The Society of Licensed Conveyancers has issued a position paper in respect of the continuing backlogs at HMLR

31^st July 2024

Positioning paper re HMLR backlogs and requisitions.

Background:
The SLC has been a long-term critic of the serious backlogs at His Majesty’s Land Registry (HMLR). The backlogs have endured from the time that ill-advised cost cutting targeted experienced (but higher paid) staff in the run up to a proposed privatisation of the Registry. In 2016 the Government abandoned plans to privatise HMLR, but in respect of the loss of skills, experience and competence, the damage had been done. The impact endures some 8 years later.
Since then, we have, of course, navigated ourselves through Covid and the stamp duty holidays. Both of which have increased the strain on HMLR and continued to delay both existing and new title registrations.

The issues:
Whilst HMLR has wrestled with the backlogs, there has been an inference over the years, that poor quality applications are to blame for the continuing backlogs. There is some justification behind this rhetoric in so far as, in an increasingly digital world, even minor discrepancies in submissions may end up in requisitions being raised. The SLC accepts that conveyancers can contribute towards improving the quality of submissions and urges HMLR to leverage Management Information (MI) to focus attention on those firms that can improve the most. The SLC stands ready to play a full part in helping members reduce the number of requisitions raised due to errors in submissions and will continue to work with HMLR in respect of this.
However, the unacceptable delays in registration of first title, transfers of part and complex leasehold matters have been an issue that we have been speaking to HMLR for some considerable time and predates any perceived issues over application quality. HMLR are the only ones accountable for these delays.
The backlogs are also responsible for creating significant rework for conveyancers who are subject to queries from mortgage lenders in respect of registration of their charges and complaints from clients when titles are not registered when their fixed rate mortgage deals are expiring or even on a subsequent sale. Whilst there are initiatives underway between the mortgage lender panel managers and HMLR to reduce queries where registration delays are to blame, there is still a considerable opportunity to reduce unnecessary queries. Reduced rework by conveyancers can play a meaningful part in improving post completion work, including errors in submissions.

The proposed way forward:

The SLC proposes that:

1. HMLR engages with all professional and trade bodies whose members are engaged in front line conveyancing with a view to agreeing how MI can be used productively to assist conveyancers in significantly reducing submission errors and thereby the number of requisitions.
2. HMLR employs the tried and tested technique of ring-fencing backlogs and separating them from business as usual which is then dealt with in acceptable timeframes. The backlogs become the focus of a separate work stream to which expert resource is dedicated (some potentially contracted from amongst those people laid off in the lead up to proposed privatisation).
3. HMLR makes available all relevant registration data through APIs to mortgage lenders through their panel managers to target a reduction in unnecessary rework.

Of course, backlogs in and of themselves are at the root of expensive and unnecessary rework which puts pressure on post completions. It is in everybody’s interest that a continuous circle of negativity is broken, and a virtuous circle of improvement becomes the norm.