Your vote matters – customer satisfaction for local authority searches award
The Local Land Charges Awards for Excellence, run by Land Data, are now open. Land Data has opened its 2022 Local Land Charges Awards for Excellence and is asking conveyancers to nominate and provide feedback on the local authority Local Land Charges team that has delivered a consistently high level of customer service throughout the […]
tmgroup welcomes new era of fully digital AP1 submission
tmgroup have welcomed the announcement of HM Land Registry’s plans for AP1 submission to go fully digital from November 2022. The announcement heralds a significant moment in industry history, as the first time the agency has made a digital channel mandatory. From next Autumn, HM Land Registry will no longer be accepting traditional scanned or […]
MOJ responds to rising demand for free legal advice
A new report from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) demonstrates how government funding has maintained and expanded vital access to free specialist legal advice. Through the Covid-19 Specialist Advice Services Scheme (CSASS), £5.4 million was awarded in 2020/21 by the MOJ and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to the Law Centres Network and […]
HMLR Practice Guide updates: PG4 and PG5
HM Land Registry has published details of changes to Practice Guides 4 and 5. Adverse possession of registered land (PG4) This guide provides information about applications for adverse possession of registered land, the procedures for making these applications and the options available to anyone served with notice of such an application. If information is required […]
Early bird deadline extended for British Conveyancing Awards
Early-bird entry for The British Conveyancing Awards, which is run by Today’s Conveyancer and sponsored by Dye & Durham, has been extended to 17th December. Firms and suppliers wishing to enter this year’s event now have another week to take advantage of the reduced entry fee of £99 +VAT. Thereafter the entry fee will be £139 […]
Simplify Group could face “official inquiry” and legal action
Two leading MPs have called for an official investigation into a cyber attack on conveyancing platform, Simplify Group, as home movers, conveyancers and agents remain at a standstill. MPs Bob Blackman and Brendan Clarke said that an official inquiry and “some sort of compensation” should be issued to customers over the attack which resulted in […]
Increase in valuations could see market return to “traditional norms” in 2022
As an exceptionally busy 2021 draws to a close, property portal Rightmove says it expects a closer to normal, though still busy, market in 2022. The good news for conveyancers is that the current record shortfall of stock coming to market may be about to turn. Current availablity hit another record low in November but […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer; 13th December 2021
As we come to the end of this year, and another manic rush to get to the finish line of Christmas, I think that we should all reflect on what 2021 has been like for conveyancers. I have to be honest and say that on the one hand I am surprised how quickly this year […]
tmgroup acquisition could “lead to a reduction in competition”
The Competition and Market’s Authority (CMA) has announced that Canadian group Dye & Durham must act to address concerns that the acquisition of tmgroup in July 2021 could result in “a substantial lessening of competition within a market or markets in the United Kingdom.” The acquisition of tmgroup followed a spate of activity in the […]
Law Society responds to Chatham House AML report
The Law Society of England and Wales has issued a response to London-based thinktank Chatham House’s recent report criticising the UK’s anti-money laundering (AML) laws. The report states that un-policed and often unenforceable anti-corruption laws have made the UK the global money-laundering capital for a post-Soviet Union elite, severely damaging Britain’s international reputation and the […]
How to generate more conveyancing work for your law firm
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work” [1] Conveyancers have been unusually busy for the last 18+ months, but at some point (and arguably for many this has already happened) the rate of transactions will slow down and there will inevitably be a shift in focus […]
A Guide to lack of planning and/or building regulations legal indemnity insurance
Legal Indemnities Lack of planning or building regulation approval is a common problem. Conveyancing solicitors know how long it can take to get retrospective planning permission or building regulation approval. Many vendors fear losing their purchaser and worry the conveyancing chain will break down if there is a delay in completion. In some scenarios lack […]
Going deeper: Groundsure’s mine cavity remediation approach
Cornwall has a long and illustrious history of metalliferous mining stretching back for centuries until the last Cornish tin mine at South Crofty closed in March 1998. While it came to an end, its legacy is still being felt today. Prior to regulations being brought in to ensure safe building practices on Brownfield sites affected […]
Nottingham: The house of caves
Tig Guocobauc, or House of Caves as it translates, was the name given to the city of Nottingham by the chronicler to Alfred the Great in the year 893 A.D. For many of the city’s inhabitants, it is something they are quite proud of. It helps make the city what it is today and forms […]
Halifax Price Index: stock shortages driving inflation
Halifax’s latest Price Index for November affirms recent industry reports around rising house prices and stock shortages. The report reveals that house prices have risen for a fifth straight month, with growth now at a 15-year high taking the average UK property price to a record £272,992. Quarterly house price inflation is now at […]
LSB publishes lawyer competency consultation
The Legal Services Board (LSB) says it finds the legal profession is “out of step compared with other professions”, and that greater focus on assessing and understanding levels of competence is required. To address this, the LSB has launched a consultation on a draft statutory statement of policy on the outcomes regulators should pursue to ensure legal […]
Government announces flagship Brownfield Land Release Fund
The Government has announced that new homes are to be built on derelict sites as part of an initiative to develop brownfield land and regenerate communities. The Brownfield Land Release Fund announced by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) will allocate a further £11 million to councils to develop brownfield land into […]
“It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish”
At the recent Conveyancing Association Annual Conference, I was reminded of the words to this “Broadway banger” during a number of sessions that took place during the day. Whether it was talking about improving the home buying and selling process in general, or talk about “end-to-end digital conveyancing“, or it was around talk of HIPs […]
Conveyancing Association conference sets out process improvements
The Conveyancing Association (CA), the leading trade body for the conveyancing industry, used its recent Annual Conference “The Conveyancing Revolution – Survival & Success in the Pandemic World” to outline a number of process improvements, either already available or imminent, to help speed up the sale and purchase of property. Taking place on 2nd December, […]
Cladding scandal: Gove expected to announce stricter penalties for developers
Housing minister Michael Gove has announced to Parliament that he will soon reveal a series of measures to tackle the cladding scandal which is currently affecting around 1.2 million leaseholders across the country. Amongst the measures, Gove is expected to announce that developers responsible for dangerous cladding could be barred from public contracts and an […]
