HM Land Registry launched two consultations on 27 October 2026, one on simplifying its fee structure and one on widening access to the land ownership information it holds. The proposals cover England and Wales and were due to run until 22 December 2026, with full responses promised shortly afterwards, according to the government announcement.

On fees, the registry said registration charges are largely based on property value, which can be hard to establish and may cause requisitions and delays. It is proposing a simplified approach for Scale Two fees, covering transfers where no money changes hands or less than market value is paid, and registering a mortgage, and is seeking views.

On data, the registry outlined tiered access. The public, businesses and community groups would be able to see mappable datasets covering ownership of most land and inspect detailed title information free of charge, but this would not extend to most ordinary homeowners. Public sector bodies would get cost-free access to all titles, including residential ones, as would approved public-interest researchers. The announcement said all titles are currently publicly accessible, mostly as individual PDFs costing £7 each, with bulk ownership data already available for the 16% of titles owned by corporate bodies.