Following our announcement in January, the Land Registration (Amendment) Rules 2018 will come into effect on Friday 6 April. These update the Land Registration Rules 2003, marking a major step in how we use digital technology to build faster and simpler services for our customers.
The changes will help us to achieve our ambition of becoming the world’s leading land registry for speed, simplicity and an open approach to data as outlined in our Business Strategy.
Many of the changes to the rules are minor and many will not affect customers immediately. The most substantial change that may affect our customers is that outline applications (OLAs) will disappear from 6 April.
OLAs were introduced when most of the customer applications that we received to update or create title registers were on paper forms. OLAs offered customers a formal way to give us notice that they intended to send an application imminently. It allowed us to capture it in our systems before receiving the full application.
Business customers can now make full applications immediately online, so there is no longer a need for OLAs.
We will not accept any OLA applications received after 11pm today (Wednesday 28 March). This is to allow for the OLA’s follow-up period (the time in which the applicant must submit the full application) before OLAs cease to exist.
The amendments to the Land Registration Rules follow a public consultation on the proposed amendments which ran from 9 February to 5 April 2017. See the consultation outcome
We will update our practice guides to take account of the changes.
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