Midway through King Charles III’s proclamation, it was confirmed that Monday 19th September – the date of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral – would be a Bank Holiday.
This is logical in that it gives the nation the best chance of witnessing their monarch of 70 illustrious, glorious years being laid to rest.
Yet, society grinding to a halt at such short notice – just 9 days in total – brings very real issues.
One such issue is that of completions that were scheduled for the 19th. As of now, it is not crystal clear what should be expected of homemovers and conveyancers, though it is likely that banks, law firms, removal companies, and clients themselves will all be unavailable.
Some have suggested that a sensible course of action is to agree a variation of the completion date, though this must be compliant with s2 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, in that it must:
- Incorporate all expressly agreed terms
- Be in writing
- Be signed on or behalf of each party to the contract
This does not, however, answer all questions. There will be complicated and delicate circumstances that conveyancers will be expected to navigate, and questions remain over other issues, such as the lender’s requirements regarding the release of funds.
Today’s Conveyancer will keep readers posted with any new guidance throughout the week. Thus far, the Land Registry have only published guidance on notice periods and official search priority periods, which is published below.
All notice periods and official search priority periods which began before but which expire after 19th September 2022 will be automatically extended by one working day. Any affected cancellation dates will also be extended. Notices and search certificates issued before 19th September that include an expiry date will not reflect the automatic extension. For example, a notice issued on 12th September that states that it expires on 3rd October will actually not expire until 4th October. You may wish to amend your records to avoid any confusion.
Our Business e-services, Search for Land and Property Information, and GOV.UK will be available, but our Customer Contact Centre and technical support teams will not be available on Monday 19th September. Normal service will resume at 8am Tuesday 20th September.
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