The Law Society of England and Wales says it supports home buying and selling reform, but more detail about the government’s proposals is needed, and regulatory burdens on conveyancers should be reduced.
In its responses to the government’s consultations on the reforms, which were informed by “extensive consultation” with members, the Law Society said the home buying and selling process should be streamlined without disrupting the property market in a negative way.
“We share the government’s objective of a more reliable home buying and selling system, driven by informed consumers, innovative technology and high-quality professional services that ensure strong consumer protection,” said Law Society president Mark Evans.
“We are pleased to see recognition that there is no silver bullet to improve the process, rather a need to streamline multiple parts of it without disrupting the property market in a negative way.
“The role of the conveyancer has expanded enormously over recent years through the introduction of multiple regulatory and legislative requirements, and many aspects of the role have become more challenging.
“Those who provide this essential service, which sometimes can be difficult and frustrating for all parties, should be assisted by the development of a more streamlined and less stressful process.
“Technology can have a significant role to play in improving the conveyancing process, but it is just one part of it. Improving technology without addressing other factors, especially the increase in regulatory burdens, will not deliver real gains for the public or conveyancers.
“The government’s consultation proposals lack detail and therefore make it difficult to comment on how valid and workable they are. It is vital that further consultations take place when these proposals are developed further.”
On material information in property listings, Evans added:
“We support the objective of improving transparency and consumer understanding in residential property transactions. However, our evidence strongly suggests that material information alone will not resolve the structural causes of delay or failed transactions in the home buying and selling process.
“Delays and transaction failures are rarely caused by a lack of information at listing stage alone. They more commonly arise from late discovery of legal or financial issues, inconsistency of data, and a lack of early professional verification.
“Any reform should initially focus on limited, high-quality material information, improvements within the existing estate agent framework, and realistic lead-in periods that allow the market to adapt.”
Expanding on the key points raised in its response, the Law Society said regulatory burdens on conveyancers should be minimised “to make the market more attractive”. The organisation also supports government intervention to drive up standards amongst estate agents, which it says is critical if the process is to improve.
“The estate agency market currently lacks a uniform, enforceable baseline of professional qualifications and standards comparable to those that underpin legal and surveying professions,” the response pointed out. “This gap reduces trust in information provided by estate agents.”
Read the full responses.
3 responses
There should be a limit to the estate agents to chase and call every single day the conveyancers for an update. Most agents are creating unnecessary stress and making the clients and the process very stressful by giving incorrect information to the clients with unreasonable exchange date targets. There should be legal regulations applicable to estate agents, who should have a professional qualifications. Most estate agents do not have any educational background other than the secondary school.
The agents that feel they have to call every day for an update is normally because they either don’t get through to a case handler to discuss the matter, never get a call back and have the vendor and purchaser calling to know what’s going on. If there was greater information sharing from Conveyancers rather than putting up the shield wall when an agent called or avoiding them completely, it would save considerable time for both parties. Copy agents into emails between solicitors including enquiries and watch how the number of calls you get drastically declines.
Unfortunately some solicitors are horrendously slow that brings the profession into disrepute, and I this as a property lawyer with over 30 years experience and as a non executive director of a firm of estate agents.