Land Registry hits buyers in the pocket with 30% fee hike
Published
15th Apr 2009
The Land Registry has responded to the property slump with an inflation-busting 30% increase in its charges.
Fees for registering an average first-time buyer property costing £100,000 will rocket by 30%, from £100 to £130 from July, while the cost of registering a £150,000 home will rise by 33%, from £150 to £200.
A buyer of a £1m home will see fees rise from £420 to £550.
The group, which officially registers homes in England and Wales, said it has been forced to raise fees after tumbling property sales have led to an operating loss of £148m in 2008/9.
The Land Registry says falling volume forced it to increase charges by 30 per cent... but will it reverse the jump when house sales pick up?
The Land Registry has defended the increase in its fees, claiming that they make up a fraction of the overall cost of buying a home.
It has already undertaken other measures including a voluntary redundancy scheme to try and cut costs.
The rise in fees is another unwelcome cost for home buyers, especially as the retail prices index measure of inflation has fallen to 0%.
Land Registry finance director Heather Foster said: 'A range of measures has already been taken to cut costs including a voluntary redundancy scheme and an accelerated plan to merge offices.
'Whilst these measures have helped to keep increases as small as possible, an increase is unavoidable.
'We do not believe this will be a deterrent to market recovery, especially in the context of interest rates at historically low levels and lower house prices.'
There will also be an increase in the fees charged for providing information, such as official searches or copies of the title plan of a property, with the fee for a postal search rising from £6 to £8.
Land Registry figures showed property sales down by 55% last year, cutting the projected fee income the Land Registry will earn during 2008/2009 to £299.2m from £482.9m in 2007/2008.
Source: '
Daily Mail '
View
All Latest Articles
