Property
UK Finance u-turns on charge for accessing Lenders’ Handbook
UK Finance has backtracked on its plan to charge conveyancers £50 per user to access the Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook, in the face of a furious reaction.
Solicitor struck off for selling property without co-owner’s knowledge
A solicitor who sold a property he part-owned without the knowledge of his co-owner has been struck off, with the SDT finding he was “primarily motivated” by resentment.
Fee for accessing Lenders’ Handbook infuriates conveyancers
Conveyancers have reacted furiously to the introduction of an annual fee of £50 per user to access the the Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook.
Legal market to grow “in all areas” as PE extends reach
The legal services market will grow across all practice areas in 2026 for the first time since Covid, researchers have predicte, while a growing private equity presence is “a continuing theme”.
Treasury urged to exempt conveyancers from tax adviser registration
The government has been urged to reconsider plans to make conveyancers register individually with HM Revenue & Customs as tax advisers because they deal with SDLT.
Head of property certified ID documents without seeing them
The head of commercial property at a law firm who certified a client’s ID documents as true and complete copies without seeing the originals has been struck off.
Tribunal fines solicitor for source of funds and lender failures
A solicitor has been fined £7,500 for failing to carry out source of funds checks and keep lenders properly updated about where purchase money was coming from.
Property Ombudsman fires warning over conditional selling
The Property Ombudsman has told home buyers to stand up for themselves in the face of estate agency pressure to use a preferred conveyancer or other service provider.
Paralegal banned for dishonest emails as supervisor cleared
A paralegal who lied to solicitors in one email and to a client’s relative in another has been banned – but the solicitor who supervised her exonerated.
Majority of conveyancers do not want binding sale contracts
Seven out of 10 conveyancing solicitors do not want the government to introduce mandatory binding contracts for offers to buy homes, research has found.
Exodus of conveyancers “will make transaction times even longer”
Transaction times will get “longer and longer” regardless of “how many new houses you build” because of the number of conveyancers leaving the market, MPs were told this week.
Call to tackle low-cost conveyancing as part of home-buying reform
Stronger regulation of the “high-volume, low-value conveyancing sector”, as well as a review of fee structures, is needed as part of home-buying reform, the government has been told.
Suspended suspension for “manifestly incompetent” solicitor
A “manifestly incompetent” solicitor who facilitated one fraudulent and three potentially fraudulent property transactions has been given a suspended suspension.
Fast-growing conveyancing firm bought by private equity
A conveyancing law firm only set up in May 2021 has been bought by private equity in a deal that values it at £25m.
Vos eyes machine-made decisions for property disputes
Many property disputes “could be amenable to machine-made decision-making” in the future, the Master of the Rolls has predicted.
Blog
How ELD NextGen will improve employers’ liability tracing
The Employers’ Liability Tracing Office is continuing work towards the launch of ELD NextGen, the next generation of the employers’ liability database, in early 2027.
Fifteen years on: Lessons from ABS reform
Fifteen years ago this month saw the very first alternative business structure. At the time, the prospect of non-lawyers owning law firms was dubbed ‘Tesco Law’.
Hybrid working and client money controls – be aware of the risks
For legal finance teams, remote working has changed how information moves, how approvals are obtained and how colleagues communicate.
Reports
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