From 00.01 am on Monday 31 January 2022, Scale 1 and Scale 2 land registration fees will increase for the first time since 2009.
Applications for first registration and for registration of transfers, leases and mortgages of property submitted on or after that date will be charged under the new 2021 Fee Order.
All applications started before 31 January, but submitted on or after this date, will be subject to the new fees.
If an application was submitted before 31 January, subsequently cancelled or rejected and then resubmitted on or after 31 January, it will be subject to the new fees.
Get ready
To reduce unnecessary delays, please make sure you are familiar with the new fees.
Digital Registration Service
If you are creating and submitting your application using the Digital Registration Service, you don’t have to do anything. The system will notify you of any saved applications that need to be updated and recalculate the fees for you. Any applications created on or after 31 January will automatically get the new fee applied.
Electronic Document Registration Service (e-DRS) and postal applications
If you are preparing applications for submission on or after 31 January, you will need to use the new fees to avoid unnecessary delays. You might need to amend an AP1 that has already been created but won’t be submitted until after Sunday 30 January.
Business Gateway customers
Please make sure the system you use will apply the new fees to any application submitted on or after 31 January, to avoid unnecessary delays. This includes any applications that have been prepared and saved in advance of the fee change.
The main changes coming into effect on 31 January
The reduction in fees for electronically lodged register update applications has increased to 55% (rounded to a multiple of £5). There is still a 25% reduction in voluntary first registrations fees (rounded to a multiple of £5).
Fixed fees remain the same and are still reduced by 50% for electronically lodged applications.
- A change in fees for obtaining historical copies of the register, to align with the fees for official copies of the register.
- A change in the rounding provisions for large scale voluntary first registration fees assessed under article 6 based on the number of land units affected. For these applications, where the reduced fee is not a multiple of £5 it is now rounded down to the nearest multiple of £5.
Minor changes to fees and exemptions
- Including a specific reference to the fee for applications for an entry relating to Right to Manage companies under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. This is to make this clearer, as there is no change in the fee.
- Change in fees for obtaining historical copies of the register, so they align with the fees for official copies of the register.
- A new exemption for requests to note disclaimers of properties made by liquidators, the Treasury Solicitor, and trustees in bankruptcy.
Next steps
The fee increase allows HM Land Registry to move forward with plans to deliver what customers need – more consistency and speed in service delivery – by investing in both operational capacity and accelerating the digitalisation and automation of services.
With this in mind, we are exploring further changes to the Fee Order, including its structure and simplicity. We are currently engaging as widely as we can before we set out any proposals.
Further information
For full details and other changes see our Guidance page on GOV.UK: Increase to HM Land Registry fees.
Remember, our handy Fee calculator is available too.
6 comments
Comment by Joshua Broughton posted on
Can you please confirm what increase in the speed of completion of applications you expect to deliver for the 20%+ increase in fees ?
Comment by Anju posted on
Thank you for your question. One of our key performance metrics is on speed of service and our priority is to reduce the current completion times. We will continue to invest in our digital transformation which we believe will bring about real change for our customers.
Comment by Michael Cass posted on
Hi Ian,
My comment is not about the above blog (as good though it is). I'd like to draw your attention to the You and Yours broadcast on Radio 4 dated 13/01/22 regarding the paperwork needed to put a Land Registry restriction in place to stop ne'er do wells from attempting to steal a property and fraudulently sell it on. Would it be a good topic for a Land Registry blog post to go through the steps needed as it certainly seems to be a complex process given the broadcast.
Comment by Anju posted on
Thank you Michael , we will look into this- it is a very good idea.
Comment by Jonathan Knowles posted on
HMLR is penalising the tax-paying general public by continuing to discount substantially applications submitted by the legal profession. Not great “public service”.
Comment by Gavin Curry posted on
Thank you for your comment. Most solicitors include the HM Land Registry fee as part of the wider conveyancing charge for their clients. So the discount is directly passed to the public. If you'd like to read more about HM Land Registry's role in the conveyancing process you might find our blog interesting https://hmlandregistry.blog.gov.uk/2021/02/19/where-is-my-hm-land-registry-application/