:

How to find information about your property boundaries

What’s happening with my application?

How to update your contact address

Additionally, we have made short videos that aim to explain our role for people who are not familiar with HM Land Registry. These are available on our YouTube channel, as well as the Essentials page on our training hub:

What does HM Land Registry do?

HM Land Registry and the conveyancing process

As always, we very much appreciate your feedback and suggestions, so if you have a topic you’d like us to cover or if you think we can improve our offer, please do get in touch:
customerinsighteam@mail.landregistry.gov.uk.

HM Land Registry training hub

Our HM Land Registry training hub provides access to a wealth of easy-to-find and easy-to-follow guidance and training materials on hundreds of topics – all in one place – to help you prepare and submit high quality applications, and make the best use of HM Land Registry services.

Along with practice guides, you’ll find links to guidance pages, webinars, videos, podcasts, checklists and flowcharts.

We’re continuously growing and developing our training offering and will be adding new content as and when it becomes available.

HM Land Registry Essentials

Our self-service training package HM Land Registry Essentials will help you with the basics – whether you’re new to conveyancing or just need a refresher. What does HM Land Registry do? How do we fit into the conveyancing process? And how do you avoid requisitions when submitting applications to us? Find out the answers to these questions and more.

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