In our latest ‘Ask Adam’ column, Customer service manager Adam Hookway answers readers’ questions on first registration and Lasting Powers of Attorney. Should you wish to submit your questions to Adam please either email press@todaysconveyancer.co.uk or leave a comment below and we’ll pass them on.
All questions are anonymised.
JV asks:
Why has the Land Registry withdrawn the ability to apply for first registration using copy documents?
Adam answers:
We are streamlining and simplifying the way in which customers lodge applications. We know that most customers (over 80% of First Registrations) were already being sent with original documents and the options were causing confusion and unnecessary requisitions. This change will not only reduce the number of requisitions customers need to resolve but will also help us deal with these applications more efficiently. There is more information in our blog from last year, and the subsequent comments. We ask conveyancers to continue to check our guidance and the information available about all our business services.
JL asks:
I am purchasing a property that is being sold by an attorney, they have an LPA [lasting power of attorney]. The attorney’s middle name in the LPA is spelt incorrectly. The seller’s lawyer considers that this can be resolved with a statement of truth from the attorney confirming that they are the same person. I can find no guidance on this and having taken advice I think it likely that the LPA will need to be updated with the Office of the Public Guardian. Can you please let me know what the land registry’s take on this is?
Adam answers:
It is difficult to provide a one-size-fits-all approach to this question as each application is different and each variation, too. However, without the specifics of the application, it may be useful to consider our ‘What’s in a name?’ blog and the flowchart referred to within. If a conveyancer who acts for the attorney can provide us with a satisfactory certificate, which clearly explains the variation in name, how this variation came to be, and that the attorney named in the LPA and the attorney acting is one and the same person, then we will be able to consider the application. However, depending on the evidence received and the details of the application, further information may be required. A statement of truth or statutory declaration to the same effect would also be considered.
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