Property

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.

An AI-first law firm that is planning to automate much of the conveyancing process – using AI agents clients can speak to – has raised £2m in seed funding ahead of its launch this summer.

An investor-backed search fund has acquired a conveyancing and private client law firm as the start of a ‘buy and build’ strategy aimed particularly at SME practices with succession issues.

Using smart data in the homebuying process could generate over £14bn for the UK over a 15-year period, the Department for Business and Trade has estimated.

A Liverpool law firm ordered to bear the cost of redeeming a client’s mortgage because of mistakes made in a conveyancing matter is among eight named by the Legal Ombudsman.

Conveyancers have complained about a lack of clarity on the requirement to register as tax advisers with HMRC, which comes into force in two months’ time.

A solicitor helping former litigation clients of PM Law has called on others to take on cases – and for defendant solicitors not to take advantage of the situation.