(This note is not part of the Order.)
This Order prescribes the fees to be taken in the Land Registry for the purposes of the Land Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1970 and the manner in which those fees are to be paid.
The Order revokes and replaces the Land Registry (Fees) Order (Northern Ireland) 1996. The principal amendments are—
(a)the ad valorem scale of fees for transfers and exchanges has been amended with the overall effect of reducing the fees payable;
(b)the ad valorem fees previously payable on applications for the registration of a charge, the cancellation of a charge, a transmission on the death of a registered owner and applications under section 53 of the Act have been replaced by fixed fees;
(c)an application for first registration of title which is based on adverse possession now attracts the same fixed fee whether or not it is made in Form 1;
(d)the number of different fixed fees which were formerly payable for registrations, approvals, searches and copies has been reduced;
(e)provision has been made for payment of a fee on an application for cancellation of a statutory charge;
(f)provision has been made for the payment of fees for applications under the Property Order (Northern Ireland) 1997;
(g)provision has been made to permit the payment of fees by electronic monetary transfer.
Although the fees for certain applications have been increased, it is anticipated that the overall effect of the Order will be to reduce the registry’s fee income by approximately 5%.