Property
Centralised property data system needed to improve moving process
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.
Conveyancers sign industry charter to speed up property process
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 maintain record high after stamp duty rush
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.
Conveyancers need reform of Building Safety Act “minefield”
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.
SDT rejects managing partner’s bid to blame junior solicitor for errors
A managing partner has failed to convince the SDT to blame the one-year qualified solicitor he was supervising for failures on a conveyancing transaction at an undervalue.
Land Registry needs to ditch “quasi-legal” culture, review finds
HM Land Registry needs to shift from a “quasi-legal” culture to one that is more consumer friendly given the changing nature of the home-buying process, according to a review.
Report backs “targeted approach” to upfront property information
A report for the Digital Property Market Steering Group has outlined a “more targeted approach” to upfront property information, focused on reducing late-stage transaction failures.
Suspension for solicitor who acted on both sides of transaction
A solicitor has been suspended over a “dereliction of duty” that saw him act on both sides of the transfer of an elderly and vulnerable client’s sole residence to a neighbour for nil consideration.
Third-party managed account first for licensed conveyancers
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers has issued its first approval for a law firm to use a third-party managed account for its client funds.
CLC issues warning not to slack off on post-completion work
The term ‘post-completion’ can encourage conveyancers to see applications to HM Land Registry as an afterthought, especially as they are done after collecting the fee, the CLC has warned.
High Court concerned by solicitors’ “fishy” role in possession case
The High Court has highlighted the “fishy” role of two solicitors in a housing possession case in what “looks like a stitch-up” of the occupant by her ex-husband.
Land Registry starts accepting qualified electronic signatures
HM Land Registry will now accept deeds signed with qualified electronic signatures and is encouraging lawyers and their clients to start using them.
Land Registry misses targets on tackling errors and productivity
HM Land Registry has missed the targets it set itself for reducing errors in new entries on the register and on productivity, according to its annual report.
Regulator to review conveyancers’ referral arrangements
Last week’s BBC Panorama programme on ‘conditional selling’ by estate agents has prompted the Council for Licensed Conveyancers to launch a review of referral arrangements.
Law Commission reform to aid conveyancers with chancel repair
The Law Commission is planning to take one burden off conveyancers’ shoulders by removing doubts about chancel repair liability and the need to take out insurance.
Blog
Change in regulator shouldn’t make AML less of a priority
While SRA fines for AML have been climbing, many in the profession aren’t confident they will get any relief from the FCA, a body used to dealing with a highly regulated industry.
There are 17 million wills waiting to be written
The main reason cited by people who do not have a will was a lack of awareness as to how to arrange one. As a professional community, we seem to be failing to get our message across.
The case for a single legal services regulator: why the current system is failing
From catastrophic firm collapses to endemic compliance failures, the evidence is mounting that the current multi-regulator model is fundamentally broken.
