SOMEONE is dropping the ball with requests for certified copies of deeds. Around August 2021 or thereabout, a policy change was seemingly implemented at the Lands Registry of the Registrar General’s Department, a branch of the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs.
Since then, citizens began experiencing tremendous delays in obtaining certified copies of their deeds. Without their deeds, they are being frustrated from carrying out their transactions that require evidence of those deeds. Yet no one seems to have rung the bell, calling out those in authority for this unsustainable position.
Deeds that are registered at the various land registries throughout the country are kept by the Registrar General. Since the original deed is kept by the State, if you wish to have evidence of this deed, you must apply for a “certified copy” of the deed. This would be a true photocopy of your deed, certified as true and correct by the Registrar General. Applying for certified copies is usually done as a matter of course for you by your attorney.
Before August 2021 or thereabout, a legal clerk would register your deed by lodging the same at the Land Registry and paying the registration fee. He or she would pay for the certified copy at the same time. The clerk would be given an estimated time to return for the certified copy of the deed (generally anywhere between two to three weeks). When that time arrives, the clerk would return to the Land Registry to collect the certified copy which would be then handed over to you, the client.
Since mid-2021 or thereabout, the powers that be determined they would no longer allow clerks to pay for certified copies at the same time that deeds are being registered. Why? I have no clue. The clerk is already standing at the counter in-person having paid to register the deed. I can’t fathom the reason they wouldn’t give the clerk another five minutes or less to pay for the certified copy.
Since the change, all requests for certified copies must now be done via an online system. Speaking from my personal experience and that of other attorneys who have spoken to me on the issue, the online system is not working properly and lawyers are waiting almost endlessly to get the go-ahead to collect certified copies. The online request system is structured this way:
Stage 1- Request the certified copy (Note – the page to be filled out needs to be revamped, as it is not clear what is required or how they want you to fill it out);
Stage 2 – Wait for an email notifying you of the cost of the certified copy and that you can pay for the certified copy;
Stage 3 – Pay for the certified copy online using your credit card; and
Stage 4 – Wait for an email notifying you that the certified copy is ready for collection.
The problem largely lies with Stages 2 and 4. I don’t know the reasons behind the delay in receiving these emails. It has been suggested that newly registered deeds may be taking an inordinately long time to be scanned into the digital records of the land registry, then it is taking some time to thereafter be sent the Stage 4 email. I’ve experienced waiting times of six weeks to receive Stage 2 emails and 3 months to receive the Stage 4 email. To give another example, for the month of November 2021, zero of seven requests for certified copies are available for collection at the time of penning this article.
Going digital is supposed to encourage efficiency. It is perplexing how it is resulting in even more delay and frustration. It would make more sense, in the case of newly registered deeds, that clerks be allowed to pay for the certified copies at the same time, then perhaps Stages 2, 3 and 4 should follow.
An investigation should be launched into the delays, followed by the immediate implementation of corrective measures. The citizenry is already vastly frustrated with many other matters in society, I would think an efficient certified copies system should not be that hard to put together.
Disclaimer:The contents of this article are for general informational purposes only and/or contain the opinions and/or thoughts of the writer only. It does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader. For legal advice on your specific situation, please contact an Attorney-at-Law of your choosing directly. Liability for any loss or damage of any kind whatsoever allegedly incurred a consequence of relying on content in this article is thus hereby excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Dropping the Ball with Certified Copies
SOMEONE is dropping the ball with requests for certified copies of deeds. Around August 2021 or thereabout, a policy change was seemingly implemented at the Lands Registry of the Registrar General’s Department, a branch of the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs.
Since then, citizens began experiencing tremendous delays in obtaining certified copies of their deeds. Without their deeds, they are being frustrated from carrying out their transactions that require evidence of those deeds. Yet no one seems to have rung the bell, calling out those in authority for this unsustainable position.
Deeds that are registered at the various land registries throughout the country are kept by the Registrar General. Since the original deed is kept by the State, if you wish to have evidence of this deed, you must apply for a “certified copy” of the deed. This would be a true photocopy of your deed, certified as true and correct by the Registrar General. Applying for certified copies is usually done as a matter of course for you by your attorney.
Before August 2021 or thereabout, a legal clerk would register your deed by lodging the same at the Land Registry and paying the registration fee. He or she would pay for the certified copy at the same time. The clerk would be given an estimated time to return for the certified copy of the deed (generally anywhere between two to three weeks). When that time arrives, the clerk would return to the Land Registry to collect the certified copy which would be then handed over to you, the client.
Since mid-2021 or thereabout, the powers that be determined they would no longer allow clerks to pay for certified copies at the same time that deeds are being registered. Why? I have no clue. The clerk is already standing at the counter in-person having paid to register the deed. I can’t fathom the reason they wouldn’t give the clerk another five minutes or less to pay for the certified copy.
Since the change, all requests for certified copies must now be done via an online system. Speaking from my personal experience and that of other attorneys who have spoken to me on the issue, the online system is not working properly and lawyers are waiting almost endlessly to get the go-ahead to collect certified copies. The online request system is structured this way:
Stage 1- Request the certified copy (Note – the page to be filled out needs to be revamped, as it is not clear what is required or how they want you to fill it out);
Stage 2 – Wait for an email notifying you of the cost of the certified copy and that you can pay for the certified copy;
Stage 3 – Pay for the certified copy online using your credit card; and
Stage 4 – Wait for an email notifying you that the certified copy is ready for collection.
The problem largely lies with Stages 2 and 4. I don’t know the reasons behind the delay in receiving these emails. It has been suggested that newly registered deeds may be taking an inordinately long time to be scanned into the digital records of the land registry, then it is taking some time to thereafter be sent the Stage 4 email. I’ve experienced waiting times of six weeks to receive Stage 2 emails and 3 months to receive the Stage 4 email. To give another example, for the month of November 2021, zero of seven requests for certified copies are available for collection at the time of penning this article.
Going digital is supposed to encourage efficiency. It is perplexing how it is resulting in even more delay and frustration. It would make more sense, in the case of newly registered deeds, that clerks be allowed to pay for the certified copies at the same time, then perhaps Stages 2, 3 and 4 should follow.
An investigation should be launched into the delays, followed by the immediate implementation of corrective measures. The citizenry is already vastly frustrated with many other matters in society, I would think an efficient certified copies system should not be that hard to put together.
Be safe Trinidad and Tobago.
Copyright © 2022 Neela Ramsundar, LL.B (HONS), L.E.C is a Civil Litigation Attorney at Law & Certified Mediator.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are for general informational purposes only and/or contain the opinions and/or thoughts of the writer only. It does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader. For legal advice on your specific situation, please contact an Attorney-at-Law of your choosing directly. Liability for any loss or damage of any kind whatsoever allegedly incurred a consequence of relying on content in this article is thus hereby excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.