HM Land Registry (HMLR) are increasing fees for information services including Agricultural Credits and Land Charges to “support an acceleration of service improvement, including through digital transformation.”
The £4 increase will take effect from Monday 9th December 2024 and HMLR are encouraging firms to update their systems and pricing in anticipation.
HMLR say the increase is a reflection of the increased costs in facilitating and improving their services, as well as enabling them to further invest in their digitisation agenda; and represents the first increase in over 10 years.
Electronic submissions will increase by £4 per application, while Land Charges applications submitted on paper will increase by £6 for searches and £5 for official copies and inspections.
HMLR’s fees are set by a fee order requiring Parliamentary approval, submitted on 10th September. Commenting on the increase HMLR said
This change does not affect a longer-term review of HM Land Registry’s fees and charging model. We are continuing with a wider review to determine whether all fees are aligned to our strategic plans and how they can be made less complex and fair for customers while enabling better access to our data. As part of the review, we will explore pricing options to make information services as accessible as possible while ensuring we remain cost neutral to the taxpayer.
The response to the call for evidence, conducted in March to April this year, will be published in the coming weeks. The results will then form the basis of a proposal for a more substantial change to the structure of HM Land Registry fees, which will be shared in a full, public consultation.
