When Anthony Hockham, 47, and his family moved into their £485,000 four-bedroom new build house in Reading in March 2024, he never imagined more than two years later his property would be unmortgageable.

That's because his home was still not fully registered in his wife's and his name.

HM Land Registry (HMLR) delays have increased markedly since the pandemic with delays of six to 12 months or more to transfer ownership not unusual.

It was only in February when the conveyancers handling their remortgage requested HMLR information that Anthony was told the registration was still incomplete and they couldn't remortgage without it. 

All property ownership changes must be logged with HMLR, which operates a public register holding details on the owners, their mortgage and the sale price. 

HMLR receives an application to change the register at the very end of the property sale, after completion and after the property has changed hands. 

While ownership rights are secured when an application is submitted to HMLR, a bank or building society will only be prepared to take a legal charge over a clear, undisputed fully registered title before releasing funds for a mortgage.

This is Money contacted HMLR to understand what had caused the delay in Anthony's case.

They explained that registration problems with new build purchases can often happen, like with this one.

In this case, they explained there were a number of issues with an application on the same property, from the original property developer who sold to Anthony.

This included months of HMLR 'chasing for clarifications' arising from 'errors or omissions' in the developer's application, which was the priority before they could process Anthony's application.

When a developer buys a vacant plot of land, having first registered the land they then set about building before they do a 'transfer of parts' in which they register the various properties or plots on that land.

HMLR says the developer's registration came in just two months ahead of Anthony's application and was then subject to delays from both the developer's legal team and HMLR.

It claims Mr Hockham's application was eventually processed as quickly as possible – again with a few delays due to issues connected with the original application.

An HMLR spokesman said: 'We were sorry to hear of Mr Hockham's difficulties and are working with him to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

'In this specific situation, Mr Hockham's application was also affected by delays from third parties related to a previous application affecting the same property.

'We estimate delays like these may be costing the industry up to £19 million every year.'

How a delay turned into a £6,105 loss

The delay prevented them from being able to remortgage and as a result they are now stuck on their lender's 5.5 per cent standard variable rate (SVR) – the higher rate that households fall onto when their fixed rate ends and they don't switch to a new deal.

Anthony says they are currently paying £1,202 a month, rather than £1,032 a month had their remortgage offer gone through.

What makes it even more frustrating is that Anthony had lined up a mortgage offer in December – a 3.49 per cent rate with Santander. 

Since then, thanks to the conflict in Iran, mortgage rates have risen meaning Anthony is now likely to secure a fixed rate deal closer to 5 per cent even if and when the registration with HMLR is complete.

'We have been waiting since March 2024 for HMLR to complete our application,' says Anthony. 'We took out a two-year mortgage and have been trying to remortgage but new lenders won't touch us because the Land Registry application hasn't been completed. 

'This delay has caused us so much stress as our new offer has now expired so any new offer will not be as good and will cost us more than £6,000 over the next three years.

'It has just been so frustrating and time consuming communicating with my solicitors, mortgage brokers and the Land Registry over this.

'Had our new mortgage gone through in April, that extra money each month would have really helped us cope with the rising cost of everything. We were also planning to try and overpay our mortgage. Now we're just watching rates go up - that's a real kick in the teeth.'

Registration delays with HMLR can sometimes result from solicitors failing to submit the correct signed documentation, such as a signed title plan. 

In Anthony's case, the boundary lines for the property were drawn wrong – but instead of this being flagged and dealt with, it was simply forgotten about.

Anthony has now opened a complaint with HMLR, and rightfully wishes to be compensated for being unable to remortgage and the financial cost they'll have to bear as a result of the delay.

'Had they started it in a timely manner all would have been resolved and we'd be on our new mortgage paying around £200 per month less than we're stuck on at the moment,' he says.

'We've been chasing regularly since then and had to get the deadline for our remortgage extended several times. It's now fully expired and we need to look for a new product but there's no point until this Land Registry issue is resolved. 

'Until then we're in limbo on a variable rate and have missed out on our offer, which was at 3.49 per cent and is now likely to be somewhere between 4.7 per cent and 5 per cent.

'HMLR needs to realise the consequences that their actions have had on me and my family both mentally as well as financially.

On 30 July, Anthony submitted a claim for £6,105.88 to HMLR based on current loss and future loss.

As it is an ongoing process they would not comment on whether or not they will agree to compensation. 

Anthony adds: 'Once they started the application they were working with the relevant parties to get the application through-that took six months. 

'Our issue is that the application was lodged in the days after we completed, early March 2024 and HMLR, by their own admission, didn’t start on it until 9 January 2026. 

'Had it been picked up in a timely manner in 2024 there would not have been any issues from our end.'

How can someone check if their property is registered?

HM Land Registry says that anyone concerned whether their property has been fully registered can call them up to find out.

It is also possible to pay for official copies of a register, title plan and documents on the HM Land Registry website.

Why are applications delayed?

Applications can be delayed for a number of reasons.

This could be because there are errors or omissions in the application, or action is needed on an earlier application that needs to be registered first, or because HMLR is waiting for action from others, such as a lender, conveyancer or another organisation involved in the application, to provide information or evidence, or allow a statutory or legal notice period to expire.

Almost 20 per cent of applications result in requests for more information, according to HMLR. This can add months to an application depending on the complexity of the issue and the responsiveness of all parties.

This figure rises to around 60 per cent for commercial transactions, including first registrations, new Leases and transfer of part.

Typically, at any moment, there can be hundreds of thousands of applications that HMLR cannot process through to successful registration because it is awaiting info from third parties.