There is no basis under the existing legislation for removing charge entries without evidence that the charge has been satisfied and it is difficult to see how the legislation might be amended to allow such an approach in any way that would be consistent with the property rights of registered chargees. Such an approach would do nothing to create pressure for improvement of the redemptions procedure, which is acknowledged to be unsatisfactory.

There is also no statutory basis for fining lenders and we do not see how lenders would ever agree to this voluntarily.

Land Registry is, as it should be, required to meet progressively improving performance targets agreed with the Lord Chancellor. By consistently meeting those targets for the past several years we have significantly enhanced the service we offer to all customers. We are proud of these achievements. Meeting targets is never an end in itself and it is not true to say that we are making this change "simply" to meet performance targets. However, we are happy to acknowledge that the proposed change in policy is intended to contribute to further improvements in our service to customers.

Aside from the cost of requisitions, the time taken to raise and deal with replies to requisitions obviously diverts staff resource that could otherwise be utilised in relation to applications that are not defective. In short, requisitions cost time and money and directly affect the fee that a consumer is required to pay and the speed of service that Land Registry is able to provide. They also result in a cost to practitioners and to third parties such as lenders who are required to assist in addressing such requisitions. Accordingly, Land Registry is constantly looking to find ways to reduce the number of requisitions that it raises.

Applications are at present being cancelled for lack of proof of satisfaction of a charge when a discharge application accompanies that application. We do not consider that the fact that the discharge application may not be in order should prevent the registration of those accompanying applications, provided those accompanying applications are independently capable of completion by registration. Treating applications for a discharge, transfer and charge collectively so that a problem with the discharge application may result in the cancellation of all three applications may create real difficulties for the transferee and new chargee – and this is the primary reason for the change in policy.

There is a lack of consensus amongst lenders and practitioners as to the causes of delays. Although practitioners blame lenders, many lenders attribute the cause of some delays to practitioners. Most lenders will not provide evidence of discharge until all moneys have been paid and particular problems arise when standing orders are closed prematurely or the borrower continues to draw on the mortgage account after the redemption statement has been issued.

As previously mentioned on this site (see Land Registry's comment of 15 May) we are not a policeman for the redemptions process. We can try to facilitate improvements and have sought to do so over many years but our powers are limited. At the end of the day it is for practitioners and lenders to resolve the problem with delays. In the lead up to this particular change we sought an alternative way of dealing with this problem but it was not possible to achieve consensus amongst the Law Society and CML.

The fact that a discharging lender is also likely to be a new lender elsewhere will mean that it has an interest in making sure the redemptions process works to ensure that its new charges are registered as first charges.

We have explained that early completion will ensure that buyers and new-mortgage lenders will have their interests protected by registration. The alternative would be that their applications for registration would be cancelled if evidence of discharge is not lodged and cancellation may risk a loss of priority for the interests of the buyer and new lender.

In one typical week in June 2008, Land Registry cancelled 357 registration applications because evidence of discharge had not been lodged, even after a requisition had been sent and the application had been stood over to await a reply for at least one month. Applications to register a discharge, transfer and charge will have been counted as one application for recording purposes and the number of buyers and lenders interests who will have placed at risk will have been significantly higher than 357. Even as a conservative estimate this would suggest over 37,000 buyers and new-mortgage lenders in a 12 month period who had the priority of their applications put at risk because of cancellation.

We believe that dispositions should be reflected in the register as soon as possible after they have taken place. The interests of buyers and sellers should not be placed at risk by a refusal to register their transfers and charges because of delays in the completion of discharges of prior charges.

We also believe early completion will help to prevent fraud. There are obvious problems if an application to register a transfer and new charge are cancelled because of a problem with the application to discharge an existing charge, as the transferee and new chargee will not then receive any notices of potentially fraudulent transactions from us, precisely because they will not have been registered as proprietors with addresses for service. Furthermore the seller, who retains the legal title even though no longer having any equitable interest in the property, might, for example, charge the title as security for a further loan or otherwise deal with it. Although legally effective, that dealing would potentially be a fraud against both the buyer and the new lender. Early completion removes the opportunity for such a fraud.

The decision as to when to submit applications will be for the practitioner but delaying submission of applications would constitute poor practice where such delay might threaten the priority of the practitioner's client's interest.

And, simply making successive applications for official searches with priority will not necessarily protect the priority of the transfer and new charge whereas the registration of the transfer and the new charge (if made for valuable consideration) will ensure that they gain the special priority afforded by section 29 of the Land Registration Act 2002, even if temporarily subject to an existing charge that will remain on the register until proof of its satisfaction is obtained.

It is not possible to extend the priority of an official search. A fresh priority period will be created for any new search but this fresh period does not extend the effect of any preceding search.