Sweeping changes in the way people buy a home in England and Wales are underway with Liverpool one of the first cities to move to a new online land register.
The register will carry the details of all Local Land Charges in a new digital system created by HM Land Registry. With all details relating to a property and land now in one place, the way conveyancing solicitors deal with property transactions is expected to become simpler and faster for everyone involved.
Faster returns promised
Solicitors use land and property searches to find out essential information on behalf of clients buying a home.
Depending on the local authority involved, some searches could take up to six weeks to be returned, meaning a delay for a buyer that might put their purchase in jeopardy.
However, the Land Registry's new digital system, being rolled out across the country, should mean much faster returns on searches.
Graham Farrant, chief executive and chief land registrar at HM Land Registry, said: "By centralising and digitising the local land charges information of local authorities in England, we are helping to improve conveyancing.
"Search results from the new register will be instantly available in a standard, easy-to-read format.
"This is another significant step forward in the government's ambition to make the homebuying process simpler, faster and cheaper."
Access data immediately
The new online register was launched in July when Warwick District Council migrated their Local Land Charges information on to the system. Liverpool is the first city to do so, and conveyancing solicitors working on property sales in the city will now be able to access the data they need from the online register.
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