I’m continuing to send you regular updates to outline the measures that Registers of Scotland (RoS) is taking in response to the ongoing public health emergency and how these measures are helping businesses and customers.
Updates this week include:
- Digital services continue to take the lead as RoS buildings remain closed to general post and personal presentments
- Register of Deeds opened on 01 July
- Register of Sasines digital solution in private beta
- Property market report published
- RoS and HMLR share INSPIRE datasets
Phase 2 of lockdown restrictions easing
It’s been a week since the Scottish Government has eased restrictions on house moves and RoS is ready and able to meet customer needs as we move into this new phase of national recovery.
To quickly recap the main points to be aware of in relation to how phase 2 will impact on your interaction with RoS...
Digital services will continue to take the lead as RoS buildings remain closed to general post and personal presentments. A summary of the status of all RoS products and services is available below.
The application record will not be formally re-opened until a date is agreed with the Law Society of Scotland and customers have had an opportunity to send us all existing application paperwork from their offices. This date is important as the record re-opening is the trigger point defined in the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 for advance notices in the system (that have not yet been replaced by an application) to start to expire after 10 days. This date will be communicated to you in advance.
The Scottish Government has released new guidance outlining how property transactions will work in phase 2.
Register of Deeds
I am pleased to report that the Register of Deeds (RoD) is now open to submissions received through the DX Exchange courier network.
If you have submissions to the RoD such as leases, wills or minutes of agreement, please use the following DX number to clearly identify your mail:
Registers of Scotland
DX 555401
Edinburgh 15
This number is for RoD applications only. Please do not use it for any other submissions. For any other applications or queries you should use our online services or contact the relevant business area as outlined below.
If you cannot access the DX network or require a different method of sending the application to us you can contact customer services for support.
We are unable to accept cheques as a method of payment. Users must have the ability to pay by either direct debit with a FAS account or by a post-payment invoice.
Further detail on how to set up your payment methods is available on our website.
Register of Sasines
The creation of a digital service to access the sasine register is entering its next stage of development. Private beta testing is underway and the team are currently working on a solution to support dual registration which is expected to launch in private beta next week.
RoS is committed to providing high quality digital systems which maintain the integrity of our registers and enhance the customer experience. Undertaking rigorous private beta testing is an essential part of this process and I am grateful to those customers who are working with us to ensure our latest digital product is ready for a successful public launch.
We are aware there will be a backlog of sasine applications that solicitors are waiting to send us when we do move into public beta. We plan to take the same approach as we have done for our other digital systems by implementing a phased approach to ensure we can process all the applications in a timely fashion when they are received.
We are currently determining the most appropriate way to manage this phasing and will provide details of how this will work and when we will therefore move into public beta next week.
In the meantime if you have an urgent need to register a sasine application please contact customer services and they will arrange for a senior advisor to contact you to make the necessary arrangements.
Property market report
On Tuesday 30 June we published the Property market report for 2019-20 which is the main statistical compendium publication from Registers of Scotland. It details the major trends in the Scottish land and property market since 2003-04, including residential and non-residential markets as well as key statistics on house prices and sale transactions.
The Scottish property market is a significant component of the Scottish economy. In 2019-20, the total value of residential sales continued to rise, largely due to average prices continuing to increase while the volume of sales has levelled off in recent years.
Data sharing – INSPIRE
This week also saw RoS and HMLR start to share their coveted INSPIRE spatial polygon datasets for the first time on 01 July. This is another key stage in the data-driven journey of RoS and we have been delighted to work with our colleagues in HMLR, OS and the Geospatial Commission to achieve it.
By providing definitive data under an Open Government Licence we are opening up new and diverse opportunities for our spatial dataset that demonstrates our ongoing commitment to supporting innovation across the public and private sectors at this challenging time for the economy.
The data maps over 23 million title extents across England, Wales and Scotland and the new terms of access will create opportunities for innovation in land and property, utility and infrastructure related industries.
HMLR’s data is available from its new Use Land and Property Data service, while the RoS INSPIRE data will be available from the INSPIRE download service.
RoS service summary
Please see below for the summary of our services. If you have a complex or urgent application then we would recommend you continue to speak to one of our senior advisors for guidance: email customerservices@ros.gov.uk or phone 0800 169 9391.
Online systems
Emergency coronavirus legislation is in place that allows us to accept digital submissions in the following areas.
Land register
Advance notices
Register of Inhibitions and Register of Judgments
Sasine register
The digital solution for sasine register applications is currently in private beta.
Existing services
You can also access our existing online business services for
- ScotLIS for business
- Digital Discharge Service
- Reports
Ordering deeds
The vast majority of deeds will be provided in the usual way. However, we are currently unable to source:
- Extracts from any register
- Duplicate plans
- Burgh Register deeds
Extract orders will be placed on hold and processed when this service becomes available again. If you have an urgent requirement for any of these services please contact customer services so we can arrange to support you via our emergency processes.
We hold digitised sasine deeds from the mid-1870s and all copy deeds should continue to be ordered via our website.
For larger orders you can email customer services.
Contact the relevant business area or customer services
Use the links below to be directed to the dedicated mailbox or customer service contact who will be able to help.
- Sasine register (until the digital system is available)
- Register of Deeds
- ScotLIS support enquiries
- Post registration enquiries
- Land Register rectification requests
- Compensation payments
- Search requests
- Development Plan Approval
- Copy Deeds
- Requests for land and property data
- GIS services
- Crofting register applications
- Register of Community Interests in Land (Agricultural Tenants)
- Register of Protests
A bespoke email address covid19enquiries@ros.gov.uk is available for general questions about RoS processes and procedures during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Please direct enquiries about specific property transactions and cases to:
Email: customerservices@ros.gov.uk
Phone: 0800 169 9391
If there are is anything else you would like to bring to my attention during this period, please email FAO Jennifer Henderson: rossecretariat@ros.gov.uk