What is the Land Registry
The Land Registry is a British government agency that administers the Land Register, which records all land registrations in England and Wales. Whenever land is sold, transferred or mortgaged, the details must be registered, compulsorily, with the Land Registry.
The Land Register
Each entry (known as the register of title) in the Land Register comprises several elements:
description of the property; name of the property owner; name of the mortgage lender (if the property is mortgaged); price of the property (if registered since April 1st, 2000); plan showing the location and dimensions of the property; information about rights of way, covenants and known conditions affecting the property.
Land Registry Funding
The Land Registry is funded by the fees it charges to register changes in property ownership and also by fees for enquiries about individual properties. The level of fees charged for registering a change of ownership depends on the price of the property.
Land Registry Registration Fees
The current fees levied by the Land Registry for registering the purchase of a property are as follows: Price up to £50,000 Fee = £40.00; £50,001 to £80,000 Fee = £60.00; £80,001 to £100,000 Fee = £100.00; £100,001 to £200,000 Fee = £150.00; £200,001 to £500,000 Fee = £220.00; £500,001 to £1,000,000 Fee = £420.00; Price over £1,000,000 Fee = £700.00.
The current fees levied by the Land Registry for registering the re-mortgage or transfer of a property are as follows: Price up to £100,000 Fee = £40.00; £100,001 to £200,000 Fee = £50.00; £200,001 to £500,000 Fee = £70.00; £500,001 to £1,000,000 Fee = £100.00; Price over £1,000,000 Fee = £200.00.
The registration fee is normally paid by the purchaser’s (or borrower’s) solicitor, on their behalf.
Summary The Land Registry records all property transactions in England and Wales; the scale of fees for registering a property transaction depends on the value of the property; the Land Registry website offers an easy to use online fee calculator.
