About Land Registry

HM Land Registry is the government department responsible for keeping and developing a register of title to freehold and leasehold land in England and Wales. It does this by registering title to land and recording dealings in land and property once these have been registered. The Land Register, currently comprising 19.5 million titles, has been open to public inspection since 1990. The Registry also has responsibility for the registration of certain third party rights under the Land Charges Act 1972 and the Agricultural Credits Act 1928.

Besides having the status of a government department, Land Registry is also an executive agency and trading fund. The Chief Land Registrar, Marco Pierleoni, is the Head of Department, Agency Chief Executive and Accounting Officer. He is responsible to the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor for conducting the whole business of land registration in England and Wales.

Land Registry operates under the Land Registration Act 2002, which came into force in October 2003. This Act and its associated rules provide the Registry with the powers and flexibilities to carry out the strategic objectives in its rolling 10 year Strategic Plan. Those objectives include the completion of the Land Register and the introduction of a system of electronic conveyancing in England and Wales.

The Registry is comprised of local offices located throughout England and Wales and a London-based Head Office. Each local office is led by a Land Registrar (a lawyer and expert in land registration matters) and an Area Manager (responsible for the general management of the office).

The Land Charges Department (which processes transactions and provides information about unregistered land) and the Agricultural Credits Department (which maintains a register of short-term loans by banks, secured on farming stock and other agricultural assets of the farmer) are located at Plymouth. This is also the base for Information Systems responsible for the Registry's services.

Land Registry offers an online service to its business customers which enables the public to gain access to Land Registry services electronically. The Registry also issues quarterly residential property price reports providing data on residential property sales in England and Wales. These reports can be downloaded free from Land Registry website (see below).

As a trading fund, Land Registry relies on fees paid by its customers (rather than on tax payers' money provided by the Government) to cover the cost of its services.

Land Registry has Investors in People accreditation. Additionally it carries out formal annual customer satisfaction surveys and other regular customer feedback exercises. Currently, 98% of business customers are either satisfied or very satisfied with the Registry's overall service.

You can visit Land Registry's website at http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/.

Complaints

Land Registry publishes a leaflet Putting Things Right which provides information on its complaints process for customers who wish to complain about the organisation.

Initially you should contact the person you have been dealing with at the Land Registry office concerned who will do their best to put things right. You can complain in person, on the phone, in writing (including email) and through Land Registry’s website. The Putting Things Right leaflet also has a form attached at the back which you can complete. You can find details of addresses and telephone numbers on Land Registry’s website or you can telephone Customer Support on 0844 892 1111 for (English titles) or 0844 892 1122 (for Welsh titles).

If you have contacted the person you have been dealing with and remain unhappy with their response, you should contact the local customer service manager at the office concerned. The customer service manager will look into your complaint and involve other senior managers when appropriate. Your complaint, and how Land Registry has handled it, will be reviewed and you will be given a final decision.

Depending on the nature of the complaint, Land Registry’s final response may come from the customer service manager, the land registrar (the most senior lawyer at a local office), the area manager or another senior manager.

Complaints about registration decisions

Where a complaint is about a decision made by Land Registry based upon the laws under which it operates, this will be referred to the Land Registrar at the office concerned. A Land Registrar’s decision is final and can only be reviewed judicially. The ICR is unable to investigate complaints about legal decisions made by Land Registry.

Once Land Registry has given you its final response, if you still remain dissatisfied you can refer your complaint to the ICR.