The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, The Rt Hon MP, has
announced the creation of a £26 million fund to help
deliver a faster property search service for homebuyers in
England and Wales through a national Local Land Charges
Register.
Last December, we shared our ambition to migrate all local
authorities in England and Wales onto the central register
by 2025. This funding makes that target more achievable and
will ensure the homebuying process becomes quicker and
simpler for everyone.
Local authorities who transfer their local land charges
data to our Local Land Charges (LLC) Register within an
agreed timescale will receive transition payments. In
addition they will continue to receive existing burdens
payments. This means the overall financial support
available to local authorities is now more than £40
million.
Karina Singh, HM Land Registry Director of Transformation,
said:
We understand the uncertain economic landscape facing
many local authorities and the resourcing issues this
creates. In the UK, property remains one of the single
largest investments many people make. We want to help
buyers get the information they need, in a faster and
simpler manner.
Research suggests that 6% of property transactions fail,
costing between £700 and £2,700 per transaction. By
enabling earlier access to LLC information these costs
should reduce, making the conveyancing process better for
all parties.
All local authorities who migrate their LLC service to the
central register will qualify for a payment when they meet
their scheduled milestones. This will give them greater
financial certainty that they can meet incidental costs,
when seamlessly moving their service to the LLC Register.
For more information visit our Local Land Charges
Programme page.
