Two conveyancing firms settle with SRA over £3 million SDLT avoidance
Two firms who illegitmately avoided more than £3 million in stamp duty each have been fined and rebuked by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Norfolk-based Hawkins Ryan avoided payment of at least £3,763,634.47 to HMRC on behalf of its clients and was fined £2,000 as well as being asked to pay SRA costs of £3,636.47 London-based […]
More than 100,000 fewer transactions in April
The number of transactions in April plummetted by over 100,000 compared with March according to statistics released by HMRC. In total, HMRC say there were 70,690 residential transactions for over £40,000 in April, down from 173,430 in March. April saw the lowest number of transactions in three years. Compared to April in 2015, the number […]
CMA decries Land Registry privatisation in consultation response
The Competition and Markets Authority have raised concerns over the effects of a potential privatisation of Land Registry. Writing to the Department for Business and Skills’s Lizzie Dixon, the senior director at the CMA says the gobvernment’s preferred model for privatisation is unlikely to deliver the benefits consumers want, the wide access to Land Registry […]
Regulation is poor value for money, Solicitors tell LSB
Solicitors regard regulation generally as poor value for money, according to a report by the Legal Services Board. The cost of regulation is also bundled up with other costs of doing business in the mind of the solicitor such as non-legal regulatory requirements and membership of quality assurance schemes such as non-legal regulatory requirements and […]
Land Registry Practice Guide Amendment & April Transaction Data
The Land Registry has recently made amendments to Practice Guide 39, which covers Rectification and Indemnity. This guide is aimed at conveyancers and shows information on how to apply for rectification and compensation which is paid to those who have suffered loss due to a mistake in the register. Rectification of mistakes can be applied […]
CLC Reaction to LSB’s Report on the Cost of Regulation
Reacting to the publication today of the Cost of Regulation report by the Legal Services Board Sheila Kumar, Chief Executive of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers said: “I am very pleased that the LSB’s work on costs of regulation has found that the profession’s views of both the fees and compliance costs of the CLC regime are […]