Property

There are good levels of job satisfaction across the conveyancing and probate communities regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers – but workloads are high. 

The Legal Ombudsman directed London law firm Laytons to pay £49,000 in compensation to a client for failing to register her lease extension in the latest batch of public interest decisions.

Mandatory upfront information, conditional sale contracts and regulation of estate agents would all help improve the home buying process, MPs have said.

A partner who witnessed two leases as having been signed in his presence when they had not has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

The case of a solicitor who wrongly thought charges on a property had been removed is “a warning that even experienced professionals could make serious errors in judgment under extreme stress”.

Lloyds Banking Group has become the first of several lenders to offer mortgage customers access to a “fully digital homebuying service” in a partnership with Connells and conveyancers.

HM Land Registry is planning to deliver the “biggest step-change in land registration automation for many years”, including the development of a digital remortgage.

The information accessed by home buyers and sellers on the internet may be giving them “incorrect expectations” about the timescales or process involved in conveyancing.

Conveyancers have let down home buyers by not recognising the risks of coastal erosion and landslides, MPs have said.

A tribunal has found that a law firm did not have its client’s consent to place a restriction on her property in lieu of unpaid fees.