Chancel Indemnity insurance – What is the risk and do you still need it?
What is chancel repair liability? Chancel repair liability is a legal obligation on some property owners in England and Wales to pay for repairs to the local parish church. The historic right to impose these charges goes back hundreds of years and was often thought it was unlikely a church could force property owners to […]
Why E-Conveyancing Innovation Must Be Driven From the Centre
I doubt there was a conveyancer in England, Wales or Northern Ireland who wasn’t counting down until the 1st July, especially during those frantic final weeks of the stamp duty holiday. The industry was pushed to breaking point with 131,000 transactions above £250,000 yet to complete at the beginning of June. The conveyancing logjam created […]
Legal Sector Report: Digitally Connecting with Clients
We are in a digital age – but how is the legal sector faring? It is time to play catch up or miss out, but how do you both improve client experience and fee earner and support staff productivity? Creating a less disjointed process is key, understanding how to use digital tools to enhance a law firms’ […]
Consumers happier than ever with legal services
The Legal Services Consumer Panel Tracker Survey reveals a general 4% increase in consumer satisfaction levels in 2021. Despite most legal services currently being provided remotely due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, the Legal Services Consumer Panel Tracker Survey reveals that 83% of consumers remain satisfied with the level of service received in 2021, a slight […]
HMLR Practice Guide updates: PG80, PG26 & PG73
HM Land Registry has released details of changes to several practice guides in this week’s update. Coronavirus (COVID-19): useful information for conveyancers (PG80) This guide: provides information about changes to HM Land Registry’s practice to facilitate conveyancing and registration following the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak identifies other practice guides containing information that may be of particular […]
tmgroup welcomes Dye & Durham acquisition
tmgroup are pleased to announce that they have today been wholly acquired – for £91.5M – by Dye & Durham, a leading provider of cloud-based software and technology solutions designed to improve efficiency and increase productivity for legal and business professionals. This marks an exciting new chapter for tmgroup, as well as group subsidiaries mio, […]
Unique Property Reference Numbers set to speed up property transactions
The government has shown its support for a new initiative that could help speed up property buying and selling transactions. The new concept will see a Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) attached to every property or piece of land which will provide estate agents and conveyancers with all of the information that they need about […]
Estate Agents and Conveyancers – Principles of Working Together
Yesterday I suggested that maybe agents and conveyancers should try to put together a document outlining the Principles of Working Together. However, I was reminded that I need look no further than the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) Protocol – where “there is reference to who does what and there are things that the […]
Missing Information Legal Indemnity Insurance: case studies in conveyancing risk management
A case study looking at how Missing Inform highlighting how insurance and conveyancing risk management work in tandem. In this case study, we take a look at a CLS Missing Information Legal Indemnity Insurance. Would you take a risk and complete on a property where there is a missing document that is referred to in […]
Legal sector experts team up for cyber security
Renowned legal sector risk mitigating provider Lawyer Checker is partnering with the lawyer referral scheme Lawshare on Tuesday 13th July at 10am to host a Cyber Security Prevention webinar. Since the global pandemic, the huge adaption to home and hybrid working has unfortunately coupled with a further growth in cyber-criminal threat. Lawyer Checker has tracked […]
Clio launches “game changing” legal client software in the UK
Clio, a leading provider of cloud-based legal technology, has today announced the much-anticipated UK release of Clio Grow, its legal client intake and client relationship management solution already used by thousands of legal professionals in North America. Since 2015, lawyers in the UK have relied on Clio Manage—the world’s leading legal practice management software—to manage […]
“Estate agent told my clients I was dead!”
I recently read an article in an online legal magazine, under the heading; ‘200 emails a day’: conveyancers reveal ‘relentless’ deadline pressure. Kate Atkinson, Director and Head of Legal Practice at The Partnership said: “I was working from home for most of the time, which meant an early start of typically 7.15 am to get […]
House hunters swap city aspirations for country living
The property aspirations of the population are changing as Britain emerges from the pandemic, according to research from Experian. 60% of those in their 30s and 51% of those in their 20s said the past year of lockdowns had made them rethink where they’d most like to live. This rethink means owning a city centre […]
Homeowners face growing battle with Japanese Knotweed
The fast-growing and invasive plant Japanese Knotweed is a bigger headache for homeowners than ever, thanks to this year’s weather. The wet and frosty spring, which was followed by dry weather and sunshine, has provided it with the perfect growing conditions, and some experts are predicting a surge in incidence of Japanese Knotweed, which is already thriving and rapidly growing. Japanese Knotweed is estimated to affect up to 1.45 million homes across the UK, which equates […]
John Lewis to build 10,000 rental properties by 2031
High-street giant John Lewis is set to join the burgeoning “build to rent” property sector, by planning to build 10,000 homes over the next decade in an attempt to recoup recent losses. In becoming a residential landlord John Lewis said it will strive to offer tenants a greater degree of security and more visibility of […]
Conveyancing Association urges consumers to check with conveyancers on leasehold house cases
The Conveyancing Association (CA), the leading trade body for the conveyancing industry, has urged consumers to contact their conveyancers if they bought a leasehold house between 2000 and October 2015. This call follows the initial success of an industry campaign to deliver a fairer system and outcomes for those who have bought leasehold houses over the […]
“No longer necessary to work from home” says PM
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has today outlined Step 4 of England’s continued efforts to lift Covid-19 restrictions. The 5 point plan outlined the steps the government would take from the 19th July should the data enable the next phase of lockdown-lifting to take place. Mr Johnson described the steps as our “plan for living with […]
CLC confirms 6 practices close due to PII fiasco
The CLC has today responded to confirmation that 6 of its regulated firms have been forced to close following the failure to secure PII cover. In a statement released on the CLC website, the regulator has urged its members to respond to the open Call for Evidence on the operation of PII. The statement in […]
‘Cladding Bill’ introduced into Parliament
The Building Safety Bill, an area of particular focus for the Government this year, will outline the next steps in an extensive legislation overhaul expected to hold developers more accountable and give residents more power. The Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick will set out the new measures in the Building Safety Bill based on the recommended […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer; 5th July 2021
On Wednesday evening, I fell asleep on the settee whilst watching Andy Murray at Wimbledon. It was not the tennis that bored me by any means, and on reflection, it is clear that I had been running on adrenaline for weeks, if not months. I was exhausted, and on Wednesday evening, because I did not […]