OC2 application is stuck

Hi<br> In April I requested a copy of a document (not on the register) which relates to an application I have made to register a right of way; I posted an OC2 on 16 April and my cheque cleared on 23 April.&#160; I chased it up because it had not been received after two weeks and I received a letter from the Assistant Land Registrar handling our application saying that the OC2 had been referred to her and that I should confirm that I really wanted to receive the copy.&#160; I replied on the same day, 15 May, that I do want the copy, but still it has not been received.&#160;<br> I have chased the Assistant Land Registrar by email and twice by leaving a phone message but have had no response at all. I have also chased through your customer service line but to no avail. It is now almost six weeks since the cheque cleared but still I do not have the document.<br> <span style="font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:Aptos,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">The document I have requested is covered by the Land Registration Act 2002 section 66.(1)(c) and I am not aware of any grounds not to supply it; it&#160;</span></span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:Aptos,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;">is not covered by the exemption in 66.(2)(b) and the appropriate fee has been paid.</span></span></span><br> <br> Can you help please?<br> <br> HMLR ref: L459DLT title number HW130321<br> <br> &#160;

Hi Aldous - I can see the various enquiries/contacts linked to the matter you refer to and their referral to the Lawyer and support team involved and dealing with them. There's nothing I can add here via the forum other than that your enquiries/contacts will be responded to as soon as possible<br> HW130321

Thanks Adam.<br> <br> Can you tell why the document is being withheld and not being supplied to me, and also suggest what steps I could take to resolve this situation?<br> <br> HMLR boasts that 99.8% of its information service requests are delivered in 3 days.&#160; My request has taken nearly 6 weeks so far with no sign of being resolved.<br> <br> Thanks<br> <br> Aldous<br> <br> &#160;

Aldous - I'm not aware anything is being withheld but as the request/enquiries relate to an ongoing application the support team will deal with your request(s)

<p>Thanks Adam</p> <p>I have just received a letter from the Assistant Land Registrar dealing with our application who says of my OC2 that the processing of OC2s is dealt with by a different office and that she has no access to the system and therefore cannot explain why the request has not been actioned. So, it is no longer the case that the team dealing with our application will deal with the OC2.</p> <p>I am flummoxed by this and wonder whether you could look into it&#160;for me.&#160; I think 6 weeks plus (and I don't have the document yet) for an OC2 is not in the spirit of the Act.</p> <p>Thanks</p> <p>Aldous</p>

Hi Adam<br> <br> Have you been able to look into this problem for me? Alternatively, could you suggest the correct route through which to escalate this issue.<br> <br> Thanks<br> <br> Aldous

Hi Aldous - I haven't been looking into this as you have already made contact through our support team and your requests are being handled by the support team as appropriate. I wouldn't look to open up multiple channels for the same title/enquiry<br> You should have contact references you can respond to if you wish to or you can use our contact form again to ask for an update/response as appropriate -&#160;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-guidance-dealing-with-land-and-property#contact-form">Public guidance: dealing with land and property - GOV.UK</a>

<p>Hi Adam</p> <p>Thank you for your optimism!&#160; I am not sure what makes you think my OC2 application is being dealt with by the support team.&#160;&#160;</p> <p>The last two responses I have received, apart from yours, was an email sending me a copy of an OC2 to complete (on Monday 2 June, which I responded to on the same day and to which there has been no further reply)&#160;and an email from the Assistant Land Registrar (on Weds 4 June) who is dealing with my registration application, which said that she could not deal with the OC2 application or explain why it has been delayed.&#160;</p> <p>So, a week after my response to the support team explaining that I still want the document I applied for, and more than three weeks after I replied to the Assistant Land Registrar saying that I still&#160;want the document applied for, and nearly seven weeks after the cheque accompanying my OC2 cleared, I have received nothing.&#160;</p> <p>You said previously that you were not aware that anything was being withheld, and that my enquiries would be dealt with as soon as possible.&#160; That is clearly not the case and I would greatly appreciate your help in resolving this matter.</p> <p>Thanks</p> <p>Aldous&#160;</p> <p></p> <p></p>

Aldous - I'll contact the support team and ask for an update as to what's happening re the OC2 application for you<br> HW130321

Hi Adam<br> Did you manage to get any response regarding my OC2? It is now more than seven weeks since my cheque cleared.<br> Thanks<br> Aldous

Hi Aldous - I did but am waiting for the support team/lawyer to come back to me<br> HW130321

Aldous - I assume you have received the email/letter as issued by the lawyer dealing with the application and enclosing copies of specific paperwork as well&#160;<br> Looking at the record re the OC request from May it appears that is what you were requesting copies of, namely the objection. As such presumably you now have what was requested.<br> If not then the lawyer's email/letter dated 9th June explains how you should wait for receipt of the Notice served and reply if something is 'missing'&#160;<br> HW130321

<p>Thank Adam</p> <p>Yes, I have received the letter, but it does not satisfactorily address the OC2;&#160;nor do I yet have the document I requested in April.</p> <p>I know I&#160;will&#160; sooner or later receive&#160;the objection and notice as the applicant for the registration of the right of way.&#160; However, that has nothing to do with my entirely separate application for an official copy using form OC2, which should have been processed independently of any other application I may have made.&#160; The fact that I am the applicant for both is of no consequence.</p> <p>I have paid a fee&#160;for the registration and I have paid a separate fee for the OC2 application.&#160; It is therefore not satisfactory to say that once I have received a copy of the objection with the notice that the OC2 application will&#160;also have been fulfilled.&#160;&#160;</p> <p>What I would like to happen is for my OC2 application to be processed in the way it would be for any other applicant.&#160;I hope you can help me with that.</p> <p>Thanks</p> <p>Aldous</p> <p></p>

Aldous - clearly a messy situation and I'll do my best to explain my own understanding and which may help to close the gap between what you have applied for and how the process works re your applications and the objection received.<br> Taking the application to register and the process then followed and which triggered receipt of an objection as you are aware.<br> Your application triggered correspondence to be issued to you dated 9th Aug 2024, 1st April 2025, 15th April, 22nd April, 9th May, 15th May, 4th June and 9th June. A Notice dated 11th June has also been served and should arrive shortly<br> The letter dated 15th May refers to how a request for copies was being dealt with by the senior managers. The letters dated 4th and 9th June also refer to copies being issued&#160;<br> Your OC2 application received on the 2nd May requested copies of 'Unsolicited Objection Received' - the details re the objection and more have been issued as part of the casework, notice and objection process.&#160;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/objections-and-disputes-a-guide-to-land-registry-practice-and-procedures">Objections and disputes: HM Land Registry practice and procedures (PG37) - GOV.UK</a><br> There is nothing to be processed as part of your OC2 form as the casework process itself has dealt with providing the information. As such I have suggested to the support team that it is cancelled and the fee refunded.<br> As the latest letter dated 9th June explains if you consider that something is 'missing' from the information and copies provided to date then please respond as directed in that letter.&#160;<br> HW130321

Thanks Adam<br> <br> It is messy, but only because there has, for some reason, been a reluctance to fulfill my OC2 application.&#160;<br> <br> I made it clear in my email of 15 May to the Assistant Land Registrar that I did not want my OC2 application to be cancelled and refunded, and that I still wanted the Official Copy. Please ensure that my application is not now cancelled and refunded.&#160;I still want the Official Copy; that is why i applied for it.<br> <br> It seems to have been assumed that the OC2 application was simply a way to get information, and because that information is being provided as a result of my registration application that I therefore don't need the OC2. However, I have not told HMLR whether I already have the information or for what purpose I want it, and it is not for HMLR to make a judgement as to whether I need the document I have requested. My application should have been processed along with the millions of others received, without question. There should be no decision made on my behalf that there is nothing more to be processed as part of my OC2 application.&#160; My request should simply be fulfilled by providing the Official Copy of the document requested.<br> <br> By the logic that has been followed so far, if I had a applied for two copies of the document (which form OC2 allows for) HMLR would have reduced that to one because I wouldn't need the second one as I would already have the information provided in the first copy. That clearly would not make sense, in the same way that the current scenario also does not make sense.<br> <br> The Act contains no provision for a document not to be provided by HMLR on the grounds that the applicant will possibly receive the information through other means. I also cannot see why HMLR would put so much effort into stalling over the provision of an Official Copy, which is available as of right under the Act.<br> <br> Please ensure that my OC2 application is not cancelled, and help me to remove any obstacles to ensure that the&#160; Official Copy is sent promptly.<br> <br> Thanks<br> <br> Aldous<br> &#160;

Aldous - there has been no reluctance to process your OC2 application and the delay is solely down to the ongoing consideration and correspondence with regards the application made and objection received.&#160;<br> The OC2 requested a copy of something not specifically defined and if it was for a copy of the actual correspondence involved re the application/objection then this was dealt with via the correspondence as issued to date and on it's way to you. Unfortunately by not responding to that OC2 request in such a way you were left feeling that information was being withheld. I can assure you that is not the case.<br> There is no &quot;Unsolicited Objection Received&quot; document. The OC2 cannot be completed as a result. No assumptions have been made. If there is a specific deed or document or correspondence you require a copy of then please respond to the letter as issued and the support team/lawyer with the specific details and a copy can be supplied.<br> I have added a copy of this thread to the case record by way of completeness only.&#160;<br> HW130321

<p>Thanks Adam</p> <p>There is no reason why the ongoing consideration or&#160;correspondence regarding the&#160;application should impact on the provision of an existing document.&#160; Whatever the outcome of any consideration may be, that does not change the nature of the&#160;document requested.&#160;As I have said before, my request for the copy of a document is entirely separate from my application to register a right of way, and there are&#160;no grounds to refuse to fulfill the OC2 application just because the document may&#160;happen to be provided to me under another application, in future.</p> <p>You say that there is no 'Unsolicited Objection Received' document and the OC2 cannot be completed as a result. However, the OC2 form asks for 'Nature of Document' and the description I gave was '<span style="font-size:11.0pt;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;">Unsolicited objection received against application ref L459DLT from NAME'.&#160; Further, the Assistant Land Registrar wrote to me on 15 May explaining that one of the reasons my OC2 had been referred to her was to ensure 'that all appropriate documents are provided'.&#160; She goes on to say: 'In relation to your case we have received an objection.' So in terms of whether the document I wanted was sufficiently defined, and whether the document was identifiable, there is no doubt and therefore that cannot be the reason for not completing my request.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;">As I have made clear before, I am seeking an Official Copy of a specific document for which I&#160;have paid the requisite fee and for which my application has nothing to do with the fact that the information will eventually be sent to me for consideration.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;">HMLR Practice Guide 11 makes clear that any person can apply to obtain official copies as of right of any document not referred to in the register which relates to an application.&#160; That is what I have done.&#160; I specifically want an Official Copy of just the&#160;document requested that is admissible in evidence to the same extent as the original as described un s67 of the Act.</span></span></p> <p><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.6667px;">Again, I&#160;would appreciate your help in ensuring that the Official Copy is sent to me promptly.</span></font></p> <p><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.6667px;">Thanks</span></font></p> <p><font face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.6667px;">Aldous</span></font></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p>

Aldous - I have added your comments and this thread to the case record. The lawyer and support team will consider and respond as appropriate<br> I would recommend you consider the contents of the information that has been issued recently and then respond as appropriate.&#160;<br> There's nothing I can usefully add to the matter on this public forum and it is important to keep a proper record for the casework process to complete.<br> HW130321