HM Land Registry made meaningful progress in reducing the number of outstanding applications last year, its annual report and accounts for 2025 to 2026 reveal.
All five major post-completion application types are now less than nine months old, meaning most applications are now processed 11 months quicker than at their peak of 19.9 months in 2022-23.
The number of outstanding post-completion applications was also reduced, down by 8% to 433,000.
Writing in the foreword to the report, HMLR chair Neil Sachdev said: “As this report sets out, we’ve made significant progress in driving down the age and number of outstanding applications, an issue that has been of central importance to our customers and ourselves for several years. Importantly, we’ve done this without sacrificing anything in terms of accuracy and integrity.”
A focus on reducing the number of avoidable requisitions has seen the number of requisition letters issued by HMLR drop by 33% (108,000). As a result, “thousands of hours” have been released “back into the system helping us to complete requisitions faster”.
Sachdev explained: “By publishing avoidable requisitions data for the first time this year and providing an expanding range of free training and support, we’re giving conveyancers and law firms clear insights into how they can ensure their applications are right first time.”
A free training hub covering the most common avoidable errors, provided by expert senior case workers and offering live support, has seen more than 6,450 people attend the online sessions.
Other key figures in the report reveal HMLR completed 56.6 million service requests over 12 months, with an average of almost a quarter of a million requests a day for its information services.
Over the same period, 4.6 million register change applications were processed, and 36 local authorities have been migrated to the central Local Land Charges register, taking the total to 147 out of a possible 331.
Measures to combat registered title fraud have prevented more than £63 million in fraudulent applications, with the free Property Alert service a priority for the organisation.
An HMLR spokesperson told Today’s Conveyancer: “Attempted fraud is rare, but detecting and preventing fraud is a key priority for us. We rely on professional conveyancers, such as solicitors, who are required to make checks to prevent fraud and money laundering.”
On the controversial adoption of the use of qualified electronic signatures (QES), HMLR said it expects the technology to become a standard part of the property transaction process and will continue to work with lenders and the wider market to accelerate adoption.
Writing in the foreword to the report, Iain Banfield, interim chief executive and chief land registrar, said: “Our clear acceptance of Qualified Electronic Signatures to the market lays a foundation that will enable a world where digitally executing a deed will no longer require a witness.”
He added: “While we are pleased with the progress we’ve made, we know there is more to do. Through Strategy 2025+, we will continue modernising the property market, improving customer experience and delivering services that are simpler, faster and more resilient.”
