Taking out rejections

Under the Fees in the Registers of Scotland Amendment Order 2010, the party submitting an application for registration in the Land Register will now incur a £30 fee if the application has to be rejected at the point of receipt. An application will be rejected if it does not meet the basic criteria necessary for acceptance on to the Land Register application record. This rejection fee has been introduced to reduce the number of applications that have to be rejected and reduce the not inconsiderable costs and risks for all parties associated with the administration of rejected applications.

Although it is early days, the number of applications having to be rejected is declining, from around 400 rejections per week prior to the fee being introduced to some 150-200 rejections now. We would like to see that figure reduce further.

In the week beginning 7 February, we had to reject 208 applications of which 125 were for reasons associated with the application form, for example because it was not signed or the questions had not been answered or it was the wrong application form for the type of the transaction.

The next most common reason for rejection is the continuing use of cheques. Direct debit is our preferred payment method and we would encourage all solicitors to use it. Not only is direct debit cheaper and more secure than the use of cheques but it also prevents applications being rejected because the cheque has been made out for the wrong amount, or is unsigned or otherwise incomplete.

By contrast, with direct debit, the correct fee will be charged for each application, even if the wrong fee has been stated on the application form. (If the difference in fees is more than £200, we contact the customer to authorise payment.) Using direct debit may prevent your applications being rejected.

Our advice to you is: use direct debit and do a quick check of the application form before you submit it.

For further information on the use of direct debit, please email DirectDebit@ ros.gov.uk For general advice on avoiding rejections see ros.gov.uk/gettingitright

Personal presentment service information

RoS offers a personal presentment service to customers to allow applications for registration in the Land Register and for recording deeds in the General Register of Sasines to be personally presented at our Customer Service Centres in Edinburgh or Glasgow. This longstanding service was introduced to enable customers who had urgent, and potentially high risk, transactions to submit the application to RoS in person and, in return, to receive confirmation of the date of registration.

Over time, the number and type of applications being presented in this way has steadily increased, as has the number of applications being presented at a single visit. It is clear that many of the applications that are now personally presented are neither urgent nor high risk. The cost of the personal presentment service is not insignificant for RoS and so on 10 January, a fee of £15 was introduced for each personal presentment application.

RoS will endeavour to process all Land Register and Sasine personal presentments at the time they are handed to us, but cannot guarantee to do so. We would encourage customers only to make use of this service when it is imperative that the date of registration for that application is required that same day. Applications that do not require the immediate notification of the date of registration should be sent to RoS using the established postal methods or by using ARTL.

We also recommend that if you are involved in a transaction that affects 10 or more Land Register title sheets and/or sasine titles, you contact us prior to presenting the application. This allows us to work with you to ensure the application will not present intake problems when it is submitted for registration. This is a non-chargeable service.

ARTL UPDATE – as at 15 Feb 2011

• 38,287 transactions have taken place
• 553 solicitors’ firms are currently on the ARTL system
• 28 lenders are currently on the ARTL system
• 13 local authorities are using the system.

For up-to-date information and a full list of participating practices and companies, go to: ros.gov.uk/artl

Wedding day office closure

Customers please note that Registers of Scotland’s offices will be closed on Friday 29 April, the day of the Royal wedding. We will be open for business as usual on Monday 2 May.