CLC Conference: Customer Charter And Estate Agent Regulation
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) used their annual conference today, January 28th to launch their Customer Charter. The Charter provides the clients and customers of CLC regulated firms with a set of expectations they can expect from the specialist property or probate lawyers operating under the regulator. The Charter ensures that all CLC regulated […]
Something Rotten In The Air In Rottingdean
Look on any map and the village of Rottingdean should have a charmed position – nestled in a dramatic chalk valley of the South Downs, right on the seaside: long sweeping views of hills and bracing sea air. The reality could not be further from the truth as residents and shopkeepers choke on the decisions […]
Conveyancing In 2030 – Looking To An Electronic Future
The role of the conveyancer is undoubtedly going to change as much of the administrative side of the role becomes automated over the coming years, a new report from the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) has predicted. Conveyancers will bank both time and cost savings, to be reinvested in improving the quality of service, upgrading […]
Third Of Landlords Set To Sell By 2021
Brexit implications and recent regulatory and tax changes in the buy to let sector could result in a 30% exodus by 2021. 27% of landlords have claimed they are looking to offload their portfolio this year as various changes are set to hit landlords financially, according to a national survey from Just Landlords. Almost a […]
Fraud Court Cases Exceed £1 Billion In 2019
The alleged illicit profit from fraud cases hitting UK courts exceeded £1 billion in 2019. Overall, KPMG’s Fraud Barometer for 2019 reported more than 100,000 instances of fraud making it to court last year. However, the majority of fraud cases making it to court declined in 2019. The number of financial service frauds fell from […]
Women’s Property Networking Events Confirmed
Founded in 2017 by Emma Vigus, Managing Director of mio, the Estate Agent’s sales progression platform, Women in Residential Property (WIRP) aims to, both, encourage collaboration across the residential property industry and improve networking opportunities for women who may find traditional industry events intimidating and overtly competitive. The network has raised over £3,000 for charity […]
Cyber Essentials – What’s Changing?
Webinar: Cyber Essentials vs Cyber Essentials PLUS Date: Tuesday 4th February 2020 Time: 10am __________________ From April 2020 the IASME Consortium will take over the full responsibility for Cyber Essentials delivery. Why is this relevant to you? The legal sector is under attack. In the first 6 months of 2019, law firms reported a loss of £731,250 of […]
Election Result Sees Home Buying Enquiries Boom As Phones Keep Ringing
New figures from telephone answering and live chat provider Moneypenny show a boom in enquiries to estate and letting agents following the December election. Data from Moneypenny, which provides telephone answering and live chat services to more than 2,500 property businesses across the UK, showed a 22% increase in phone calls asking for property valuations, […]
Electronic Verification: Effective And Efficient AML Process
The Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive is now in full swing with property regulators urging firms to comply with immediate effect. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) insisted that its 7,000 regulated firms re-assess their processes in order to comply with regulatory change. Although they are releasing guidance on a number of enhanced due diligence measures law […]
Blacks Solicitors Of Leeds Discuss Conveyancing Training
Staff turnover in the legal sector was higher than expected in 2019 when compared to other professional service organisation sectors. According to the PWC Annual Law Firms’ Survey 2019, a fifth of solicitors, working in the top 50 law firms, with between 3 and 5 years’ post-qualified experience left their roles in 2019. Newly qualified […]
CA Reacts To Leasehold Recommendations
Earlier this month – on the 9th January – the Law Commission published its first report on the series of consultations it is holding into leasehold reform. As you will no doubt know, leasehold reform is a major policy priority for the CA going forward, and it’s therefore important that we look closely at these […]
Changes Proposed To SRA Compensation Fund
At a time of ever-increasing compensation claims by wronged clients, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is proposing to reduce the single claim limit and capping total amounts payable for a group of related claims. Following a consultation in 2018 on balancing cost and access to legal services, there were key changes suggested that aimed at […]
Younger Owner Occupiers Increase In 2018-19
Schemes to help younger home owners purchase their own property could be reaping rewards as the latest English Housing Survey indicates that more people under the age of 34 are now classed as owner occupiers. The research, released by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), found the proportion of 25-34 year olds […]
Three Quarters Of Housing Developments Considered Poor Or Mediocre
A national housing audit suggests that the majority of new build developments and homes are poor or mediocre. Bartlett’s national housing audit, co-produced by UCL’s Place Alliance and the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), assessed 142 schemes against criteria including street design, environmental performance, character, accessibility and local amenities. Unfortunately, the vast majority of […]
SearchFlow Appoints Head Of Product
SearchFlow – the UK’s leading provider of property conveyancing search solutions – has announced the appointment of Adam Groom as Head of Product. Having originally trained as a commercial property solicitor in 2002, Adam has since spent a majority of his career as an accomplished and professional product leader, predominantly in the telecoms and software […]
Conveyancing Association Looks To ‘2025 And Beyond’ At Annual Conference
The Conveyancing Association (CA), the leading trade body for the conveyancing industry, is using its Annual Conference next month to look at the future for the sector with a range of seminar sessions outlining what firms might expect and the models they might wish to adopt in order to survive and thrive. The Conference, which […]
BSB Face Rise In Complaints
On 21st January 2020, the Bar Standards Board (BSB) released their annual Enforcement Report, which has resulted in some grim reading. The report revealed that the BSB is struggling to cope with the rise in complaints from members of the public (external complaints). These complaints have risen for the second year running, rising to 359 […]
New Build Premium Gap Widening
Buyers must pay huge premiums in order to purchase their dream new-build home. New build homes cost homebuyers 19% more than a pre-owned property of the same size, and may sometimes even cost a staggering 50% extra, according to a new survey. The survey was conducted by the Monmouthshire Building Society, which looked at the […]
Godesdon Road – 6 Planning Changes For A Street Under Siege
Education has been Cambridge’s stock in trade for centuries. As the student population expands, so does the need to provide purpose built accommodation. The city has also undergone a massive planning transformation thanks to IT, science and bio-technology industries flocking to the area to access this pool of graduates. Things used to be straightforward for […]
Birmingham Transport Plan To Tackle Pollution
Property owners and tenants exposed to increased inner-city pollution levels may welcome Birmingham City Council’s decision to ban private cars from taking ‘through trips’ in the city centre. Air pollution is widely regarded as a public health crisis in Birmingham. 200,000 vehicles pass through the city centre every day, 80% of nitrogen dioxide emissions are […]