E-conveyancing could slow down conveyancing

The Times last week revealed that The Land Registry has announced plans to cut 1,500 jobs - about 25% of its workforce -  and close a quarter of its national offices before a possible sale of the government department to the private sector.

The Land Registry, which is in integral part of the conveyancing process registering all house and land ownership transactions in England and Wales, suffered a £130 million loss last year.

It is believed that an expensive IT project to introduce a new system of online conveyancing known as “e-Conveyancing” contributed to cost pressures.

With a significant reduction in staff there is a danger that Conveyancing documents will take longer to obtain therefore resulting in a slowing down of transactions. This is bitterly ironic given the land registry’s and the governments previous ambitions of speeding up property transactions.