MOJ announces plans to reform Human Rights Act
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has announced a three month consultation as it plans to revise The Human Rights Act. The MOJ says that the proposed new legislation aims to strike a proper balance between individuals’ rights, personal responsibility and the wider public interest, which would be achieved while retaining the UK’s commitment to the […]
A Guide to the Freehold Rent Charge Legal Indemnity Insurance Policy
Rent charges have received a lot of adverse publicity in recent years and therefore purchasers and lenders are wary of them. In this article we look at the option of taking out specialist freehold rent charge Legal Indemnity Insurance to ease the conveyancing process. In this guide we look at: What is a freehold […]
Legal Ombudsman must take “radical action” says Law Society
The Law Society has issued a statement saying that the Legal Ombudsman service (LeO) must take “radical action” if it wishes to retain the confidence of both public and profession. The Law Society said that changes made this year by the LeO are starting to show some signs of improvement, but the pace of change […]
“Delayed homeownership” in under 40s shows changing attitudes to later life borrowing
Nearly half (45%) of mortgaged homeowners under the age of 40 got onto the property ladder “much later” than they expected, compared with 29% of over-40s, according to new research by the Equity Release Council (the Council) which highlights the British public’s changing relationship with homeownership. A study of 5,000 UK adults’ financial experiences also […]
Terrafirma roundtable examines impact of climate change on the property industry
Coming soon… a new cross-sector roundtable asks the burning questions concerning climate change, and the financial and physical risks to property. Bringing together ground and flood risk specialists, conveyancing solicitors, mortgage lenders and insurers the roundtable events explore the prevalent topic of climate change. Hosted by Modern Law and Terrafirma and joined by flood experts […]
SearchFlow launches 2022 state of residential real estate market report for law firms
SearchFlow – one of the UK’s largest providers of legal due diligence data for residential and commercial property transactions – has released a new guide that considers the anticipated trends for the residential property industry in 2022 and beyond. The “State of the Residential Real Estate Market” guide provides law firms and property lawyers with […]
Landmark’s data insights report discusses land contamination risk in England & Wales
Landmark Information’s series of reports offer insightful round-up of property, environmental and land-based intelligence Landmark Information has today announced the publication of the second edition of its Data Insights Report for property and land professionals, which this time delves into the history and origin of land contamination across England and Wales. The report provides an […]
End of an era and beginning of a new one for Convey365
Company launches groundbreaking IT system as it bids farewell to Conveyancing Association. The Conveyancing Association Conference and Dinner held this month in Wales marked the end of a successful six year stewardship of Convey365 Secretariat services for the Conveyancing Association (CA) and the beginning of a new era for Convey365. Convey Group Managing Director Lloyd […]
Confessions of a cyber conveyancer
As I mentioned in my last piece, a couple of weeks ago we moved all our documents to the cloud. It was an altogether more positive and friendly cloud than the one we had been sitting under, Eeyore-like, worrying about the devastating impact of a ransomware attack. Although successful, we had to make some difficult […]
New-builds account for 6.5% of pandemic property purchases
The latest report from the Government’s House Price Index (February 2020 – July 2021) shows that new-build homes account for 6.5% of pandemic property purchases. Additional research by the new-build sales optimisation platform, Unlatch, also reveals where new homes have proved most popular amongst Britain’s homebuyers. The market analysis looked at the total number of […]
Property conveyancers accelerate digitisation strategies in fear of falling behind competitors
Survey by Landmark Information identifies that 88% of conveyancers believe paper and manual processes will have “all but gone” by 2025 A survey of UK-based residential property solicitors and conveyancers by Landmark Information – the UK’s largest property and land data business – has found 88% of residential property professionals believe they have a greater […]
Your vote matters – customer satisfaction for local authority searches award
The Local Land Charges Awards for Excellence, run by Land Data, are now open. Land Data has opened its 2022 Local Land Charges Awards for Excellence and is asking conveyancers to nominate and provide feedback on the local authority Local Land Charges team that has delivered a consistently high level of customer service throughout the […]
tmgroup welcomes new era of fully digital AP1 submission
tmgroup have welcomed the announcement of HM Land Registry’s plans for AP1 submission to go fully digital from November 2022. The announcement heralds a significant moment in industry history, as the first time the agency has made a digital channel mandatory. From next Autumn, HM Land Registry will no longer be accepting traditional scanned or […]
MOJ responds to rising demand for free legal advice
A new report from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) demonstrates how government funding has maintained and expanded vital access to free specialist legal advice. Through the Covid-19 Specialist Advice Services Scheme (CSASS), £5.4 million was awarded in 2020/21 by the MOJ and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to the Law Centres Network and […]
HMLR Practice Guide updates: PG4 and PG5
HM Land Registry has published details of changes to Practice Guides 4 and 5. Adverse possession of registered land (PG4) This guide provides information about applications for adverse possession of registered land, the procedures for making these applications and the options available to anyone served with notice of such an application. If information is required […]
Simplify Group could face “official inquiry” and legal action
Two leading MPs have called for an official investigation into a cyber attack on conveyancing platform, Simplify Group, as home movers, conveyancers and agents remain at a standstill. MPs Bob Blackman and Brendan Clarke said that an official inquiry and “some sort of compensation” should be issued to customers over the attack which resulted in […]
Increase in valuations could see market return to “traditional norms” in 2022
As an exceptionally busy 2021 draws to a close, property portal Rightmove says it expects a closer to normal, though still busy, market in 2022. The good news for conveyancers is that the current record shortfall of stock coming to market may be about to turn. Current availablity hit another record low in November but […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer; 13th December 2021
As we come to the end of this year, and another manic rush to get to the finish line of Christmas, I think that we should all reflect on what 2021 has been like for conveyancers. I have to be honest and say that on the one hand I am surprised how quickly this year […]
Law Society responds to Chatham House AML report
The Law Society of England and Wales has issued a response to London-based thinktank Chatham House’s recent report criticising the UK’s anti-money laundering (AML) laws. The report states that un-policed and often unenforceable anti-corruption laws have made the UK the global money-laundering capital for a post-Soviet Union elite, severely damaging Britain’s international reputation and the […]
How to generate more conveyancing work for your law firm
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work” [1] Conveyancers have been unusually busy for the last 18+ months, but at some point (and arguably for many this has already happened) the rate of transactions will slow down and there will inevitably be a shift in focus […]