There is some genuinely encouraging news coming out of HM Land Registry (HMLR), with its latest figures showing avoidable requisitions have fallen significantly over the past few years, demonstrating what can be achieved when the industry works together to identify problems, improve processes and reduce unnecessary work.
According to HMLR, the number of avoidable requisition points fell from 839,000 in 2022 to 439,000 in 2025, representing a reduction of 47.7%, while the rate of avoidable points per application fell by 39.1% over the same period, showing this improvement cannot simply be attributed to lower application volumes.
The positive trend has continued into 2026, with the first nine months of the year recording 94 avoidable requisition points per 1,000 applications, 11% fewer than in 2025, which is a considerable achievement for everyone involved.
Perhaps just as importantly, HMLR estimates the reduction since 2022 represents approximately £12 million in industry time saved during 2025, providing a very clear financial illustration of why tackling unnecessary work should matter to conveyancing firms.
Recognising the industry’s progress
These figures deserve recognition because they reflect the considerable work undertaken by conveyancers, post-completion teams, industry bodies and HMLR itself to improve the quality of applications and reduce the number of preventable issues arising during registration.
We have long argued that unnecessary enquiries, repeated requests for information and inconsistent processes place a considerable burden on conveyancing firms, taking valuable time away from progressing transactions and serving clients.
When that burden is reduced, firms can work more efficiently, costs can be contained and resources can be directed towards the work that genuinely requires professional attention, rather than repeatedly dealing with matters that should already have been resolved.
It is particularly encouraging that HMLR has put a financial value on the improvements achieved, because demonstrating the actual cost of unnecessary work can be a powerful reason for firms and other organisations to change their approach.
Getting applications right first time
Of course, conveyancers have their own responsibilities in this process, and HMLR’s latest analysis highlights where further improvements can be made through better preparation and more consistent checks before applications are submitted.
Missing or unclear information remains the largest category of avoidable requisitions, accounting for approximately 135,000 points in 2025, with an estimated cost to the industry of £4.2 million, while discrepancies involving names, identity evidence, plans and fees also continuing to generate unnecessary work.
Firms should therefore be reviewing their own requisition data, identifying recurring problems and making use of the guidance and training available, particularly where relatively straightforward checks could prevent an application being delayed.
However, while getting applications right first time is essential, we must also recognise avoiding unnecessary requisitions is not solely the responsibility of conveyancers.
Avoidable requisitions work both ways
HMLR also has a responsibility to ensure the requisitions it raises are necessary, accurate and consistent, particularly where firms have already supplied the information or evidence required to satisfy a registration requirement.
Indeed, HMLR’s own internal checks show cases involving unnecessary requisitions, or where the recorded reason did not accurately reflect the issue, have fallen from 12% in 2022/23 to 8% in 2025/26, which is welcome progress but also demonstrates that further improvement is possible.
We continue to hear examples of situations where conveyancers believe requisitions have been raised unnecessarily, including cases involving restrictions where a management company has changed following completion, despite the company in place at completion having already provided the required consent.
We are also aware of concerns about inconsistent requisitions involving registrations of transfers of part on the same estate, where apparently similar applications can receive different treatment, creating uncertainty and additional work for firms.
These are precisely the types of issues that need to be examined, understood and addressed, rather than becoming accepted as another unavoidable part of the registration process.
Keep telling the CA what you are experiencing
This is why we are asking conveyancers to continue sharing examples of potentially unnecessary or inconsistent HMLR requisitions with The Conveyancing Association, particularly where you believe the correct information has already been provided or comparable applications have been treated differently.
The next Land Registry Advisory Council meeting is on 17th November. We want to gather specific evidence of the problems so we can raise them constructively with HMLR at the meeting, identify recurring issues and working towards clearer, more consistent approaches that benefit both firms and their clients.
The progress made since 2022 demonstrates change is possible when the industry has reliable evidence, understands the cost of existing problems and works together to address them. We should recognise what has already been achieved, but we should not regard the job as finished simply because the headline figures are moving in the right direction.
For the CA, the aim remains to remove unnecessary work wherever it arises, whether through better applications from conveyancers or greater consistency from HMLR, because every avoidable request eliminated means less wasted time, lower costs and a more efficient registration process for everyone.
About the author
Beth Rudolf is director of delivery at The Conveyancing Association. After starting working life as an estate agent, she became a licensed conveyancer and now works with the Conveyancing Association to improve the home-moving process for the consumer.
The views expressed in this feature are those of the author and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
