A fundamental lack of understanding amongst home movers on the complexity of the conveyancing, and home moving, process is preventing fees from being increased. The failure of conveyancers to properly explain the value of conveyancing; the confidence that you own the property that you think you own, and that you understand everything about it that is relevant to you so that you can use and enjoy that property as intended, has contributed to an inability to increase fees, despite a near doubling of the level of responsibility now on conveyancer’s shoulders.
The issue was a topic of discussion at the latest Annual Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) Roundtable at which representatives from across the property sector gave their views on fees, as well as the impact of a slowdown in work, recruitment issues in conveyancing, and Land Registry delays
Firms need also to set expectations very clearly from the outset and there are opportunities for “more differentiation in your service offer between the consumers who are very happy to self-serve and those who need more support” said Teresa Perchard, who chairs the CLC’s consumer reference group.
CLC strategy director Stephen Ward added
“it is the the value proposition that has been underpriced. Lawyers have found it very difficult to describe to their clients the value of what they do. You can list out the prices, but what is the value?”
And the value is rapidly increasing suggested Peter Rodd, the residential conveyancing representative on the Law Society council, who said that given the increasing responsibilities on conveyancers, prices are even more distorted.
“We now have the question of climate. To what extent is the conveyancer going to be responsible to their clients for advising on those issues and the possibility of flooding? There was a suggestion a few years ago that we should tell people about the cleanliness of the air in their area. None of that is legal, but it is all getting pushed towards the conveyancer, because, at the end of the day, the conveyancer is the one who is insured and takes responsibility.”
Rob Gurney, a former licensed conveyancer and current managing director of Ochresoft concurs; suggesting that conveyancers’ responsibilities have doubled in the last 15 to 20 years, while at the same time modern consumers expect far greater speed. “The expectation of the consumer is impossible to meet, whereas, 15 to 20 years ago, we could meet it” he added
The conversation moved on to explore upfront information with National Trading Standards Estate and Lettings Agents Team poised to publish the much anticipated Parts B & C of their material information requirements which will mandate more information be made available up front in a transaction. For Mike Harlow, deputy chief executive of HM Land Registry, the core challenge was digitising the data and ensuring it could flow through into everybody’s systems. Change would then flow from the availability of digital data and the tools to make efficient use of it, without mandation. But others said lawyers needed reassurance that they could trust such data, especially if it forms the basis of the instruction at the point of listing, which many hope will be encouraged by the material information changes.
Summing up the CLC chief executive Sheila Kumar said:
“We have been on the precipice of significant change in the property market for a long time now and some are frustrated that we are still only looking over the edge. But we are getting closer and it was striking how most of those round the table now largely agree on what needs to be done.
“The CLC is part of the Digital Property Market Steering Group that brings together regulators and representative bodies of conveyancers, estate agents, lenders and valuers to drive the transformation of home buying and selling. We are committed to playing our part and ensuring that conveyancers can deliver simpler, faster, more secure and more certain property transactions that maintain the high standards of consumer protection that we are known for.”
The CLC Conveyancing Roundtable 2023 can be read in full here.
One Response
We should be charging 1% plus VAT for Conveyancing based on the property value. Frankly, we have more expenses to account for, more responsibility and far more risk than agents. Charging properly would mean greater investment in staff, greater investment in systems, greater investment in cyber security and greater investment in helping people out when things do go wrong. Perhaps the SRA and CLC should support us in that. But there will always be that one firm who wants to undercut everyone, who wants to work in teams, who want to employ cheap labour in other countries just to get ahead. Will the SRA and CLC do anything about that? Fat chance.