Registers of Scotland case backlog exceeds 100,000

Jennifer Henderson

RoS has 105,638 land registrations that have not yet been processed – some that date from January 2017. Keeper of the Registers, Jennifer Henderson, had apologised for delays when she took over in 2018 and had promised to turn the situation around.

The news came as Ms Henderson told MSPs at Holyrood that RoS was now “one of a few public sector organisations” to bring in a reduced 36-hour working week.

Murdo Fraser, Scottish Conservative Covid recovery spokesman, said: “These figures are astonishing and clearly point to a backlog that has spiralled out of control.

“Those individuals waiting for title deeds will find it galling staff have been awarded significant pay rises and are still working from home.

“These issues predate the pandemic. The public must finally see leadership to tackle these cases.”

Solicitor Austin Lafferty said: “I am very disappointed in the performance of Registers of Scotland. Even I, as a relatively small practitioner, have several transactions stuck in the system.

“There is no reasonable explanation over what has gone wrong or when I am likely to get my client’s registration. Some of these have been in the system so long they have been sold again without title being issued. It is a disgrace.”

Yesterday, an RoS spokesman said the “vast majority” of applications are processed in 20 days.

He added: “Any open applications carry no risk to customers.

“Registration backdates to when we receive the application. Homeowners are not restricted from selling, remortgaging or making changes to their land or property whilst the application is open.”