Inside Land Registry
Her Majesty’s Land Registry, established in 1862, is a government department, an executive agency and a trading fund. It is required to ensure that its income covers expenditure.
Its main function is to maintain and develop a register of title to freehold and leasehold land in England and Wales. Title is guaranteed by the state. The Land Register comprises over 19 million titles. The Chief Land Registrar reports to the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor.
Land Registry operates through 24 offices located in England and Wales; a Head Office in London; the Land Charges and Agricultural Credits Departments and our Information Systems Group. Once a piece of land is registered:
- legal title is guaranteed
- anyone who suffers financial loss because of errors in the Register, and in either Official Copies or Official Searches, has the right, subject to certain conditions, to compensation from Land Registry for that loss
- an accurate plan is provided
- there is an up-to-date and authoritative public record of ownership rights, covenants and mortgages
- dealings can take place with confidence
- the risk of fraud is reduced
- simple forms replace complicated documents
- disputes can be resolved inexpensively
- lengthy and costly examinations of title deeds are unnecessary.
