Just days after Land Registry approved the use of electronic signatures by home buyers for signing transfer documents, The Partnership, in conjunction with InfoTrack, have successfully achieved the major milestone of what is thought to be the first completely electronic transfer.

Until now, clients had to manually sign paperwork and then return it to their lawyers by post, who would then submit it to Land Registry, a process that typically took up to a week.

The Partnership has now demonstrated that the same process can be achieved safely and securely in minutes.

In this case, the client electronically signed the transfer form on their mobile phone, followed by a witness signing on their phone, and the registration, submitted to Land Registry, was accepted a few minutes later.

Peter Ambrose, Managing Director at The Partnership commented,

“We’re delighted to have successfully submitted what we believe is the first electronically signed deed in England and Wales.

“It has been a long time coming but recent events make this a ‘must’ for law firms.

“The security levels provided through both text and email confirmation and electronic signing give me particular confidence.

“The technology acts as a witness and the certificates issued upon signing demonstrate a security you just don’t get with wet signatures.

Ambrose summed up the significance of the electronic signature:

“For us at The Partnership, who for years have offered a truly online approach through our secure client portal, this isn’t just an historic moment for the conveyancing profession, it also allows us to streamline the process and offer a truly digital experience from start to finish.”

Scott Bozinis, CEO at InfoTrack said:

“We have offered SignIT for a number of years and during lockdown it became essential for law firms across the UK and we invested in making a number of enhancements.

“In fact, we saw a 400% increase in usage in May alone.

“Further to the HMLR announcement, we moved quickly to build a solution, with The Partnership being the first firm to use.

“Both law firms and their clients will experience a convenient, time-saving solution that is robust and adheres to the rules published by HM Land Registry”.

The Partnership’s client, Jeremy Elkes, was clearly enthusiastic about the process:

“Electronically signing the documentation was really quick and easy.

“I did everything on my phone and it only took a few minutes – it was so much easier and quicker than having to print out the form, sign it and post it to my lawyer.

“I also like the fact that I had both a text message and an email because that made it feel secure.”