Land registration: Practice guide updates PG33 and PG4
Large scale applications and calculation of fees (PG33) Page summary: How to prepare an application for a large number of properties and calculating the fees involved (practice guide 33). Change made: We have amended the guide to reflect the new name of the HM Land Registry team that deals with large scale applications. Time updated: […]
SRA kicks client account can down the road
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has written to respondents to the consultation on the holding of client funds by solicitors to confirm it will not be taking any immediate action on removing client account from law firms. In correspondence seen by this publication, the SRA’s executive director of strategy, innovation and external affairs Aileen Armstrong […]
Pressure group launches stinging criticism of Law Society and urges attendance at AGM
The Law Society has ‘lost its way’ and is caught between its former position as a regulator and its current position as a membership body said the chair of pressure group the Property Lawyers Alliance (PLA) in stinging criticism of proposals to increase the number of votes required to hold the body to account at […]
Chancellor considers staggered stamp duty option, as HMRC receipts reach over £9.3bn
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reported to be considering a proposal to spread stamp duty payments over several years, as property tax speculation continues to cast a cloud over the housing market. News of the plans come as HMRC’s stamp duty land tax receipts hit £9.33 billion so far this year – almost £1.6 billion more […]
“Interoperable, digital ecosystem” welcomes 42 new organisations to its transaction network
Forty-two organisations have committed their support to the National Property Transaction Network (NPTN), described as an ‘interoperable, digital ecosystem’ by its creators, following a successful pilot in late 2024. The NPTN has been created by LMS and uses the a framework of secure, reusable data to share information through the course of the transaction, built […]
A hard conveyancing process, ‘acutely stressful’ failed transactions, financial and emotional costs: Santander’s home buying report
A report from Santander which examines the ‘frozen in time’ process of buying and selling a home suggests failed transactions cost the economy ‘a conservative calculation’ of £1.5 billion each year – a combined total of direct consumer costs, lost work output, wellbeing costs and wasted leisure time. Santander’s research, conducted in partnership with consultants […]
HMRC consultation raises uncertainty of conveyancers’ role as tax advisers
A government consultation on the registration of all organisations who provide tax advice and interact with HMRC could see conveyancers required to register with the agency under new legislation. HMRC has identified a need to raise minimum standards across tax advisors with the proposed changes designed to ‘improve HMRC’s ability to monitor and exclude tax […]
Osprey Approach ‘Build Better Habits’ series returns to help future-proof law firms
Independent legal software provider Osprey Approach is delighted to announce the return of its Build Better Habits webinar series, which is designed to help SME law firms establish the fundamental mindsets and habits needed to remain competitive and help secure long term success. Building on the success of last year’s webinars, series four will hear from the sector’s […]
The rise and fall of the Law Society Empire
“Integrity is the key to understanding legal practice. Law’s empire is defined by attitude, not territory, power or process.” Ronald Myles Dworkin QC The Rise of the Law Society Empire The Law Society formed in 1825 and gained a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria in 1845, allowing it to govern its own affairs. Through the […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer – ‘Hold please caller, so I can do my job’ – Part 2
After part one was published last week, The Secret High Street Conveyancer explores how the afternoon shift goes… I hardly have time to contemplate what the next 10 years of my life before the afternoon shift begins! A quick lunch hurriedly eaten at my desk, watching the emails mount up in my in box, and […]
The Perfect Partner
In the third and final instalment of his “Perfect” trilogy, former CEO of the fastest growing law firm at the time-turned consultant Simon McCrum shares his views on what it takes to be the Perfect Partner in a legal business. Through the course of his book, and in previous podcasts, Simon has explored what it […]