Planning and Infrastructure Bill passed by MPs, but opponents call it ‘flawed’ and ‘dangerous’
MPs have voted 306 to 174 to approve the Planning and Infrastructure Bill at its third reading in the House of Commons, with housing minister Mathew Pennycook saying it had been ‘a real privilege’ to take the ‘crucial piece of legislation through the House’. But the bill drew fierce criticism from opponents during the Commons […]
‘Severe sanctions’ for lawyers who fail to verify AI research, with a warning for managers
A High Court ruling related to the use of AI in legal proceedings has warned there will be ‘severe sanctions’ for lawyers who fail to comply with their professional obligations when using the technology. Managing partners and heads of chambers must demonstrate that ‘practical and effective measures’ have been taken to ensure every person providing […]
Experts divided over landmark case that sets out binary test to protect vulnerable borrowers
The Supreme Court has ruled a bank had a duty to investigate whether a woman was acting under the influence of her partner when the couple took out a remortgage, in a landmark case that extends protection for vulnerable people at risk of economic abuse by their partners. The ruling has divided experts, with some […]
Leaseholders worried by ‘excruciatingly slow’ progress on reform, says expert
‘Excruciatingly slow’ progress on leasehold reform is creating unnecessary costs and delays for leaseholders, an expert has warned. Linz Darlington, founder of leasehold extension specialists Homehold, says the lack of progress on the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act – which remains largely unenforced despite receiving Royal Assent over a year ago – is a worrying […]
Axiom Ince crackdown – SRA directed to take action
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has been directed to take action by the Legal Services Board (LSB) in the wake of the independent review into the failure of Axiom Ince. In response to the report, in which the SRA was criticised for regulatory failings in the run up to the collapse of Axion Ince, it […]
‘Lawyer’ now legally protected term in Scotland, as Law Society hails ‘major milestone’
A new bill passed by the Scottish Parliament will prevent anyone who isn’t licensed from using the title ‘lawyer’, following a 10-year campaign by the Law Society of Scotland. The Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill will give the title of ‘lawyer’ the same legal protection as ‘solicitor’, making it an offence for anyone to […]
Climate Change Practice Note Published
The Law Society has published the Climate Change Practice note and accompanying Supplementary Technical Note outlining its expectations on property lawyers when it comes to providing advice on the impact of climate change on property transactions. The new practice note ‘complements’ existing guidance on flood risk and contaminated land says the Law Society and follows […]
Right to manage changes effective from Monday 3rd March
Secondary legislation to the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 comes into effect from Monday 3rd March enabling leaseholders within a mixed-use scheme to qualify for the Right to Manage (RTM) when the commercial element of a building is as much as 50%. Leaseholders will no longer be required to cover the freeholder’s legal fees […]
“Spurious” SDLT claims under the microscope
The Law Society of England and Wales says it is being contacted by conveyancers concerned by ‘spurious’ claims and agents ‘pushing boundaries’ when it comes to stamp duty land tax (SDLT) claims and repayment. It says purchasers and conveyancers are being contacted by organisations with ‘little or no expertise in the tax and pay little […]
Grenfell report recommends Building Safety Act definitions reviewed
The phase II report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry has recommended key definitions laid out in the Building Safety Act are reviewed a a matter of urgency because of their current ‘arbitrary’ interpretations. The report, which was published on 4th September 2024, lays bare the failings of government and industry in protecting the residents of […]
Speed up cladding remediation deputy PM tells regulators
An industry roundtable convened following the major fire at flats in Dagenham has been told regulators and partners must speed up the remediation of unsafe buildings. Deputy Prime Minster Angela Rayner and Building Safety Minister Rushanara Ali attended the roundtable, which also hosted West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker, Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester Paul Dennett […]
Second reading of Leasehold and Freehold Bill
The second reading of the much heralded Leasehold and Freehold Bill is to have its second reading in Parliament today (11th December). The bill was released just weeks after the King’s Speech and was lauded by pressure groups as “momentous,” however it an embarrassing omission from the government, it acknowledged that a key element of […]
Building Safety Act – Clarity on Lease Extensions?
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has released an update to its guidance on the current confusion around the implementation of the Building Safety Act (BSA) and the extent to which the leaseholder protections apply in cases there is a lease extension. The “Qualifying date, qualifying lease and extent,” first published in July 2022 […]
HBSG has taken industry as far as it can without government intervention
The government needs to step in to mandate reforms that promise to revolutionise the home buying and selling process, a roundtable organised by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) has heard. Speakers at the annual stakeholder event also highlighted recruitment issues in the conveyancing market, after the huge surge of work during the post-lockdown stamp […]
Building Safety Act: 10 years’ imprisonment for exploitation of leaseholders
Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has published a letter to building owners and managing agents setting out their responsibilities under the Building Safety Act. Leaseholder protections under the Act came into force yesterday on 28 June 2022, at which point it became an offence to pass on costs […]
Industry reacts to arrival of Ground Rent Act
Following the arrival of the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act which came into force last week, Today’s Conveyancer has rounded-up the reactions of professionals across the industry. The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act came into force last week (30 June) and is set to restrict ground rents on most new long residential leases in England […]
Competitions watchdog investigate Dye & Durham again
The Australian competitions watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) have launched an investigation in to Dye & Durham’s acquisition of Link Administration Holdings, a 43% owner of e-conveyancing platform PEXA. In January 2022, Dye & Durham announced it had agreed to acquire Link for an estimated c$3.2bn. In a statement released on the […]
Queen’s speech: planning reforms to be tackled via Levelling up Bill
This year’s Queen’s Speech has today outlined several legislative changes and the overhauling of laws around levelling up, planning and economic crime that could affect conveyancers. At the state opening of Parliament this morning, Prince Charles delivered the Queen’s speech as the monarch missed the opening for the first time in almost 60 years as […]
Building Safety Bill receives royal assent
The Building Safety Bill which started its passage through parliament last July received royal assent on Friday. Among the changes, which are now law, is the creation of a new building safety regulator for buildings higher than 18 metres as well as “waterfall” protections introduced to ensure leaseholders avoid footing the bill for remediation costs. […]
National Leasehold Campaign welcomes CMA success on onerous ground rents
The National Leasehold Campaign (NLC) welcomes the announcement from the CMA detailing that, as part of their ongoing work into leasehold mis-selling, they have reached agreement with 15 freeholders that bought leases with onerous ground rent terms from Countryside. NLC founder and spokeswoman Katie Kendrick, a children’s nurse from Ellesmere Port said: “Today’s announcement demonstrates […]
