The Land Registry, which lost £130m last year, announced plans to cut 1,500 jobs – more than one if five of its workforce – and shut five of its 17 offices.

Offices in Peterborough, Portsmouth, Croydon, Stevenage and Tunbridge Wells will close and other changes will affect staff in Plymouth and London ahead of the organisation’s planned privatisation.

The proposals include selling the Registry’s London head office in Lincoln’s Inn and moving to smaller leased accommodation in the capital.

The cuts come on top of the 1,800 staff who have left the registry since mid-2008.

Peter Collis, chief land registrar and chief executive, said: ‘These proposals were not arrived at easily. The transition will be painful but we believe the proposals are necessary to build a sustainable Land Registry. We value our loyal and dedicated staff and will do whatever we can to lessen the impact this will have on some of them. Unfortunately, we believe some compulsory redundancies are unavoidable if the proposals announced today are confirmed.

'The collapse in the housing market last year had a serious and significant effect on our work and income and we lost nearly £130m. Despite the steps we have already taken to cut costs, we will make another loss this year. These proposals will allow us to make far better use of our buildings and to create significant efficiency savings. The reshaped Land Registry that will emerge over the next few years will serve its customers even better than before.

'Land Registry makes no call on taxpayers’ money and pays a yearly dividend to the Treasury. The implementation of these proposals would also allow the Land Registry to start reducing its fees in 2011/12.'

Paul Marsh, Law Society spokesperson on property issues, said: ‘The Law Society is supportive of the fact that the Land Registry has had the courage to grapple with the reality that the the level of transactions is having on everyone in the property sector. Operating businesses with high fixed costs in a severely reduced market continues to prove difficult for everybody operating in the home buying market.

‘The reality is that every organisation in the sector has already had to, or will have to face similar realities. Those, such as solicitors, who provide a crucial service at a reasonable cost, are in a much better position to survive than some of the more opportunistic parts of the market.

‘We will be considering the potential impact of the Land Registry's proposals on our members and their clients but will respond to the consultation in the light of our understanding of the issues facing the Land Registry.’