The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) is seeking views on its proposals for an annual fee increase.
A 4% increase in practice fees is proposed for the forthcoming licensing year, which begins on 1 November, with a 4% increase in licensing administration fees and a 6% increase in contributions to the compensation fund. The increases are proposed to keep pace with inflation. Individual licence fees, which were last amended in 2010, remain unchanged.
The CLC is inviting views on its proposals, which will be considered before a financial plan is submitted to the Legal Services Board for approval. If the proposals are accepted, the average practice fee rate will have been halved from 1.25% of turnover in 2015-16 to 0.6% in 2026-27.
“The CLC is funded by the practices and individuals it regulates and, as such, it is important that they have the opportunity to review and comment on these proposals,” the regulator said.
“We believe they are fair and proportionate to practices, whilst at the same time ensuring that we have sufficient resources to execute our business plan and statutory objectives to protect consumers and the public interest.”
It added: “The purpose is to ensure the burden on practices and individuals is proportionate while the organisation has sufficient resources to execute its business plan and statutory objectives to protect consumers and the public interest.”
There are four ways to respond to the consultation: online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/27ZGRTB; by email to consultations@clc-uk.org; in person by arrangement with a regulatory supervision manager (email clc@clc-uk.org); or by post to The Council for Licensed Conveyancers, WeWork, 120 Moorgate, London EC2M 6UR.
The consultation questions are at https://zurl.co/eOPlp and responses will be accepted until 7th September.
