LSB should strengthen oversight to safeguard consumers, Law Society says
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 England and Wales says. The comments were made in the Law Society’s response to the LSB’s 2026/2027 business plan consultation, […]
‘Concerning divergence’ in property crime detection
Estate and letting agents submitted just 890 suspicious activity reports (SARs) in 2024-25, down from 1,044 the previous year, while the legal sector increased its reporting from 2,419 to 3,392 over the same period. Figures published in the 2024-25 annual report from the UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU) show a widening gap between the two […]
Property Deals Insight signs up to OPDA
Property data platform Property Deals Insight has become the latest member of the Open Property Data Association (OPDA). Founded in 2019, Property Deals Insight was created to tackle “fragmented, inconsistent and hard-to-access data”, which they describe as one of the property market’s most persistent challenges. The platform brings together trusted data from across the property ecosystem […]
Buying conditions favourable in strong start to year – Rightmove
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 due to the looming stamp duty deadline, Rightmove says current trends look stronger when compared with 2024. The number of […]
PM Law update: ‘Urgent’ clients contacted and compensation fund claims being processed
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has published a further statement on action it has taken in the wake of PM Law’s closure last week. The Sheffield-based firm and subsidiaries suddenly closed on Monday 2nd February, with notices appearing on the front doors stating the firm was no longer able to trade “due to regulatory matters”. An […]
Latest SRA fines for AML non-compliance
The latest round of Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) penalties for AML breaches includes firms of all sizes, from Legal 500 companies to small high street outfits. With a high percentage of their work coming from conveyancing, the SRA views each as being at high risk of exploitation from criminals. Bristol-based Humphreys & Co reached a […]
Planning reform alone will not fix housing crisis, warns Propertymark
A property sector professional body is warning that focusing solely on reforming the planning system will not deliver the number of new homes the UK urgently needs. Propertymark said that whilst planning reform has been at the centre of successive government’s housing strategies, their analysis shows that changes to the planning system have not historically […]
First time buyers could be closer to owning a home than they realise, BSA says
New research shows many aspiring first time buyers are ruling themselves out before exploring what is possible, when many may be able to buy sooner than they thought. According to research carried out by the Building Societies Association (BSA), almost half (47%) of people surveyed who said they want to buy their own home have […]
LawCare supported record numbers in 2025
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 – also saw an increase in users, up 13% on the previous year. “The need for trusted, accessible and sector-specific […]
Legal cashier barred for £200,000 theft
A legal cashier who is currently serving 26 months for fraud has been barred from working again in a solicitors firm. Liverpool Legal, previously known as E. Rex Makin and Co. Solicitors, uncovered that Rachel Wilson had transferred almost £200,000 from its office account to her own bank accounts between 1 April 2020 and 12 […]
Legal sector not embracing remote roles, study finds
Only 4.8% of the 6,323 new legal job listings in 2025 were fully remote, according to data shared by equity management platform Vestd. And while the legal sector sits marginally above the national industry average of 4.75% – coming in at 12th place in Vestd’s ranking of 29 industries – job seekers cited remote working […]
New tech platform aims to help legal clients navigate cost and retainer terms
A legal technology platform has been launched to help law firms ensure clients understand legal costs and retainer terms. The Legal Lexi has been created by a regulated and experienced fellow costs lawyer in response to the rising number of fee-related disputes between solicitors and clients, including complaints to the Legal Ombudsman. Under the Consumer […]
Law firm celebrates 300th anniversary with £30,000 hospice donation
Law firm Furley Page has celebrated its 300th anniversary with a £30,000 donation to Pilgrims Hospices, after the firm’s staff spent the milestone year staging a range of fundraising activities. The firm was founded in Canterbury in 1725, making it one of the oldest law firms in the world. Throughout the anniversary year, Furley page […]
Legal Ombudsman complaints data shows record levels of demand
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 of new complaints received by the LeO increased by 29.8% in the reporting period, which covers 1 October to 31 […]
Property market is turning a corner, RICS survey suggests
The UK residential property market is showing tentative signs that it may be turning a corner, according to the latest RICS UK Residential Market Survey for January 2026. Whilst overall activity remains subdued, several key indicators have continued to improve, recording their least negative readings in months, RICS said, with survey respondents increasingly confident that […]
Major funding boosts for two UK-founded legal and proptech firms
Two UK-founded legal and fintech companies are celebrating major funding gains. Prop and fintech platform OneDome has raised $25 million, taking total funding raised to date to $40 million. Lawhive, which describes itself as the ‘world’s first AI-native consumer law firm’, has raised $60 million to accelerate its expansion across the US. OneDome, which was […]
Conveyancers urged to vote for local land charge teams in Land Data Excellence awards
Land Data is urging local authority customers requesting LLC1 and CON29 search enquiries to nominate the local land charges teams in England and Wales that deliver outstanding customer service. The Customer Satisfaction Award is one of eight Land Data Excellence Awards recognising outstanding performance amongst local land charges practitioners in England and Wales. Teams in are rated on their performance in four […]
First time buyers ‘dominated 2025 housing market’
First time buyers dominated the housing market in 2025, according to an analysis of the year’s transactions carried out by conveyancing firm Bird & Co. The firm’s data for last year revealed 76% of its clients were purchasing their first home, whilst buyers with existing property made up 24% of transactions. According to Bird & […]
Nationwide accepts first QES on mortgage deed in HMLR, Veyco and Your Conveyancer collaboration
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 their mortgage deed electronically if their conveyancer or solicitor uses QES. The development is the result of a collaboration between […]
Finance Bill Committee confirms conveyancers are tax advisers, as SLC raises ‘serious concerns’
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 to the Treasury, set out the government’s position and specified conveyancers will be required to register with HMRC when interacting […]