Compass: Unhelpful PR from the Land Registry highlights a real issue

Unhelpful PR, commenting on ‘Worrying Trend’ of ‘Basic Errors’ in documents, from the Land Registry highlights a real issue, says SDLT Compass.

Estate Agent Today reports that the Land Registry is urging firms to ‘conduct better quality control’ on documents filed by them to avoid ‘basic errors’ which are – according to them – holding up the progress of applications.

This comes in the wake of a finding that of the approximately 1 million requisitions the Land Registry dealt with in 2022, over half – 579,000 – were found to have one or more avoidable issues which caused delays – some 845,000 points overall.

Falling through the Cracks

The actual basis of these errors – misspellings of client names, incorrect addresses entered, undated deeds and missing pages – may seem innocuous enough. However, the scale of the issue suggests that the pressures on law firms are even greater than many have long-feared.

When basic administrative details a client may reasonably expect would be avoided are falling foul of errors, it’s time to start asking questions about the system as a whole.

The Land Registry, as part of this announcement, is calling for basic quality control processes at firms to avoid these ‘administrative mistakes’.

On the face of it, this feels like an unnecessarily condescending tone to take. Conveyancing is a complex process, made more difficult by increasing time pressures and the tendency of the government of the day to make alterations aimed at fulfilling headline-grabbing promises and create more work at the coal face.

The issue here is not a lack of competence or attention on the part of law firms, but rather the increasing pressure and a lack of support from both regulators and other agencies involved in the conveyancing process.

A Question of Trust

It isn’t just the tone of the Land Registry’s announcement towards solicitors themselves which is problematic – if clients are led to understand that firms are unable to get basic details like names and addresses right on Land Registry submissions, how are they supposed to trust in those firms?

Housebuying is a stressful enough process as it is, which is wont to bring out the worst in the best people. Irresponsible insinuations of basic incompetency in law firms from a government agency is unlikely to do much to assist with this.

Worried clients can all too easily become complaining clients, and the result of this can be lengthy and reputationally costly processes which may or may not result in punitive measures from the regulator but definitely result in a destruction of the client relationship – something which is almost always impossible to repair.

Lately, the hot topic in this area has been Stamp Duty Land Tax. Between the rising number of complaints encouraged by claims farms now that PPI has run its course and clear signals like the new guidance in the CQS guidelines, it’s clear that SDLT is another potential hurdle waiting to trip firms up, and the support available is minimal at best.

A worrying thought indeed, for firms already facing a variety of pressures at a time of unprecedented cost of living rises, interest rate increases and general uncertainty.

The Cost of Compliance?

In order to avoid SDLT errors and the cost they may entail, firms may be concerned that expensive re-training and/or more staff may be required, as well as the time of fee-earners which might more profitably be spent elsewhere.

In the current climate, these options will doubtless be unappealing, especially when many small to medium sized firms are already struggling economically thanks to the continued increase in PII premiums.

Thankfully, more straightforward and inexpensive solutions are available. Designed in co-operation with both expert tax advisers and conveyancing solicitors, and with the CQS guidelines in mind, SDLT Compass will ensure that you get every SDLT return done right first time, every time.

With a carefully maintained database updated to reflect the latest updates to legislation, and the backup of leading expert advisers in the field of Stamp Duty Land Tax, Compass will help you avoid potentially costly errors and ensure the happiness of your clients and the efficiency of your firm.

Call SDLT Compass today or email [email protected] to find out how Compass can help your firm avoid Diminishing Returns.

Kindly shared by Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC)

Main article photo courtesy of Pixabay