Dear Cathy Priestley,

Thank you for your email of 16 May 2017 requesting the number of residential properties both freehold and leasehold which are subject to estate rent charges? If a selected date range is only available, can you please say what the range is.

Your request is being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and will be answered within twenty working days.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, I will let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be required to pay before we will proceed to deal with your request.

If you have any queries about this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number in any future communications.

Yours sincerely,

Senior Corporate Information Officer
Corporate Legal and Assurance Services
Land Registry Head Office, 4th Floor, Trafalgar House, 1 Bedford Park, Croydon, CR0 2AQ
GOV.UK | @LandRegGov | LinkedIn | Facebook

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Dear Cathy Priestley,

I refer to my email dared 16 May 2017 acknowledging receipt of your Freedom of Information Act request for the number of residential properties both freehold and leasehold which are subject to Estate Rent charges.

I am informed that some rentcharges entries could have been made in the register of the registered properties before 22 August 1977 when other types of rentcharges were possible. Therefore, it is not possible for Land Registry to identify only those which are Estate Rentcharges and similarly we are unable to distinguish between residential and non-residential properties. Since this date the creation of most types of rentcharges have been prohibited. The main class of rentcharge excepted from the general prohibition is the Estate Rentcharge. Could you please confirm if you still wish to proceed with your request.

Yours sincerely,

Senior Corporate Information Officer
Corporate Legal and Assurance Services
Land Registry Head Office, 4th Floor, Trafalgar House, 1 Bedford Park, Croydon, CR0 2AQ GOV.UK | @LandRegGov | LinkedIn | Facebook

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From: Sondh, Gurmale
Sent: 16 May 2017 13:52
To: '[FOI #406879 email]' <[FOI #406879 email]>
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - Estate Rent Charges in England and Wales (our ref :-F170524-Priestely)

Dear Cathy Priestley,

Thank you for your email of 16 May 2017 requesting the number of residential properties both freehold and leasehold which are subject to estate rent charges? If a selected date range is only available, can you please say what the range is.

Your request is being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and will be answered within twenty working days.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, I will let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be required to pay before we will proceed to deal with your request.

If you have any queries about this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number in any future communications.

Yours sincerely,

Senior Corporate Information Officer
Corporate Legal and Assurance Services
Land Registry Head Office, 4th Floor, Trafalgar House, 1 Bedford Park, Croydon, CR0 2AQ GOV.UK | @LandRegGov | LinkedIn | Facebook

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I will be out of the office until Monday the 26 June and will have no
access to my emails. My emails will be monitored by my colleague Roger
Petty. Any FOI requests or issues must be sent to the FOI team address at 
[Land Registry request email]  and they will be attended to. Thanks 

Your land and property rights: guaranteed and protected. HM Land Registry has given assurance and confidence to the property market in England and Wales since 1862. Find out more at www.gov.uk/land-registry

If you have received this email and it was not intended for you, please let us know, and then delete it. Please treat our communications in confidence, as you would expect us to treat yours. HM Land Registry checks all mail and attachments for known viruses, however, you are advised that you open any attachments at your own risk.

Dear Cathy Priestley

Thank you for your email of 19 June 2017.

I have investigated this and it appears your request wasn't fully actioned. I apologise for this. I have asked for the information and will get it to you as soon as I can.

Yours sincerely

Roger Petty
Departmental Records Officer

Corporate Legal and Assurance Services
Head Office, 1 Bedford Park, Croydon CR0 2AQ
DD: 0300 006 7054 | GTN: 67054
Email [email address]
GOV.UK | @HMLandRegistry| LinkedIn | Facebook

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Dear Cathy Priestley,

Thank you for your email dated 17 May 2017 modifying your request further. You are now requesting the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) -

"Can you please tell me how many rent charges were registered in 1977, or failing that from the date that your records were recorded electronically and specify which date.

Also can you please tell me how many rent charges are registered now. I understand from what you say that commercial property will be included."

In relation to your first request as to - how many rent charges were registered in 1977, I am informed by our IT team that they have identified approximately 1,267 titles that have entries with an entry date of 1977 and the word "rentcharge" or "rent charge" in the entry text. The data is subject to the limitations already explained in my email of 17 May 2017.

In relation to your second request asking - how many "rent charges" are registered now, I am informed by our IT team that currently there are 93,496 registered titles that are subject to the rentchrge.

The data provided has been collected from a variety of sources as part of the land registration process. Whilst we make every effort to ensure that the data we provide is as accurate as possible we cannot guarantee it is fit for your intended purpose or use.

The data is also subject to Crown copyright. You may use the data for personal use/research but this does not entitle you to reuse it for any other purpose (including commercial use, marketing or publication). If you wish to reuse the information, please let us know what your intended use is, so we can consider this further.

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me.

If you are dissatisfied with this response to your request, you may seek an internal review within two months of the date of our reply. Internal reviews will be dealt within 20 working days. If at the end of this time we are unable to respond, we will write to you explaining the reasons and giving you a new date. If you seek an internal review please write to:
Louise Booth
Head of Corporate Legal Services (Core Services)
Head office
Trafalgar House
1 Bedford Park
Croydon
CR0 2AQ
Email: [email address]

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) within three months of the reply for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by Land Registry. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely,

Senior Corporate Information Officer
Corporate Legal and Assurance Services
Land Registry Head Office, 4th Floor, Trafalgar House, 1 Bedford Park, Croydon, CR0 2AQ GOV.UK | @LandRegGov | LinkedIn | Facebook

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