Land Registry Fees

The Land Registry is the Government department which is responsible for recording the ownership of and interests affecting land in England & Wales. It provides a number of services including processing applications to register land or to register a change of ownership of land and interests affecting land, such as mortgages, rights and covenants.

It also provides information to the general public. With a small number of exceptions, all of the information held by the Land Registry in respect of land registered with it is a matter of public record. This means that information such as the name and address of the owner, the price paid (if it has changed hands since 2004), any mortgages secured on the land and any rights and covenants affecting it can be accessed without the consent of the owner.

Land Registry Fees for its Services

For the services it provides the Land Registry is entitled to charge a fee. Just what it can charge is determined by the Government Minister responsible for the Land Registry at any given time and the fees are set out in a statutory instrument (a type of mini Act of Parliament) called a Fees Order. A new fees order will be issued from time to time.

The Land Registry charges fees in two ways – for some applications such as requests for copy documents or applications to register third party interests such as restrictions and notices there are fixed fees. Applications to register changes of ownership and/or mortgages on the other hand are charged on a sliding scale, increasing along with the value of the transaction.

Land Registry Fee Scales

For applications which do not attract a fixed fee, including applications for first registration, the registration of a transfer of ownership of registered land (whether for monetary value or as a gift) or the registration of a charge as well as some other less common applications the Land Registry operates two fee scales. Scale 1 includes applications for first registration and a subsequent change of ownership for monetary value and scale 2 includes the registration of a charge and the transfer of ownership for no monetary value.

Scale 1 fees are calculated based on the consideration (i.e. the purchase price) of the land or in the case of a first registration application which does not involve a change of ownership, the open market value of the land. The fees are as follows:

Land Registry Fee Scale 1:

Scale 2 fees are based on the amount secured by the charge (where a mortgage is being registered without an associated transfer) and on the actual value of the land where there is a transfer for no monetary consideration, less the amount outstanding under any charge to which the transfer is subject.

Land Registry Fee Scale 2:

Fixed Fee Applications

Certain applications, such as to register a restriction or to upgrade the class of title; attract a fixed fee. For example registering a restriction in one of the standard forms is £40. A non-standard restriction costs £90. Applications for copies of documents, such as registers, of title, leases and copy conveyances also attract a fixed fee.

Land-Registry-Documents.co.uk, as a third party supplier of Land Registry documents we are able to supply documents for a fixed fee. Our fees are the lowest of any third party supplier we have come across so far. To place an order for land registry documents click here and follow the simple instructions.