Rate decision will expose the fault lines in Britain’s uneven recovery
What property data, regional SMEs and today’s rate decision reveal about UK economic resilience. As we limp through mid-September 2026, the UK economy has finally graduated from 2025’s “lacklustre” to 2026’s “fragmented but faintly less depressing”. From the vantage point of someone who spends their days studying property data and contributing to the Bank of […]
How healthy is your residential conveyancing transaction process in 2026?
The residential property market entered 2026 on more stable footing than many expected. Despite economic pressures and affordability challenges, the desire to move remains strong. Landmark Information Group’s latest residential property trends report found that listing volumes across England and Wales were down 1% year-on-year in Q2 2026. June 2026 saw the strongest SSTC volumes […]
Landmark and OrdoLux complete one-day integration following LSSA meeting
A conversation between Landmark and OrdoLux at a Legal Software Suppliers Association members’ meeting has led to a new integration between their legal technology platforms, completed in one day. The collaboration connects OrdoLux’s cloud-native legal software with Landmark’s Contract Pack Vault, helping conveyancers prepare and share contract packs with less duplicate data entry. The relationship […]
What Is the UK digital verification services register?
Identity verification is becoming an increasingly important part of onboarding, compliance and fraud prevention in the UK. In a sea full of deepfakes and deceptive AI generation, your business needs to know that an identity document is genuine, belongs to the person presenting it, and that the evidence produced by an identity checking process can […]
When does a company property purchase attract 17% SDLT?
The SDLT treatment of residential property purchased by companies is often reduced to a simple rule: if a company buys a dwelling for more than £500,000, it pays SDLT at 17%. In reality, the position is more nuanced, and assuming that the 17% rate automatically applies can produce the wrong result. The 17% rate applies […]
UK HPI offers ‘encouraging signs’ for housing market
Average UK house prices increased by 1.4% in the 12 months to July 2026, up from the revised estimate of 1.5% in the 12 months to June 2026, according to the latest UK House Price Index from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased […]
New study gives insight into public use of AI chatbots during legal disputes
A legal charity has said there is a “potential role” for AI tools in meeting the needs of the justice system, following a survey which found one in six participants facing a legal dispute used a generative AI chatbot. Research led by legal reform charity Justice examined how AI is affecting the current justice system […]
Figures show ‘substantial increase’ in homes hitting market since schools returned
Research shows a “substantial increase” in homes hitting the market across England since pupils returned to school in September, with more than 50,000 listed. Figures released by estate agency Yopa found that on 31 August, 331,255 homes had been put on the market across England. Just two weeks later, on 14 September, an additional 54,310 […]
Firm news: growth and expansion
Cheshire law firm Rowlinsons Solicitors has officially opened its new office in Knutsford, expanding the firm’s reach with legal services including residential and commercial property, family law and private client matters. The expansion follows Rowlinsons’ recent success at the British Conveyancing Awards 2026, where it was named Conveyancing Firm of the Year North. The company’s […]
From duties to design: the one thing that makes AI use governable
In the third of a series on safely adopting AI, Ed Molyneux turns a firm’s obligations into an actual design, a single controlled route to client data, and explains why a bolt-on guardrail can never be the safeguard it claims to be. The duties this series has set out amount to a short specification: […]