If you buy land in England and Wales - and, more often than not there will be a house or a block of flats stuck on it - the purchase will have to be registered at Her Majesty's very own Land Registry. And you guessed it, the registration will attract a fee. It's actually called a scale fee 'cos the amount of the fee generally depends on how much you have paid. The higher the price, the higher the fee.
The fees are being hiked on 31 January 2022. That's down to the Land Registration Fee Order 2021 (S1 2021/1226). Lodge an application for registration on or after that date and the increased fee you will be required to pay. The moral is, get your application in before that date and there will be a saving. How much? Where the ownership of the land is already registered - and it will be so in the vast majority of cases - the increases range from 13% to 22% which adds on anything between £5 and £195, For example, if you are buying for more than £200,000 and up to £500,000 you will pay £330 instead of £270. And if you are buying for £1,000.01 or more - in which event you may not give a fig - you will pay £1,105 instead of £910. The increases are lower when your conveyancer applies electronically for registration.
Registration of a remortgage also attracts a lower fee which is increased but a new mortgage which is submitted for registration at the same time as the purchase will not generate a separate fee. The fee for registration of transfers under court order between parties to divorce or civil partnership proceedings are also increased but at a lower rate.
Where you can make a saving without moving heaven and earth, it makes sense to do so.
