Property

A South London law firm that failed to perform an undertaking given during a property transaction for nearly two and a half years has been rebuked by the SRA.

The government has promised to “simplify” conveyancing as part of its home-buying reforms, recognising that the role of conveyancers has “expanded significantly”.

The government is pressing ahead with reforms to the home-buying process, which it says will cut transaction times by around four weeks.

The Council for Licensed Conveyancers has warned of the risk of “regulatory blind spots” after a review of referral fees revealed shortcomings in firms documenting arrangements.

HM Revenue & Customs has finally issued detailed guidance on when conveyancers need to register with it as tax advisers.

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”.