Property industry reaction to the Treasury’s spring forecast has been muted, with a mix of relief at no major changes and claims of a missed opportunity for stamp duty reform. Chancellor Rachel Reeves opened her
New mortgage figures released by UK Finance and the Bank of England reveal strong growth for lending in 2025, followed by a reduction in January of this year. The Household Finance Review for Q4 2025
Zoopla has recorded its highest number of new homes listings in a decade in February, and says up to half of the homes available now cost less to buy than rent. The monthly house price
The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) has opened submissions at the Court of Appeal in its appeal against the ruling in Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys, which limited the extent to which legal executives
HMRC has published its updated guidance on the requirement to register as a tax adviser and the conditions individuals and firms must meet. Every business which interacts with HMRC about someone else’s tax affairs and
LMS and PEXA have been selected to take part in the Bank of England’s Synchronisation Lab, which has been set up to test business models for synchronising payments across the financial services sector. The tech
The Legal Services Board (LSB) should continue to strengthen its oversight of regulators’ performance to avoid consumer harm and prevent collapses such as Axiom Ince and SSB Group from happening again, the Law Society of
Rightmove’s February house price index reveals favourable buying conditions, with the high number of homes for sale giving buyers choice and negotiating power. Although market activity is difficult to compare with this time last year
In 2025, the legal sector mental health charity LawCare supported 753 people – more than any previous year, including during the pandemic. The charity’s online chat function – which is offered alongside a telephone helpline
The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) has published its complaint data for Q3 of 2025/26 which reveals “a sustained and accelerating demand” for help and the highest complaint volumes for any previous quarter on record. The number
Nationwide has become the first lender to allow a mortgage deed to be signed electronically using a Qualified Electronic Signature (QES). Any Nationwide customer purchasing a property or remortgaging will now be able to sign
Conveyancers have been explicitly named as falling within the scope of HMRC’s mandatory tax adviser registration regime during proceedings of the Finance Bill Committee. During committee scrutiny of the bill, Dan Tomlinson, the exchequer secretary
UK Finance has deferred the launch of its new Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook, which was due to be live from 2 March. Last week, the trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector dropped
The government has launched a review of the Legal Services Board (LSB) to ensure current regulatory arrangements are effective and do not duplicate initiatives of frontline regulators. The review was announced by Sarah Sackman, minister
A 0.7% increase in house prices reflects a steady housing market according to the latest index from Halifax, following the 0.5% dip seen in December. While overall activity levels “show resilience”, the lender says regional
