Practice Guide 33 – Large scale applications (calculation of fees)

Updated: October 2012

Update

This edition of the guide replaces the February 2011 edition. Sections 2 and 4 have been amended as a result of the Land Registration Fee Order 2012 that came into force on 22 October 2012.

Scope of this guide

This guide provides information about the calculation of fees for large scale applications under Article 6 of the current Land Registration Fee Order. It is aimed at conveyancers and other legal advisers and you should interpret references to ‘you’ accordingly. Land Registry staff will also refer to it.

The registration process for large scale applications is dealt with in Practice Guide 32 – Bulk applications affecting one or more Land Registry office.

1 Definitions and terms used

‘large scale application’ means an application that comprises 20 or more land units and on which a Scale 1 or Scale 2 fee would normally be payable;

‘land unit’ means:

• a parcel of registered land under a single title number, or

• a parcel of unregistered land that does not adjoin another area of unregistered land affected by the same application;

‘fee order’ means the current Land Registration Fee Order.

2 How to calculate the fee

The fee is assessed under the fee order at the date of the application.

Where an application affects 20 or more land units the fee is payable under Article 6 of the fee order unless a greater fee would be payable under Scale 1 (for first registrations and transfers on sale of land), or Scale 2 (for charges, transfers of charges and transfers of land not on sale).

The fee under Article 6 is the sum of:

• £10 for each of the first 500 land units comprised in an application, and

• £5 for each additional land unit over 500 units.

There is a maximum Article 6 fee of £40,000 (£30,000 for voluntary applications) which applies to first registration applications. There is no cap on registered land.

The tables with examples A and B later in section 4 Examples illustrate this formula.

Where the application is a large scale voluntary first registration, the fee order makes provision under Article 2(6) for a 25 per cent reduction in fees. The examples below relate solely to compulsory registrations. Where there are voluntary first registration applications affecting a large area of land or more than 20 individual voluntary first registrations you should contact Nicola Watchman, Bulk Applications Team on 0300 006 6286 or by email at nicola.watchman@landregistry.gsi.gov.uk

3 Does Article 6 apply?

To decide whether you should assess the fee under Article 6 ask yourself, in relation to each application that you intend to make:

• does this application relate to 20 or more registered land units?

• does this application relate to 20 or more unregistered land units?

If the answer to both questions is ‘yes’, then you will need to consider Article 6 (see examples A and B in section 4 Examples).

If the answer to both questions is ‘no’, then Article 6 is not relevant and you should calculate the fee under Scale 1 or 2 in the normal way (see example C in section 4 Examples).

If you answered ‘yes’ to only one of the questions, then you need to consider Article 6 for that application. You will pay a scale fee on the application for which your answer was ‘no’ (see example D in section 4 Examples).

4 Examples

Example A

A transfer on sale comprises 60 unregistered and 36 registered land units. This transfer gives rise to two separate applications, one on form FR1 for first registration of the unregistered land and the other on form AP1 for registration of the transfer of the registered titles. You will need to pay a separate fee for each application, based on the land units affected by the application. The fee payable with the form FR1 will be at least £600 under Article 6 and that payable with the form AP1 will be at least £360. But you will also need to calculate both fees in the ordinary way under Scale 1, based on the amount of the purchase price attributable to the unregistered and registered units respectively. If the Scale 1 fee is greater than the Article 6 fee then you should pay the Scale 1 fee. The table below shows how you would make this calculation.

Example B

A transfer on sale comprises 550 unregistered and 9,550 registered land units. As in example A, this transfer gives rise to two separate applications, and you will need to pay a separate fee for each application, based on the land units affected by the application. The table below shows how you would calculate the fee in this case.

Example C

A transfer on sale comprises 31 land units, 17 being unregistered and 14 registered. This transfer also gives rise to two separate applications, one for first registration of the unregistered units and the other for registration of the transfer of the registered titles. You will need to pay a separate fee for each application. But in this case Article 6 does not apply because each application comprises less than 20 units. You will, therefore, calculate the two fees in the ordinary way under Scale 1, based on the purchase price attributable to the unregistered and registered units respectively.

Example D

A transaction consists of 32 first registration and 16 registered title applications. The fees for the registered land units are assessed separately from the fees for unregistered land units. In this case, the first registration application may qualify for Article 6 (32 land units) but a scale fee will apply for the registered titles (16 land units).

Example E

Company A owns 15 registered titles and company B owns 12. Company C agrees to lend £4,000,000 to A and B on the security of charges over the 27 titles. Even though they are contained in one document, both secure the same loan and both are in favour of C, there will be two separate charges – one by A of 15 titles and one by B of 12 titles. The charge will result in 2 separate applications, one to register the charge by A and the other to register that given by B. Although the ‘deal’ comprised 27 titles, each application affects less than 20. So, in this case, a Scale 2 fee is payable on each application and Article 6 cannot apply.

5 Transfers of charges

The fee for registration of a transfer of charge, or of several charges, by the same transferor to the same transferee, is normally assessed under Scale 2 of the fee order on the value of the consideration for the transfer. If there is no consideration, the fee is assessed on the amount secured by the charge(s). If, however, the charge or charges transferred relate to 20 or more registered titles then the fees are assessed under Scale 2 or Article 6 of the fee order, whichever is the greater.

6 Enquiries and comments

If you have a particular concern that is not covered by this guide, please contact Land Registry in advance of any search – see Contact details. If the problem is particularly complex, it may be better if you make your enquiry in writing at the Land Registry office that will process your application.

If you have any comments or suggestions about any of our guides, please send them to:

Central Operations Group
Land Registry
Trafalgar House
1 Bedford Park
Croydon
CR0 2AQ

(DX 8888 Croydon 3)

You can obtain further copies of this and of all our guides free of charge from Customer Support (see Contact details) or you can download them from our website www.landregistry.gov.uk

Remember

• You will always need to count registered land units separately from unregistered units. This is because you will need to make two separate applications – one for registration of dealing with registered land and the other for first registration of the unregistered units. The fees are assessed separately as you will see in examples A and B set out in section 4 Examples.

• To be a large scale application and qualify for Article 6, the application must relate to a single document, such as a transfer or transfer of charge(s), which affects all the titles. A series of separate transfers would not meet this criterion.

• You cannot aggregate land units that are in different legal ownership even if they are being transferred or charged to a common purchaser or chargee (see example E in section 4 Examples).

• You cannot aggregate land units that are transferred or charged by one legal owner to several separate purchasers or chargees.