Guidance

Practice guide 41: developing estates - registration services

Updated 25 June 2015

Applies to England and Wales

Please note that HM Land Registry’s practice guides are aimed primarily at solicitors and other conveyancers. They often deal with complex matters and use legal terms.

1. Benefits of registration services

HM Land Registry services are there to help development companies and HM Land Registry reduce costs. We do this by simplifying the processes from initial registration of the site, through pre-sales services to plot sales. The documentation required is simple and there are no fees to pay for these services.

Although we have designed our services to complement each other, you can use each service independently. Developers can gain most benefit simply by ensuring that they use each of these services as effectively as possible.

We are always happy to consider any special circumstances that might apply to a particular development and discuss the best way forward.

We have provided our contact points in the supplements to this guide.

2. HM Land Registry’s service standards

We will:

• give approval within five working days where the matter is straightforward
• contact the applicant within five days where problems arise
• supply information which will be guaranteed as accurate

The supporting supplements 1 to 5 give details of:

• what each service provides, and
• how to apply for approval

3. Getting the best out of these services

That depends on the part you play in the development company. This part of the guide sets out to answer that question whatever your role.

3.1 If you are the developer’s legal adviser

You have a pivotal role to play in the liaison between all the other parties. To make all the registration services described in this guide work smoothly and cost effectively; there are three main areas to consider:

First, making the following timely applications:

• for the registration of the developer’s estate
• for the estate boundary approval
• for the estate plan approval
• for the approval of the draft transfers or leases
• for official copy entries of the developer’s title, and
• voluntary registration of any known overriding interests (see supplement 6 to this practice guide)

Second, ensuring that the plans submitted for approval meet the following broad specifications. The plans must:

• show a scale, preferably no less than 1/500, and orientation
• be based on an accurate land survey
• show any measurements in metric form
• show enough detail for the site to be related to the surrounding boundary features
• clearly define and number the precise extent of each plot. Particular care should be taken when showing garages and parking spaces included with the plots
• show buildings and any access drives and pathways in their correct positions, and
• indicate those areas that will remain as common parts

Plans marked ‘For identification only’, ‘Do not scale from this drawing’ or any similar phrase are not acceptable. Plans, which bear a statement of disclaimer intended to comply with the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991, are similarly not acceptable.

The third area of activity relates to the purchasers’ legal advisers. In particular you should:

• provide them with the relevant documents (transfers or leases), based on the approved drafts and containing copies of the approved plans, and
• inform them immediately of any change to the approved layout plan and seek all necessary agreements for the change, particularly where contracts have already been signed

3.2 If you are the developer’s land surveyor

It will be your responsibility to provide the initial survey of the site. The site survey usually forms the basis of the estate boundary and layout plans. You are also in a good position to:

• monitor the site development, recording any changes to the original layout and informing the developer’s legal adviser of those changes
• provide ‘as built’ plans at the various development stages, and
• provide, where necessary, survey markers for fencing purposes

The detailed requirements for estate plans and surveying specifications are set out in supplement 5 to this practice guide.

3.3 If you are the developer’s site manager

The site manager can ensure that the contractors set out and build the estate in accordance with the approved layout.

Sometimes, for practical reasons, contractors deviate from the approved layout. The site manager is usually in a good position to, and must immediately, notify the developer, the legal adviser, the surveyor and HM Land Registry of any deviation from the original plan. If they fail to do this, the problems outlined below may arise.

4. The problems caused when layout changes take place

You sometimes need to make layout changes and our services can accommodate these changes.

However, experience shows that late changes in layout can result in disputes between developer and buyer. Such disputes can cause delay and frustration and may involve the payment of costs and compensation. In extreme cases, you may need to reposition plot boundaries and you may even need to move buildings.

If we find out during the registration process that you have amended the layout without informing us we will withdraw approval of the estate plan. We will also inform any affected purchasers who have pending applications in HM Land Registry and those who subsequently apply for searches or lodge applications.

Whenever you detect any change to the layout, it is vital that you immediately inform all the parties involved, including HM Land Registry.

5. If layout changes are made before any plot sales

You should return the original approved layout plan to HM Land Registry as soon as possible with a copy of the revised layout plan clearly showing the changes.

Where there is no sales activity on that part of the development and the new layout agrees with the registered title boundaries, we will give fresh approval without delay.

6. If there has been sales activity on that part of the development

You should advise HM Land Registry of any layout change immediately so that we can withdraw approval of the estate plan. You should also inform affected purchasers or prospective purchasers and their advisers.

If prospective purchasers have made searches based on the superseded plan we will not be able to approve a revised plan until either you produce their written agreement to the changes so far as they affect, or the priority period of all searches has expired.

You should also tell us whether you have exchanged contracts or completed the sales of any affected plots. If you have, but the sales have not yet been registered, you will need to agree and amend the contracts, transfers or leases as necessary. The parties and their legal advisers must satisfy themselves that any such amendments are legally effective.

If you have already registered the sales, you will need to agree the layout changes with the affected purchasers and any registered charges. In order to bring the registered titles into line with the position on the ground the parties may need to prepare and execute additional transfers or deeds of variation or rectification.

Details of the appropriate deed to use are covered by practice guide 68: amending deeds that effect dispositions of registered land.

Where purchasers are not prepared to accept the new layout plans you may need to reposition the construction on the site to accord with the former proposed layout.

7. Things to remember

We only provide factual information and impartial advice about our procedures. Read more about the advice we give.