Scottish government launches conveyancing review

The Scottish Government has launched a review of the country’s conveyancing process. The review, much like the UK home buying and selling reform roadmap, seeks to cut delays, reduce and digitalise paperwork and streamline the overall conveyancing process.

Jill Andrew, partner at law firm Murray Beith Murray, will lead the Conveyancing Review Working Group, The Herald reports, alongside Professor Andrew Steven of the University of Edinburgh.

Following examination into the current processes, the group will provide recommendations to the government for potential improvements.

Andrew is currently chair of the Edinburgh Conveyancers Forum and is a non-executive director of the Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre (ESPC), a member of the Law Society of Scotland’s Property Law Committee and sits on the Scottish Conveyancers Forum Committee.

Her recent work includes contribution to a Scottish Law Commission report on tenement law and compulsory owners’ associations, reports The Herald.

The review falls in-line with the UK Government’s announcement back in June that it plans to reform the conveyancing process, with an emphasis on digitalisation and reduced duplication through AI-assisted conveyancing.

Within the 12-chapter roadmap laid out by the UK Government, plans are set to incorporate digital property logbooks and sales packs to allow trusted information to be shared securely between professionals and accessed by buyers and sellers in real-time.

Meanwhile a new code of practice will raise standards for estate agents, alongside proposals for mandatory qualifications for the sector. The changes will cut transaction times by around four weeks, the government says, and save first-time buyers an average of £650.

Commenting on her appointment into the Scottish Government review, Ms Andrew said: “I am pleased to have been asked to co-chair this review alongside Professor Andrew Steven of Edinburgh University and I am looking forward to working with group members to consider ways to improve the residential conveyancing model in Scotland.”