PR /12
23 July 2012

Land Registry reduces fees by 10 per cent

Efficiency savings made over the last five years by Land Registry, the government department responsible for registering land in England and Wales, mean customers will soon benefit from lower fees.

Fees will be reduced by an average of ten per cent. The new Land Registration Fee Order was laid on Friday 27 July, and is due to come into force on Monday 22 October 2012.

New fees from 22 October 2012

Scale fees – reduced by £10

Amount or Value	Scale 1 Fee to register (£)	Reduced Fee to register (£)	Scale 2 Fee to register (£)
Up to £50,000	40	30	40
£50,001 to £80,000	70	50	40
£80,001 to £100,000	120	90	40
£100,001 to £200,000	190	140	60
£200,001 to £500,000	270	200	80
£500,001 to £1,000,000	540	400	120
Over £1,000,000	910	680	250

Most fixed fees for registration – reduced by £10

Fixed Fee	Fee (£)
Standard	40
Reduced	20

Fees for information services – reduced by £1

Applications	Fee (£)
Official copies of register/plan and searches (paper)	7
Official copies of register/plan and searches (electronic)	3

Other changes include:

the fee for applications to alter the register will be a fixed fee (£40) rather than a scale fee
the fee exemption for applications to make an entry relating to church chancel repair rights will end on 13 October 2013
the discounted fee will no longer apply on the voluntary first registration of mines and minerals and the first registration fee will apply
a new fee for online applications for historical copies of register entries will be introduced in the near future.

Heather Foster, Land Registry’s Finance Director said:

"In lowering our fees, we are reducing property market transaction costs and so assisting with economic growth. The efficiency savings we have made as a result of a major restructuring programme mean property search and registration costs will be cut for our customers.

"The new Fee Order allows us to pass on savings in a full year of £33 million in the form of lower fees - for example, the fee for registration of an average-priced property will fall from £200 to £190, an online copy of a register will be £3 instead of £4 and the fee for registering a £50,001 to £80,000 property will drop by 12.5 per cent."

As a government agency with trading fund status, Land Registry is obliged to cover its operating costs from fee income. Land Registry fees are based on the volume of applications received, the value of property and internal overheads. Although fees have been reduced, the current volume of applications is still well below the level of the years preceding the property market crash.

ENDS

Notes to editors

The Land Registration Fee Order 2012 was laid in Parliament on Friday 27 July 2012, and will come into force on 22 October 2012. It replaces the 2009 Order which came into effect on 6 July 2009. Copies of the 2012 Order can be obtained from the Office of Public Sector Information www.legislation.gov.uk or through legal stationers.
For a full schedule of the fees visit http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/professional/fees
The Land Registry fee for registration of an average-priced property (£160,417 in May 2012 according to Land Registry’s House Price Index) will fall from £200 to £190.
Land Registry’s fee income for 2011/12 is £359.3million compared with £355.4million in 2010/11.
Land Registry received over 23.3million applications in 2011/12 compared with 36.3million in 2007/08.
New editions of the fee cards and the updated ready reference guide and fee calculator can be viewed and downloaded at www.landregistry.gov.uk/professional/fees
For more information about the new Fee order 2012, see www.landregistry.gov.uk/professional/fees or email the Customer Service & Handling Team: fees@landregistry.gsi.gov.uk
With the largest transactional database of its kind detailing over 23 million titles, Land Registry underpins the economy by safeguarding ownership of many billions of pounds worth of property.
This year marks the 150^th anniversary of Land Registry. As a government department established in 1862, executive agency and trading fund responsible to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Land Registry keeps and maintains the Land Register for England and Wales. The Land Register has been an open document since 1990.
For further information about Land Registry visit www.landregistry.gov.uk

Contacts

Marion Shelley 0300 0067543, 07790 690297
marion.shelley@landregistry.gsi.gov.uk

Ronal Patel 0300 0067490
Ronal.patel@landregistry.gsi.gov.uk