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7 February, 2024

Get ahead with top tips for clear, correct and complete applications

By Andrew Robertson, Head of Customer Policy and Service Improvement

Ten short videos show how to avoid more than 20 of the most common requisitions

HM Land Registry (HMLR) has launched Caseworkers’ Top 10 tips for tip-top applications – quick checks or changes conveyancing staff can make that could more than halve the number of requisitions (requests for information) they receive.

The 10 short and snappy videos address some of the most common requisitions – simple points that punch above their weight in terms of delaying applications, but which can be quick and easy to eliminate.

Available on HMLR’s YouTube, X and LinkedIn platforms, as well as both its Customer Training and HM Land Registry Essentials hubs, the Top 10 tips can be downloaded to use as part of firms’ own in-house training.

While some might seem basic, HMLR says it sends a huge number of requisitions over these points. In 2023, it sent nearly a million such requisitions – more than 84,000 in relation to missing information alone.

Top 10 tips is just one of many initiatives HMLR is introducing to tackle the shared responsibility of reducing requisitions. While the two things both HMLR and its customers want – better speed of service and an end to backlogs –– will not be fixed by reducing requisitions alone, it will certainly help.

Other initiatives include:

• a thorough and ongoing review of HMLR’s internal processes, focusing on accuracy and consistency; and
• the largest training and upskilling of caseworkers in its 160-year history.

Among the improvements aimed at helping customers – and especially staff new to conveyancing and post-completion teams – are:

• system checks and enhancements to ‘design-out’ errors at point of submission; and
• new and enhanced training materials and guidance for professional customers and members of the public.

The tips don’t cover everything and are not designed for debating subtle nuances of land law, but they do include the simple points that recur frequently. Getting those right from the outset will certainly save plenty of time, money and frustration.

General help in avoiding requisitions:

Guidance:

Avoiding requisitions

Webinars:

How to avoid requests for information

Checklist:

Quick wins