We do not often comment on proposed legislation but an excellent article points out a dilemma for existing leaseholders and their advisers which could impact on transactions happening now and in the coming months. Practitioners advising leaseholders on these transactions should carefully consider the advice being given to their clients now and whether their standard …
Continue reading “Lease extensions – timing”
HMLR’s PG 34 (personal insolvency) explains which entries can be made in the register of a title where the proprietor, or one of the proprietors, is a person subject to bankruptcy proceedings. It also explains how insolvency affects powers of disposition. It is aimed at conveyancers and trustees in bankruptcy. The entire PG should be …
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HMLR PG 19 (notices, restrictions and the protection of third-party interests in the register) is one of the most useful PGs for conveyancers. It gives advice about how to apply for a notice or a restriction to protect a third-party interest in a registered estate or charge. It explains the effect of existing register entries …
Continue reading “HMLR – PG 19 update”
HMLR PG 8 must be one of the most amended PGs of the last year as this relates to the execution of deeds. We reported in our March 2021 edition (p5) on electronic signatures of deeds following HMLR’s confirmation during 2020 that they would accept for registration deeds signed using Mercury signatures and witnessed electronic …
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A small but significant change from a risk management point of view has been made to HMLR PG 50 (requisition and cancellation procedures). When HMLR stopped sending its requisitions on registration applications to law firms by post, this presented a risk management issue for conveyancers. This is because HMLR would send the requisition to the …
Continue reading “HMLR requisitions – email”
We reported in our March 2020 edition (p9) on the change that HMLR introduced from 1 April 2020 to the wording of consent restrictions. It was intended that from that date consent must be given to the registration of the disposition, not just to the disposition itself. We reported as soon as April 2020 (p8) …
Continue reading “HMLR – new form RXC”
HMLR has added a small but significant enhancement to the View My Applications function, which is available to all portal users. They have added the ‘estimated completion date’ so for the first time, conveyancers can see a single calendar date by which they can reasonably expect their applications to be completed. This should remove the …
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We reported in our September 2020 edition (p5) on the news last summer that HMLR would accept witnessed electronic signatures for deeds. There are now four basic types of signatures that HMLR will accept: Wet ink signature – a traditional signature on a document using a pen. Mercury signature – essentially a scanned wet ink …
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Allied to the above issue is HMLR’s update of PG 73 (statements of truth). HMLR has updated s3 to set out the steps to be followed when a statement of truth is signed using Mercury signatures or an electronic signing platform. Mercury signing The steps to be followed for Mercury signing a statement are the …
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Conveyancers will no doubt have noted the CMA’s report that following its investigation into the ‘ground rent scandal’, two companies are voluntarily taking action. The CMA reports that: ‘Aviva has committed to remove certain terms from its leasehold contracts which cause ground rents to double, and Persimmon will now offer leasehold house owners the opportunity …
Continue reading “CMA – some movement on ground rents”