It has been a year since HM Land Registry (HMLR) launched their fully digital Local Land Charges register. One year on, how successful has the digital migration been?
In July last year, HMLR hoped to have fully migrated twenty local authorities to the service. However, up to now only six are using the LLC system.
Yesterday, Norwich joined pilot local authority, Warwick District Council, Liverpool City Council, the City of London Corporation and Council of the isles of Scilly in fully digitising their systems.
Despite the minor blips, HMLR has viewed the inaugural year of LLC as a successful enterprise that has hit a number of inevitable speed bumps whilst updating the original system that is over 90 years old and is transferring data over 45 years old.
It is also stored in a variety of formats with each presenting new problems for successful migration. Paper versions can be thin, crumpled and difficult to read which adds to the time it takes to digitise the data. Electronic, microfiche and digital versions also take time to digest.
In total, HMLR staff have worked their way through half of the local land charges they have been provided with.
Because the information has been more difficult to transfer than originally predicted, HMLR decided to reduce the number of LA migrations in 2019.
Whilst they are committing to providing a quality service, refusing to compromise on the extensive 40 item checklist, HMLR are unlikely to meet their targets of migrating 100 local authorities by the end of 2020. However, they have the opportunity to revitalise a system that can considerably delay the home buying process.
Laura McGillivray, Chief Executive Officer at Norwich City Council, said:
“Working with HM Land Registry has been a positive and collaborative process throughout. Some of our local land charges data was computerised but most was held in paper records, some going back to the 1950s. By updating and digitising all our local land charges data, we are providing confidence in the accuracy of the data and helping to improve the efficiency of buying and selling property in the Norwich area.”
Karina Singh, Director of Transformation at HM Land Registry, said:
“People buying property in Norwich will now have access to instant local land charges search results, meaning it will be quicker and simpler to buy and sell a house across the area. I am delighted that homebuyers across Norwich will benefit from this revolutionary new national Local Land Charges Register.”
How important will a unified LLC digital register be to the conveyancing sector?
2 Responses
Since 1970 when I joined the conveyancing sector, abstracting title information has changed from a laborious paperchase to a simple. online process thanks to HMLR converting their information to open data
They are now applying the approach to local land charges
This should now be the approach for all information needed for property transaction
In particular professionalisation of property management should require the use of technology which replaces LPE1 etc with a process as instant, simple and reliable as applying for copy entries
True. But replies to Local Authority enquiries (CON29R, O, and P) are still a Local Authority function.