Material information guidance withdrawal – what next for conveyancers?
The withdrawal of the material information guidance published by National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) appears to have taken much of the industry by surprise. Law Society of England and Wales vice president Mark Evans the withdrawal has left ‘consumers, conveyancers and estate agents in the dark’ and Sheila Kumar, chief executive […]
‘Stability is tempting buyers back to the market’, with Lincolnshire seeing largest uplift
All but two counties in England saw an upward trend in the number of buyers entering the market in Q1 of 2025, according to research from London lettings and estate agent Benham and Reeves. Between Q1 2024 and Q1 of this year, the number of homes securing a buyer across England increased at an average […]
Stamp duty rush pushed conveyancing costs to ‘all-time high’ of £2,434
The cost of conveyancing increased by 11.9% between Q1 2024 and Q1 2025, ‘driven by competition for services and a rush to complete before the stamp duty changes’. An analysis of 59,000 conveyancing quotes by the home moving company reallymoving revealed an average cost of £2,434 for combined sale and purchase, including expenses and disbursements. […]
New build home buying incentives could reduce SDLT liability
Conveyancers ‘rarely adjust’ new build contract prices to take advantage of developer-funded incentives, which can be offset against stamp duty liability according to accountancy firm Relatus. There is, says Relatus spokesperson Louise Wise, an acknowledgement that HMRC applies ‘a narrow interpretation’ of the rules, leading to an ‘overly cautious’ approach from conveyancers due to the […]
Conveyancers role is not ‘to do nothing’ on climate change – reaction to Practice Note
Many thousands of hours have gone into the Law Society’s Climate Change Practice Note (PN) which has been ‘deeply considered’ and recognises the ‘limited’ role conveyancers have to play in climate change. The note itself highlights ‘solicitors are not qualified to advise on physical risks’ adding professional indemnity insurers may not cover such advice to […]
Climate change obligations hotting up for property lawyers
In the wake of the much anticipated Climate Change Practice Note published by the Law Society this week Dan Montagnani, former CEO of Groundsure and an advisor and consultant to the geospatial, sustainability and conveyancing search industries gives his thoughts on the implications for property lawyers Publication of The Law Society Climate Change Risk […]
Climate Change Practice Note Published
The Law Society has published the Climate Change Practice note and accompanying Supplementary Technical Note outlining its expectations on property lawyers when it comes to providing advice on the impact of climate change on property transactions. The new practice note ‘complements’ existing guidance on flood risk and contaminated land says the Law Society and follows […]
Expertise and training the leading cause of unnecessary pre-contract enquiries – Survey
Sentiment around the number and relevance of pre-contract enquiries remains low amongst conveyancers with over half saying the situation is worse than 12 months ago in the latest sentiment survey undertaken by Today’s Conveyancer The survey, which has run annually for the last four years and this year received over 100 responses, again demonstrates pre-contract […]
Climate change practice note to be published today; what could it mean for conveyancers?
The Law Society will today (12th May) publish its climate change practice note, and can expect a mixed reaction from the profession if the response echoes the guidance published in 2023. While some believe risks associated with climate and the expectation that conveyancers should be climate change soothsayers are beyond the scope of the profession, […]
NTSELAT material information guidance withdrawn – but duty to report remains
As part of the transition to the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC) which supersedes the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team (NTSELAT) have announced it is withdrawing the Material Information Guidance it published in 2022 and 2023. Effective 8th May 2025, the […]
Why training Gen Z in conversation is crucial for the future of conveyancing
A new generation of case managers is entering the legal profession, bringing with them a fresh mindset and a digital-first approach to communication. Generation Z professionals – raised in a world of smartphones, messaging apps, and emojis – tend to favour emails and instant messages over face-to-face meetings or even phone calls. But while these […]
Completion takes a month longer than buyers expect; issues with communication are a top gripe
The house buying process takes 36 days longer than buyers expect it to, according to new research from the Open Property Data Association (OPDA). Almost half of those questioned said conveyancers are the primary cause of delays. On average, people expected the exchanging of contracts to take 88 days after an offer was accepted. But […]
£50 billion in 20 years – with only 27p missing
Having celebrated a landmark achievement of 20 years in the conveyancing business, Newport-based Convey Law reflects on transacting £50bn in home moves with head of finance and administration Abby Bater. Abby shares her thoughts on the trials and tribulations of keeping clients and teams safe in today’s fraught conveyancing world, and managing the finances of […]
CCC warns 25% of properties at risk of flooding, ahead of updated Law Society guidance
The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has published its latest progress report, and warns an increasing number of properties will be at risk of flooding or overheating but the UK’s preparations are ‘inadequate’, ‘piecemeal’ and ‘disjointed’. The report comes ahead of the Law Society’s practice note on climate risk, which is set to be published on […]
Friday 30th May predicted to be busiest house moving day of the year
The moving comparison website Compare My Move expects Friday 30th May to be the busiest day to move house this year, with conveyancers ‘likely to be busier than usual’. An estimated 13,549 households moved on this date last year, amounting to 1.23% of all moves throughout the year. The data gathered by Compare My Move […]
March transaction numbers ‘foundation for growth’ but capacity could be an issue
The impact of the SDLT deadline on 31st March was evident in the latest figures from HMRC which showed sizeable uplifts in transactions from February 2025 and March 2024. The provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in March is 177,370, which is 104% higher than March 2024 and 62% higher than February 2025. […]
1 in 4 paid more than quoted for conveyancing
One in four home movers say they paid more than they were quoted for their conveyancing, while nearly four in ten (37%) said they had paid the same as quoted, according to a new survey published by home moving comparison site Compare My Move. A quarter (25%) of respondents said the cost of their conveyancing […]
Rural Wales sees largest increase in Land Registry applications
An analysis of HM Land Registry transaction data has revealed Powys as the area with the largest increase in property applications to the registry in 2024. The rural mid-Wales county saw a 25.2% increase in applications, followed by Bedford with 17.3%, Hounslow in West London at 11.2%, and Oadby and Wigston in Leicestershire increasing by […]
Stamp duty and the impact on the property market
I’ve worked in the property industry for 14 years and have seen many changes in the world of residential conveyancing. Most recently we had the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the stamp duty holiday that followed, the changes in interest rates and now the changes to the stamp duty thresholds. The impact of the latter […]
Changes to AML guidance ratified by Treasury
Changes to anti-money laundering guidance submitted to HM Treasury have been formally ratified and published in the latest Legal Sector Affinity Group (LSAG) Anti-Money Laundering Guidance for the Legal Sector 2025. LSAG, which is made up of the AML regulators in the UK including the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and […]
