The Society of Licensed Conveyancers (SLC) has issued a new client guide on the effects of climate change, which it says will help conveyancing clients to help source information and expert advice.
The guide follows the release of the Law Society’s recent practice note, which outlines the expectations on property lawyers when it comes to providing advice on the impact of climate change on property transactions.
The Law Society’s guide was met with a mixed response, with some conveyancers questioning whether they should be advising clients on the effects of climate change. The client guide from the SLC aims to ‘point clients in the right direction’ and acknowledges that many aspects of the conveyancing process are misunderstood by those outside the profession.
Simon Law, chair of the SLC, explained:
“Recent research has confirmed what we have known for many years, that clients generally do not understand the conveyancing process and the ever expanding demands placed on conveyancers acting on their behalf.
“It is why the SLC commissioned the production of a series of client guides which have built up over recent years to help inform and educate clients on the many different aspects of buying and selling a home. There is no doubt that the guides have had a positive impact on the home buying and selling process.”
The climate change client guide is available to all SLC members, including non-licensed conveyancers with associate membership. It’s one of 40 guides covering subjects including the Building Safety Act, e-signatures, Japanese knotweed and SDLT.
‘Many of the guides are designed to help clients understand the conveyancing process itself and provide a much greater understanding of the work that conveyancers undertake on their behalf’, the SLC said.
“These days it is not enough to just tell clients something, conveyancers need to be assured they have understood the point. The guides are written in plain English with no jargon. Rather than being glossy generalised graphics-heavy (but information-light) marketing blurb, they are produced by an experienced conveyancer to contain the key information that clients need to know.”
Members can download the guide free of charge from the SLC’s website at www.conveyancers.org.uk.
