Kemi Badenoch pledges to scrap stamp duty on primary residences
Convervative leader Kemi Badenoch will abolish stamp duty entirely on primary residences if the party is elected into government at the next election, she has said. In her closing speech at the party’s annual conference, Badenoch said the housing market is not working the way it should, with stamp duty ‘the big barrier that keeps […]
Property Ombudsman welcomes new guidance on material information
The Property Ombudsman has welcomed government plans to clarify what information estate agents should disclose in sales as part of reforms to the home buying process, announced earlier this week as part of the government’s proposals on home buying reform. The independent ombudsman service says it investigated 617 cases related to material information in 2024 […]
SmartSearch acquires Credas to accelerate UK growth in digital compliance
Anti-money-laundering software provider SmartSearch has agreed to acquire Credas Technologies Ltd, provider of identity verification solutions for the legal and property sectors, subject to regulatory approval. Credas currently supports over 1,000 legal and property clients with its customer onboarding and compliance checks. By integrating the Credas brand and technology, SmartSearch will expand its product offering and […]
Conveyancers are unfairly caught in HMRC’s tax advice net – some simple rules could set them free
HMRC’s recent consultation proposes that any organisation which ‘provides tax advice and interacts with HMRC’ must register as a tax agent. But is this drawing too wide a net and capturing conveyancers whose role is limited to SDLT filing? Conveyancers already manage various compliance tasks, including anti money laundering checks, environmental and title searches, trust […]