Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of Land Registry application processing times; and what steps she is taking to improve those times.

Improving speed of service remains the top priority for HM Land Registry (HMLR). It has been delivering on this objective by increasing the capacity and capability of its staff and enhancing the services its customers use. This work has been undertaken whilst continuing to deliver the essential services required to enable property transactions to complete. There has been a significant reduction in the overall age of applications in recent months, and HMLR is determined to build on this progress.

HMLR acknowledges that some customers may not yet feel the positive impact of these improvements. Anyone who is concerned that a delay with their application may cause financial, legal or personal problems or put a property sale at risk, can apply to have their application expedited free of charge. HMLR processes nearly 1,400 expedited applications every day, with more than 95% actioned within 10 working days.

HMLR publishes information each month about its latest processing times. These can be found on gov.uk here.