A new service from the Land Registry will enable over 13,000 professional organisations to view the progress of their applications online.
Called Application Enquiry, it is set to replace the previous Day List Enquiry and will be free to use.
The service includes:
-more detail about an application, including its progress status
-the full priority period for official searches
-the ability to save details as a PDF
-the ability to discover whether any charges have been discharged within the previous 30 calendar days
Graham Farrant, chief executive and chief Land Registrar, said: “Just like when we developed our award winning MapSearch service, we carried out research with our customers to understand how we could better meet their needs.
“The new service was developed after customer research revealed that only 18% of customers were using the Day List Enquiry and although many rated it highly, a small sampling exercise revealed that most went on to call Land Registry for more information about their application. The most popular reason was because clients or lenders wanted an update on progress or to find out whether one application may be holding up any subsequent applications.”
Land Registry said that in tests conveyancers were able to find their applications easily and felt it would reduce their calls. Lenders who tested the service said it gave them more information about what may be causing a delay, which could lessen the need to chase up panel solicitors.
Customers will be able to access the new service from the left hand menu of the Land Registry portal from 14 March.