UK Finance defers launch of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook
UK Finance has deferred the launch of its new Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook, which was due to be live from 2 March. Last week, the trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector dropped plans to introduce a £50 fee for conveyancers to register to use the new handbook. The organisation has now pushed […]
Client account proposals ‘an unfair tax on clients and cannot proceed’, Law Society says
The Ministry of Justice’s proposed scheme for Interest on Lawyers’ Client Accounts (ILCA) is fundamentally flawed, lacks adequate evidence and is a crude sector-specific tax on clients of legal services, the Law Society of England and Wales has warned. Commenting on the release of its response to the government consultation on ILCA, The Law Society said […]
Government announces review of the Legal Services Board
The government has launched a review of the Legal Services Board (LSB) to ensure current regulatory arrangements are effective and do not duplicate initiatives of frontline regulators. The review was announced by Sarah Sackman, minister of state for justice (pictured), in a written statement on Tuesday. “It is best practice for departments to regularly review […]
Society of Licensed Conveyancers shares job search page for lawyers affected by PM Law closure
The Society of Licensed Conveyancers has shared a job search service on its website to help conveyancing and probate practitioners affected by the closure of the PM Law group. Specialist conveyancing and probate roles across England and Wales can be found on the SLC website at https://www.conveyancers.org.uk/job-search/. Today’s Conveyancer has also compiled a director of […]
Simplify launches national recruitment drive for experienced conveyancers
Simplify is recruiting 30 experienced conveyancers in a country-wide drive from Newcastle to Maidstone. The new roles offer flexible working, with options to work remotely, choose hybrid or select a base from one of Simplify’s 11 UK offices. The current recruitment drive builds on a period of significant growth for the company. Over the past 18 […]
New Homes Accelerator aims to cut delays for 125,000 new properties
The government has launched the second phase of its New Homes Accelerator programme, which aims to cut delays and boost the building of over 125,000 homes. Seven new sites will be included in the second phase, including in the East Midlands, the South East, the East of England and London. Over 11,400 of the homes […]
New home registrations up 11% according to NHBC figures
New figures from the National House Building Council (NHBC) reveal that 115,350 new homes were registered to be built in 2025, up 11% from 2024. The UK’s largest provider of new home warranties and insurance said that private sector registrations were up 12% to 75,227, compared to 67,265 in 2024. The rental and affordable sector saw […]
One in three first time buyers has at least 25% deposit
While higher loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages dominate first time buyer demand, a significant minority are seeking higher deposit deals, new data from Moneyfacts reveals. Of the first time buyers looking for fixed-term deals on the Moneyfacts comparison site, almost one in three (30%) are opting for 90% LTV mortgages, with a further 12% looking at 95% […]
Homes listed in February ‘most likely to find a buyer’
An analysis of a decade of market data reveals homes listed in February are marginally more likely to find a buyer than those listed in other months. The analysis by Rightmove found that seven in 10 (68.9%) homes listed in February went on to secure a sale, compared to 68.8% of homes listed in January […]
House price increase ‘reflects steady market’, but regional differences grow
A 0.7% increase in house prices reflects a steady housing market according to the latest index from Halifax, following the 0.5% dip seen in December. While overall activity levels “show resilience”, the lender says regional differences have become more pronounced, with a clear north-south divide. Positive momentum has continued in the north of England, where […]
Ken Weetch, MP who paved the way for the licensed conveyancing profession, dies at 92
Ken Weetch, the former Labour MP for Ipswich who campaigned for the establishment of a conveyancing service to be performed by non-solicitors, has died aged 92. A decade before the Administration of Justice Act 1985 established the legal framework for non-solicitors to provide conveyancing services, Weetch introduced a bill to amend the Solicitors Act 1974 […]
SRA takes action on PM Law closure
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has confirmed it has formally intervened in the closure of PM Law and its subsidiary firms in a statement published yesterday on its website. After calls for clarity from the regulator in the days following the closure of the Sheffield-based firm, a statement confirms the SRA launched an investigation on […]
Base rate held at 3.75% – property industry reacts
The Bank of England has held base rate at 3.75%, with the Monetary Policy Committee voting five to four in favour of the hold. The bank has opted to maintain stability while assessing whether inflationary pressures will ease in the coming months, the committee said. The decision follows inflation (CPI) increasing slightly to 3.4% in December […]
Battle for work sees conveyancing fees fall in 2025
Conveyancers lowered fees in the battle for work during the subdued autumn and winter of last year, when home movers paused or delayed plans to move amid Bank of England interest rate decisions, rising inflation and potential changes to stamp duty in the November budget, according to a report from reallymoving.com. An analysis of average […]
Value of abandoned mortgages up by a third as fall-throughs worsen
Home buyers failed to take up £32.4 billion worth of mortgages last year, partly due to worsening fall-throughs of property sales, according to figures from property industry consultancy Novus Strategy. An analysis of Bank of England data for Monetary Financial Institutions by Novus revealed mortgage cancellations climbed 36.4% in 2025 – the largest annual jump […]
Commons Select Committee to scrutinise leasehold and commonhold proposals before its introduction to Parliament
Scrutiny of the proposed Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill has begun with the Housing, Communities and Local Government Commons Select Committee launching an inquiry examining the draft legislation. Written and oral evidence will inform a subsequent report making recommendations on amends to the draft bill before its introduction to parliament. The government published the long-awaited […]
MoJ client account interest consultation premise ‘fundamentally flawed’, says conveyancing membership body
The underlying premise to the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) consultation on using client account interest to fund access to justice is “fundamentally flawed”, says the Conveyancing Association; a membership body representing the top 200 solicitors and licensed conveyancers by volume in England and Wales. Proposals to introduce an Interest on Lawyers’ Client Accounts (ILCA) scheme […]
LEASE launches free online checker tool, as it welcomes new chief tasked with digital transformation
The Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) has launched a free online tool that allows leaseholders to check how long is left on their lease by entering their postcode. The Lease Length Checker tool pulls together data from HM Land Registry and is designed to remove the confusion and guesswork leaseholders face when trying to understand their […]
New year bounce yet to materialise for conveyancers – CLC
A widely reported New Year bounce is yet to materialise for conveyancers, according to the latest quarterly confidence tracker from the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC). There had been hopes of a positive response to the stable but subdued market in the autumn, when activity fell to its lowest level in two years amid uncertainty […]
Miller’s CLC Risk & Compliance Conference sees industry leaders gather in City of London
Miller’s annual CLC Risk & Compliance Conference, in partnership with Today’s Conveyancer, brought together leading voices from across the compliance and conveyancing sectors last month. Speakers at the full day event, which was held at Miller’s City of London office, included both in-house experts from Miller and the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), along with […]