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16 January 2026 / Phil Murrin
Issue: 8145 / Categories: Features , Profession , Risk management , Property , Landlord&tenant
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Mind the (registration) gap!

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The land registration gap leads to delays & claims, writes Phil Murrin. How can practitioners minimise the risks?
  • The Land Registry’s latest strategy paper recognises that processes are slow and complex, but there is no quick cure.
  • Against this background, practitioners are seeing claims involving registration gap problems.
  • This article advises how firms can understand the extent of their registration gap profile, and address that potential exposure accordingly.

On 5 November 2025, HM Land Registry issued its Strategy 2025+ report, setting out its vision for the next 10 years. This was issued in the context of the troubling expansion we have seen in recent years in relation to the registration gap—the time between the application to register and the registration itself. With reports (including a Homemove study in March 2025) indicating that in complex cases, parties are seeing a delay of up to two years, the release of the report is timely.

However, the report recognises that for many, processes are ‘slow and unnecessarily complex’. It also

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Jordan Wallace

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Jordan Wallace

Thomson Hayton Winkley strengthens family law team

Ward Hadaway—Barnaby Rosenthall

Ward Hadaway—Barnaby Rosenthall

Construction lawyer returns to Ward Hadaway in Teesside role

Bird & Bird—Shahin Baghaei

Bird & Bird—Shahin Baghaei

Bird Bird hires leading legal transformation expert

NEWS
Legal aid deserts leave almost one in four without adequate access to justice
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has warned solicitors and law firms that using artificial intelligence does not alter their professional obligations, amid concerns over inaccurate legal material and client confidentiality
From forgotten interest claims to case-management appeals, a string of procedural developments offers useful—and occasionally cautionary—lessons for practitioners

Jonathan Fisher KC highlights that it now accounts for around 40% of criminal offences, with roughly 70% involving technology, and argues that the UK cannot simply prosecute its way out of the problem. Detection, investigation and prosecution all require improvement, while different fraud types demand tailored responses.

How forcefully can a litigant criticise a public authority before robust advocacy crosses the line into unreasonable conduct? 
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