Property

The government has unveiled a blueprint to reform the home-buying and selling system, including mandatory upfront property information and digitisation.

A solicitor who failed to advise clients on the risks of off-plan, buyer-led investment schemes has been fined £17,000 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Conveyancing fees vary by 150% or more for “essentially the same service”, according to new research, with just 5% of firms offering different service levels.

A partner at a London law firm “dishonestly assisted” in misappropriating a company’s funds by turning a blind eye to money laundering issues raised by property transactions, the High Court has ruled.

Conveyancers are set to experience a “sharp decline” in transaction volumes this year amid further consolidation in the market, new research has shown.

A tribunal has heavily criticised a solicitor who acted for a woman the judge decided did not actually exist, in a bid to stop a property sale, in a case he described as “quite extraordinary”.

The government needs to ensure better up-front information and create a centralised property data system to improve the home-buying process, Santander argued yesterday.

Instructing a conveyancer when a property is listed is number one of an eight-point plan issued by a group of 23 leading organisations to speed up the home-buying process.

Conveyancing fees have not fallen back after reaching an all-time high in the rush to get transactions completed before stamp duty increased on 31 March.

Reform of building safety regulations may encourage professional indemnity insurers to remove their block on conveyancers advising on certain transactions, CILEX has told the government.