I completed on a house on 31 March 2026. I recently chased up the solicitor to ensure I had the Land Registry documents.
However, they say it won’t be done until mid-September claiming the Land Registry is ‘still catching up from the backlog following covid.’
What’s going on? Why will it take nearly half a year to register the property and should we be concerned? We paid a large sum for this property, including a hefty stamp duty bill.
Trust us? A spokesperson for HM Land Registry said there is no need for our reader to be concerned by the delay
Ed Magnus of This is Money replies: You are quite right to be alarmed by this. Buying a house is often one of, if not the biggest financial outlays someone might make in their lifetime.
You’ve put down the deposit, paid the stamp duty and solicitor and started paying down a mortgage that could last for the next 20 or 30 years, only to find that this vast investment and commitment hasn’t even been officially registered yet.
All property ownership changes must be logged with the Land Registry, which operates a public register holding details on the owners, their mortgage and the sale price.
A spokesman for HM Land Registry said there is no need for our reader to be concerned.
They say ownership rights are secured when an application is submitted to HMLR, not when it is registered.
In the rare event that delays could present a problem, it offers an expedite (fast-track) service free of charge.
HM Land Registry says that it is taking steps to address the backlog and cut waiting times.
It says 95 per cent of applications made once a property sale has been completed are now processed within nine months, compared with a peak of 20 months in 2023.
Last year (2025/26), it says it completed over 213,000 more post completion applications than the previous year.
For expert advice we spoke to Thom Wilkinson, a partner at the law firm Bishop & Sewell.
Thom Wilkinson replies: The delays at the Land Registry have increased markedly since the Covid pandemic.
Delays of six to 12 months or more to transfer ownership are not unusual.
It is a good idea to track progress and to be on top of the issue, but there should not be any real cause for concern on straightforward home purchases.
Prior to completion of your purchase, your solicitor should have completed an Official Search, also called a priority search, which effectively protects your application from that point onwards, not merely from when it is completed.
Once priority is granted it means your application cannot be leapfrogged by any future application to register title against the property whilst it is being progressed.
You are also able to apply to the Land Registry for an expedited service where the delay in registration could cause a real problem.
Typically, this would be where it was delaying an onward sale, remortgage or letting or in some other way the delay was causing personal or financial hardship.
If an application to expedite the registration is accepted, the Land Registry would have to process the application within 10 working days.
To make such an application, evidence of the personal hardship or delay to another transaction must be documented at the time of the expedition application.
Whilst delays at the Land Registry cannot be avoided, there are steps you and your solicitor can take to ensure no further or unnecessary delays slow it down further.
Check carefully that all forms are completed and signed, include all the necessary documentation, ensure deeds and plans match and respond to any questions from the Land Registry quickly.
Have you been hit by Land Registry delay? Get in touch: editor@thisismoney.co.uk