Estate agency leader slams ‘limiting’ Land Registry fees

The Land Registry much charge less for its services and make information more accessible to estate agents.

That’s the view of Propertymark which has also urged the agency to ensure its services are more efficient.

Barrier

The trade body responded to a Land Registry consultation by saying the current fees are “a barrier” to estate agents trying to find essential information.

Propertymark says removing this ‘barrier’ is “vitally important for agents as it enables them to verify property information provided by landlords and homeowners which may not be reliable”.

The information that property agents have to include in property listings has increased after the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team introduced guidance for Parts B and C of Material Information.

More than ever

Considering this, Propertymark made the case that agents need access to affordable and accessible property data now more than ever.

Propertymark members are calling for a subscription model of fees, or the ability to buy the use of services in bulk at a lower price.

Land Registry has previously promised to speed up homebuying so that some transactions are completed in seconds.

Up to 70% of registration changes would be possible using digital tools by 2025, it promised.

More and more we are finding that estate agents use HM Land Registry data.”

Nathan Emerson, CEO at Propertymark (main picture), says: “More and more we are finding that estate agents use HM Land Registry data for every transaction.

“Despite the importance of this data in the home buying and selling process, the current accumulation of fees agents are expected to pay are an obstacle to accessing the services HM Land Registry provides,” he says.