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Practice Guide 45 – Receiving and replying to notices by email

Issued: October 2003

Scope of this guide

This guide gives advice on when and how Land Registry will issue formal notices by email and how you can reply to them. The guide is aimed at conveyancers, companies and private individuals who could receive notices and you should interpret references to ‘you’ accordingly. Land Registry staff will also refer to it.

1 Abbreviations used

In this guide:

‘LRA 2002’ means the Land Registration Act 2002

‘LRR 2003’ means the Land Registration Rules 2003

‘DX’ means the Document Exchange as used by members (legal profession and other business users)

‘pdf’ means portable document format (.pdf).

2 Introduction

An address for service entered in the register may include an email address (r.198(4)(c), LRR 2003). So, when Land Registry needs to send a notice to somebody named in the register, we will also send it to any email address in addition to postal or DX addresses. For further information on addresses for service, see Practice Guide 55 – Address for service.

Similarly, Land Registry issues requisitions electronically where there is a suitable email address. For further information on requisitions, see Practice Guide 59 – Receiving and replying to requisitions by email.

3 Notices issued by email

The notice will be in the same form as those issued by post or DX and will be sent as an attachment to the email.

Each email, with the notice attached, will contain the following message:

“The document attached is an official notice from Land Registry. It is not a circular and you should read it immediately. It is sent to you because you have an interest in the property referred to in the notice.

If the attached notice refers to documents or an enclosed plan these will be sent by post or DX.

The document is in ‘Portable Document Format’ (.pdf) which replicates the appearance of the hard copy version. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the document. If you do not already have Adobe Acrobat Reader it can be installed free from www.adobe.com.”

If an emailed notice is returned to us as undelivered, we will not investigate the reason why, nor will we amend the entry containing that address in the register.

NB: If you receive the same notice more than once because you have more than one address for service shown on the register, you should only reply once.

4 Replies to notices

Land Registry notices, essentially, have two roles. They will either be:

  • objection notices, or

  • information notices.

Each notice contains explanatory notes setting out the action you can take and any time limit for such action.

Objection notices contain a consent panel which you may wish to complete and return to us to assist in the early completion of applications. If this is the case, you may respond in one of two ways.

4.1 By email

Because the notice attached to our email is a pdf, which is a read only format, you will not be able to complete the consent panel on the notice itself in order to return it to us by email. Therefore, if you wish to consent or object to the notice and you want to inform us by email you should:

  • click the ‘reply’ button

  • add your message (giving all the information requested in the notice for an objection, or to consent), then

  • click the ‘send’ button.

The reply will be sent to the correct address and Land Registry staff in the team dealing with the application will take the appropriate action.

4.2 By post or DX

You may send a written reply by letter (giving all the information requested in the notice for an objection, or to consent). Alternatively, you may print the notice, complete it by hand and send it to us either by post or by DX.

5 Enquiries and comments

If you have a particular concern that is not covered by this guide, please contact Customer Support – see Contact details.

If you have any comments or suggestions about 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 all our guides free from Customer Support or you can download them from our website in English and Welsh at www.landregistry.gov.uk

Land Registry advisory policy

We offer advice to our customers through our publications and Customer Support information and through the day-to-day handling of applications.

We provide factual information including official copies of registers, title plans and documents, searches and details of our forms and fees.

We provide procedural advice to explain how the land registration system works and how to make applications correctly. This includes:

  • advice in advance of an application, where this is requested
  • where an application is defective, advice as to the nature of the problem and what options, if any, are available to put it right
  • an approval service for estate layout plans and certain other land registration documents.

There are limits to the advice that we will provide. We will not provide legal advice.

This means that:

  • we will not approve the evidence to be produced in support of a registration application before we receive the application
  • apart from procedural advice, we will not advise on what action to take
  • we will not recommend a professional adviser but can explain how to find one.

We provide advice only about real cases, not about theoretical circumstances. We will not express a view on questions where the law is complex or unclear except where the question arises on a live registration application.

In providing this factual information and procedural advice we will:

  • be impartial
  • recognise that others may be affected by what we say
  • avoid any conflict of interest.

Contact details

For customer enquiries and to request this publication in an alternative format please contact Customer Support at customersupport@landregistry.gsi.gov.uk or telephone 0844 892 1111, or 0844 892 1122 for a Welsh-speaking service, from Monday to Friday between 8am and 6pm. Calls cost 3p a minute on a BT standard tariff, in addition to the current set up/connection charge. Calls from other tariffs, service providers and mobile phones may cost more. We do not receive any revenue from these calls.

To obtain copies of this and all our other guides, free of charge:

Information in this guide

The information in this publication is for the purpose of providing general guidance about Land Registry's procedures and policies. It is intended only as a guide and does not cover every situation that may arise. It also does not limit Land Registry's ability to use its discretion when appropriate to do so, within the land registration legislation.

Remember

  • We will send notices to every address for service on the register, including email. However, you need only reply once.

  • We will not send documents and plans referred to in the notice electronically. We will either post or send them by DX.

  • You cannot amend an emailed notice.

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