Welcome Land Registry change of practice on executing deeds
In view of the difficulties of arranging for deeds to be printed and distributed in the current climate the Land Registry announced on 1 May that certain deeds signed using the Mercury signing approach will be accepted by the Land Registry for registration purposes.
Please note: the information contained in this legal update is correct as of the original date of publication
In our article on 3 April (click here), we discussed how deeds and documents could be signed by a signatory returning to their solicitors a PDF scanned copy of the signed signature page of a document together with (as part of the same email) a PDF copy of the agreed final version of the relevant document (the so-called ‘Mercury signing approach’). However, at the time, we commented that this option was not available where a wet-ink signature is required for Land Registry purposes.
In view of the difficulties of arranging for deeds to be printed and distributed in the current climate (and bowing no doubt to concerted pressure from various parties interested in keeping the property market moving), the Land Registry announced on 1 May that, from 4 May, certain deeds signed using the Mercury signing approach will be accepted by the Land Registry for registration purposes.
The Land Registry has set out in one of its Practice Guides the steps to be taken to execute a deed using the Mercury signing approach. They are:
- Final agreed copies of the deed are emailed to each party by their solicitors (in practice, for convenience, most solicitors will email as PDF copies both the agreed final version of the deed and, separately, the signature page).
- Each party prints the signature page only.
- Each party signs the signature page in the physical presence of a witness (to maintain social distancing, the Land Registry suggests that a signature could be witnessed by someone looking through a car or house window).
- The witness signs the signature page.
- Each party sends a single email to their solicitors attaching both the final agreed copy of the deed and a PDF/JPEG or other suitable copy of the signed signature page (where people are working from home, the easiest way to do this is probably to take a photograph of the signed signature page and to use one of the available apps to convert this to a PDF document).
- The transaction is completed.
- The solicitors apply to register the deed and include with the application the final agreed copy of the deed and the signed signature page (or pages) in the form of a single document.
- The application is processed by the Land Registry in the usual way.
Whilst this change of heart from the Land Registry is to be welcomed, use of this process does have its limitations. In particular, many deeds that need to be registered have plans that must be signed by the parties and the new Land Registry guidelines make no mention of whether the Mercury signing approach can be used for signing plans (and even if it can, as plans have to be in colour, to scale and not distorted, this is likely to be beyond the capability of most people’s domestic printers). The guidelines also fail to mention if the process can be used where a company executes a document through two directors (or a director and the company secretary).
The Mercury signing approach does still require the signatory and the witness to sign the signature page in wet-ink. With the exception of certain mortgage deeds where a domestic property is being remortgaged (which the Land Registry has accepted for some time using its own system), the Land Registry will not currently accept for registration deeds signed electronically. Whilst the Land Registry does have understandable concerns about the potential for increased fraud, some accommodation for electronically signed deeds would be a further welcome ‘shot in the arm’ for the real estate industry in these difficult times.
Contact
David Harris
Professional Development Lawyer
david.harris@brownejacobson.com
+44 (0)115 934 2019
Related expertise
You may be interested in...
Press Release
Browne Jacobson appointed as legal adviser to Department for Transport Legal Advisers
Press Release
Browne Jacobson to advise East London Waste Authority on major waste programme
Press Release
Browne Jacobson advises Greater Manchester Combined Authority on its investment in Beryl
Press Release
Browne Jacobson successful for National Lottery in Court of Appeal
Press Release
Browne Jacobson advises Blazehill Capital on senior credit facility
Legal Update
Veganism and manufacturing: Supply chain issues
Opinion
BBC personality wins appeal on IR35 status
Press Release
Browne Jacobson advises Care Fertility Group on acquisition of CRGW
Press Release
Browne Jacobson partner Jeanne Kelly elected President of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce
Press Release
Browne Jacobson advise on Rcapital’s strategic exit from facilities and property services specialist Triosgroup
On-Demand
'Autonomous vehicles: what the future holds' on-demand
Opinion
Mediation – remote or in person?
Opinion
The UK market offers the best value for commercial real estate
Legal Update
Product distribution – how to protect yourself from an early exit
On-Demand
Automotive webinar - EV charging points: contractual and liability issues to be aware of
On-Demand
Automotive webinar - Grant Funding and Collaboration Agreements
In this session, we examined the legal framework around grant funded collaborations and discussed the key risks to be aware of, including IP ownership and compliance with grant terms.
On-Demand
Automotive webinar - Commercial Contracts
Press Release
Browne Jacobson advises sustainable waste solution provider Covanta Europe on its new Wellingborough based aggregate processing plant
Press Release - #BeingBrowneJacobson
From associate to partner in an investment lifecycle - Ryan's story
Press Release - #BeingBrowneJacobson
Browne Jacobson helps the Civil Aviation Authority take off with its modernisation masterplan
Legal Update
Fashion retailers: Is this the end for free returns?
Published Article
Luxury brands and sustainability: The challenges and solutions
Legal Update
Trigger happy when directors’ duties are the target?
In a judgment handed down yesterday the Supreme Court has affirmed that a so called “creditor duty” exists for directors such that in some circumstances company directors are required to act in accordance with, or to consider the interests of creditors. Those circumstances potentially arise when a company is insolvent or where there is a “probability” of an insolvency. We explore below the “trigger” for such a test to apply and its implications.
Legal Update
The Retained EU Law
Created at the end of the Brexit transition period, Retained EU Law is a category of domestic law that consists of EU-derived legislation retained in our domestic legal framework by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. This was never intended to be a permanent arrangement as parliament promised to deal with retained EU law through the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (the “Bill”).
Opinion
Sequana: Supreme clarification on the duty owed to creditors
The Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed the BTI v Sequana appeal and reviewed the existence, content and engagement of the so-called ‘creditor duty’; being the point at which the interest of creditors is said to intrude upon the decision-making of directors of companies in financial distress.
Opinion
IR35 rules to be scrapped from April 2023
Published Article
The problematic transition to electric vehicles - what is the impact on manufacturing
It was reported in May 2022 that the BMW-owned manufacturer had been forced to put a temporary stop on the production of all manual transmission vehicles due to the global semi-conductor shortage and the war in Ukraine. Mini stated that the move was made in order to "ensure production stability".
Press Release - Firm news
Browne Jacobson strengthens its UK&I commercial practice with hire of new retail & consumer specialist partner
Browne Jacobson has bolstered its commercial practice in the UK with the appointment of commercial contracts and international trade specialist, Emma Roake, into its City-based London team.
Press Release
Browne Jacobson’s Private Equity specialists advise Palatine on key CTS exit
Browne Jacobson’s national private equity (PE) lawyers have advised leading mid-market PE investment firm, Palatine Private Equity (Palatine) on its exit from CTS Group, the fast-growing specialist in testing, inspection and geoengineering consulting services to the construction and infrastructure sectors.
Press Release
Browne Jacobson’s specialist corporate finance lawyers advise LDC on sale of global IT services provider
Browne Jacobson’s corporate finance lawyers have advised leading mid-market private equity firm, LDC and management on the sale of specialist managed IT services provider, Littlefish to Bowmark Capital.
Legal Update
Digital Markets Act and Data Platforms - FRANDs for life?
The Digital Markets Act (the “DMA”) joins the dots between competition law and data protection law and actively targets data-driven platforms. It is also a comprehensive regulation to take note of, with familiar GDPR-style fines tied to turnover.
Opinion
Cameras in convenience stores: a potential hornet’s nest..?
Legal Update
Merger and Acquisition trends in the specialist lending market
Published Article
Rolls Royce SMR ambitions will bring Hinkley like benefits to regions
Rolls-Royce has shortlisted six locations for its first factory for small nuclear power stations. We look at the impact on regions & local businesses
Legal Update
Banking Transaction Update July 2022 - North West transactions
There are clearly challenging macro-economic factors at play but at Browne Jacobson we continue to see good levels of transactional activity with certain sectors being particularly buoyant: healthcare, financial services, energy & infrastructure and tech.
Opinion
Covid Rent Arrears: Cinema operators’ appeals dismissed
The Court of Appeal has dismissed two cases regarding rent arrears accrued during the Covid lockdowns. The cases are London Trocadero (2015) LLP v Picturehouse Cinemas Ltd and Bank of New York Mellon (International) Ltd v Cine-UK Ltd.
Press Release
Browne Jacobson advise on the disposal of international chemical manufacturer
Browne Jacobson’s corporate lawyers have successfully advised the shareholders of specialist chemical manufacturer, Amity International on its acquisition by Belimed AG, a subsidiary of Metall Zug AG.
Opinion
Proceed with caution – covenants in franchise agreements
In the recent case of Dwyer (UK Franchising) Limited v Fredbar Limited and ano’r [2022] EWCA Civ 889, the Court of Appeal considered the reasonableness of restrictive covenants in a franchise agreement.
Press Release
Browne Jacobson’s North West dealmakers advise on shipping and logistics business acquisition of Lancashire based World Options
Browne Jacobson’s Manchester based corporate lawyers have advised tech enabled shipping and logistics service provider, World Options on its majority buyout by Italian headquartered MBE Worldwide (“MBE”) for an undisclosed sum.
Press Release
Browne Jacobson advises AIM listed green hydrogen tech business on global electrolyser licence deal
Browne Jacobson’s specialist cleantech lawyers have advised AIM market listed Clean Power Hydrogen Group Limited (CPH2) on its global licence agreement with GHFG Ltd.