Land Registry consults on simpler fees and free access to land ownership data
Value-based charges for remortgages and transfers of equity would be replaced by two fixed fees, and the public could map who owns most land in England and Wales, under proposals open until 22 December.
A homeowner adding a partner to the title deeds, or registering a new mortgage after switching lender, would pay a flat fee to HM Land Registry rather than one worked out from the value of their property, under proposals published on Tuesday.
The change is one of two consultations HM Land Registry (HMLR) has opened covering England and Wales. The second, run with the housing and environment departments, asks whether far more land ownership information should be free to see. Both close at 11.59pm on 22 December.
The fee proposal
HMLR charges for registration under two scales. Scale 1 covers sales and purchases and is banded by price. Scale 2 covers transactions where no money changes hands at full market value, such as transfers of equity, property passing to a beneficiary after a death, and registering or transferring a mortgage. Scale 2 currently has five bands, with fees between £20 and £305.
Working out a Scale 2 fee can take several steps. In one of HMLR's examples, someone putting a £310,000 home with a £100,000 mortgage into joint names first has to calculate the equity, then the value of the half share being passed over, and only then find the band. That case costs £30 today.
HMLR wants to replace the bands with two fixed fees: one for ownership changes made without full payment, and one for registering a mortgage on its own. It has not set the amounts yet, but gives working ranges. The transfer of equity in its example would cost between £40 and £110, and a £250,000 mortgage that costs £45 to register now would cost between £25 and £55. HMLR accepts that some people would pay more and some less.
Its reason is errors. In a 2024 call for evidence, almost half of those who reported problems with fees said the calculation itself was the main cause. Wrong fees lead to requisitions, where HMLR writes back for more information, and those hold up registrations. Fixed amounts would also be easier to check automatically, it says. The consultation also asks for early views on simplifying Scale 1, though no changes to purchase fees are proposed.
Opening up the register
The data consultation proposes that anyone, including individuals and community groups, could use mappable datasets showing who owns the vast majority of land in England and Wales, and inspect more detailed title information for that land free of charge.
Most individual titles are homes, but most land by area sits in larger non-residential titles. HMLR says that is why it can open up most of the map while keeping ordinary homeowners' details out of the general release. Public bodies would get free access to every title, including homes. So would researchers working in the public interest, such as academics, regulators and investigative journalists, provided they meet conditions on safe use and publication.
The package also covers datasets on large landholdings and land held by companies, steps to speed up first registration, and possible powers to restrict access where there is evidence of a significant risk of harm.
Responses can be made through online surveys linked from each consultation page.
