The story: You’ve been working for months on a deal that required the cooperation of the seller’s ex-husband, the management company or a risk-averse mortgagee. It’s been fraught with difficulty, you’ve finally completed it and submitted the disposition for registration, only to be told the consent or certificate it took you so much time and effort to obtain is not sufficient to get past the restriction in the register.
I can imagine the sinking feeling you experience at such times and, unfortunately, it happens all too often. Indeed, during the past year of lockdown HM Land Registry sent more than three times the number of requests for information (requisitions) relating to such consents or certificates compared to the previous year.
You tell us these requests are often the most difficult to comply with. If the seller’s representatives sent you the consent or certificate before completion do you go back to them, or contact the person directly whose consent or certificate you need? Will anyone be interested? Will they ask you to pay their costs or an extra fee and, if so, what will your client say?
We sympathise and have been looking for solutions to help you (and those asked to provide consents and certificates) get these documents right first time.
So, what’s been going wrong?
The trouble is, while the requirements of a restriction are precise, the consents and certificates sent to us often aren’t.
- Sometimes it’s not clear the right person has provided it.
- Sometimes it isn’t clear that the consent or certificate allows us to proceed with all the dispositions you are applying to register – for example both the charge and the transfer.
- Sometimes the wording of the certificate given is almost what you need to comply with the restriction, but not quite.
- Occasionally there has been more than one restriction in the register and it’s not clear which one the consent or certificate addresses.
Although we use our expert knowledge, experience and judgement to make informed decisions, sometimes we are accused of not being consistent. Why did we accept one certificate but not another? The answer is that, in each individual case we assess, the risk of a consent or certificate later being successfully challenged may be quite small but scaled up over thousands of similar applications problems can arise. Occasionally people lose valuable interests they have protected and seek indemnity for their loss. The safest solution for all concerned is to make sure the consent or certificate is exactly what is required.
A reliable way to comply
So, after consulting widely, we have devised form RXC to use when a consent or a certificate is needed to comply with a restriction in the register. You can find it on the GOV.UK website. Use of the form is optional but has the advantage of ensuring consents and certificates are correct first time.
Form RXC has three main sections, requiring specific information that will prevent ambiguity:
- panel 2 identifies the restriction in question;
- panel 3 identifies the person providing the consent or certificate; and
- panels 4 or 5 provide the required consent or certificate and clarify which dispositions for registration it relates to.
Based on feedback, we anticipate conveyancers will fill in the panels before sending the form for signing and return, making it quick, clear and easy for the signatory to deal with.
You may think HM Land Registry has quite enough forms already and ask why another is needed, especially at a time when we are increasingly encouraging our customers to interact with us digitally. It is, however, a question of finding the right tool for the job, and in this case, the new form will help customers provide a consent or a certificate required for a restriction that is correct first time.
Remember, the form RXC is optional, but we believe many will choose to use it to help minimise the risk of receiving a requisition which, as we know, leads to frustration and delays all round.
Let us know what you think
We always welcome your feedback. Please complete our quick survey, adding any comments or suggestions about form RXC.
11 comments
Comment by SHAH posted on
If home rights were registered in 2018 by a spouse, does that need to be refilled in form RXC?
Comment by AdamH posted on
Shah - No
Comment by Emily Watson posted on
Thanks for the suggestion.
Comment by Trevor Symonds posted on
Excellent idea and hopefully saves time in having to reply to requisitions, so expedites the registration process!
Comment by Barry Wharton posted on
Can this form be used where Right to Manage Companies (registered on the reversionary title having taken on the management duties of the reversioner ) give the certificate under section 98(7) of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (“the Act”).
Comment by AdamH posted on
Barry - form RXC could be used for the certificate itself, however we would also require a conveyancer’s certificate relating to the acquisition of the RTM by the RTM company as per section 7.1 of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-leasehold-reform-legislation">Practice guide 27</a>: the leasehold reform legislation
Comment by John Rogers posted on
The form is welcome and will be useful
Comment by mayuri shah posted on
Thank you all for the quick and accurate reply....
Land registry is definitely going that extra mile to maintain records without least hassle.
Appreciate greatly.
Comment by Mark Hanson posted on
Says more about me as a person that I was incredibly excited when I first saw this haha! Very useful form
Comment by Chris Langston posted on
By way of a brief explanation - I am not a conveyance(r) and endeavouring to complete the transfer of my late wife's estate.
Having just been notified we now need to complete the RXC form due to some restriction.
As I do not have access to the Land Reg data base (not a registered user) I cannot find out what the Restriction is let alone deal with it as per RXC !
I have contacted various local Law firms and Conveyancers without any success or assistance forthcoming.
Without further assistance from the Land Reg on this I believe the transfer may fail as I am precluded from the database as a licensed user and or as a conveyancer .
Please assist me to resolve these issues
Comment by AdamH posted on
Chris - if you need to confirm whether a restriction is registered and what it states then you should check the register online for £3. The register is open to all https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry