In light of the financial difficulties impacting conveyancing departments at the current time, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) is allowing any firms it regulates to defer their regulatory fee payments.
Practice fees and payments to the Compensation fund can be deferred for the months of April, May and June to help firms cope financially during the coronavirus outbreak.
From July 2020, as long as the the property sector is moving again, firms will have the option of spreading the cost of the deferred payments over a 12 month repayment period.
Law firms will need to consult with the CLC by sharing financial information highlighting their difficulties and explain the approaches and measures they have implemented to ensure they are able to operate successfully following the relaxation of social distancing restrictions.
The regulator has urged firms to continue paying their professional indemnity insurance throughout the outbreak to ensure their cover continues and the firm remains protected throughout the outbreak.
Sheila Kumar, chief executive of CLC, said:
“These are difficult times for everyone and the property market, and hence conveyancing practices and their clients, have been struck very hard by the restrictions in place to control the pandemic.
“While this crisis will pass, it is right that we act swiftly to support the firms we regulate. We want to ensure they can continue to operate and provide essential services to their clients in an appropriately regulated environment.
“Feedback from our regulated community indicates that deferring payment of regulatory fees will be of great help to them. Thanks to our careful approach to budgeting, the CLC is in a position to do that, and our governance arrangements allow us to act quickly.
“Should the challenges for the sector continue past June, we will look at what further steps we can take to support CLC-regulated firms.”
