About CQS Conveyancing

Referral Fees The conveyancing profession is not what it was fifteen years ago let alone thirty years ago. Fifteen years ago when I qualified as a solicitor the conveyancing market was dominated by conveyancing solicitors conducting transactions. I suspect that today more than 30 % of transactions are carried out by unqualified staff. Conveyancing solicitors have squandered the high esteem in which we were held by the public. The demise of the conveyancing solicitor started when the Thatcher government broke the conveyancing monopoly in the belief that competition was a ‘good thing’ The emergence of licensed conveyancers sparked a price war with conveyancing costs being cut again and again. The lesson that should have been learnt was to compete on price but on service and to collectively highlight the deficiencies of cheap conveyancing. Unfortunately, solicitors did not learn their lesson as will writers, claims handlers, independent advisers – all have chipped away at solicitor’s pr...

Today’s blog exposes some of the reasons where a the conveyancing lawyer, acting for the seller typically slows the process down : When selling many conveyancing lawyers have the mistaken the belief that all they do is throw out the papers to the Buyer. This mistaken belief has been perpetuated by the doctrine of Caveat Emptor, which obliges the buyer rather than the seller to uncover defects or legal problems with a property. As if the Caveat Emptor was not enough the courts, through cases such as …………have encouraged convayancing lawyers not to look at the paperwork for fear of being legally exposed to an argument that in reviewing ir commenting on the papers that may have some degree of responsibility to the buyer. I would also argue the commoditisation of conveyancing and the driving down of conveyancing fees means that most conveyancing forms do not give themselves the luxury of being proactive and reducing the risk of the buyer’s conveyancers raising enquiries. The net result is t...

The inclusion of environmental searches and enquiries into the conveyancing process is relatively new, having only emerged as something the conveyancing lawyer should investigate in the last 15 years. Heightened environmental awareness has resulted in environmental factors are becoming increasingly relevant to all stakeholders in conveyancing tractions . Factors such as flooding, subsidence, issues of land pollution, radon gas and similar issues are increasingly making the headlines. Since April 2000 Local Authorities must inspect and identify seriously contaminated land areas, however they are only slowly starting to come to terms with their duties here. If in time the local authority identifies a Property area as being contaminated they can issue remediation notices requiring action to clean up the contamination in the absence of voluntary agreement to do so. Liability in such circumstances would primarily rest with the contaminator of the Property. However, if that person cannot...

Conveyancing Liability Solutions (CLS) has launched a product to assist conveyancing firms who sell Home Information Packs direct to sellers or has an associated company that does this. The product is a No Sale No Fee insurance policy for the HIP market. The no sale no fee insurance covers homeowners in the event that the sale of their property either falls through, or fails to sell in a 12 month period from first day marketing where “sale” is classified as exchanging contracts. In addition homeowners are covered if the sale of their property fails either through accident, sickness or redundancy for instance. The cost of the HIP, including all searches, estate agency referral fees, legal and marketing fees are covered in the premiums listed below: Up to £500 limit of indemnity £55 Up to £1,000 limit of indemnity £90 At the end of the 12 month term, if the property has not sold, the homeowner can make a claim to the limit of indemnity purchased. Sam Cherry, Director of CLS said; “Our No...

If you are looking at one of government schemes such as HomeBuy Direct, be aware that if the Tories take power the deals may change. The Conservatives have also said they will raise the stamp duty threshold, due to drop to £125,000 in January, to £250,000, freeing nine out of ten first-time buyers from the duty

The Conservatives intend to scrap Home Information Packs is not news. Grant Shapps has been saying this has been saying it to the trade press. The fact that he has suggested that this will be done in a “in a matter of weeks” after coming to power will catch the public and stakeholders in the property industry by surprise. In an interview with The Times - carried in several other National papers – Shapps says that abolishing HIPs would be his first initiative, should the Conservatives win the election. The assurance follows claims by many estate agents that the packs are adversely affecting the housing market, as would be sellers regard the cost of HIPs as a disincentive at a time when homeowners are already reluctant to move. Shapps said: “House prices are rising because supply is restricted. HIPs have not helped. The main priority is to scrap them. They are easy to suspend and there are emergency powers we can use to do so. This can happen very quickly. HIPs will be gone in a matt...

Kick backs paid to estate agents by conveyancing companies could be outlawed, after a decision by regulators to lobby for their ban. The Law Society, which represents all UK conveyancing solicitors, has tabled a motion to ‘make representations to government and the Legal Services Board that referral fees do not have a place in markets for legal services’ and that they should be banned. The Council of Licensed Conveyancers, who regulate Licensed Conveyancing Firms has not made a similar motion. My firm stopped paying estate agents fees a while ago now. I don’t know what it is like outside London but in London estate agents typically receive anywhere between £100 and £400 for each referral lead that converts into a conveyancing instruction which reached completion. The motion follows recent research by the Office of Fair Trading which found that 80% of estate agents recommend conveyancing solicitors to their clients, and half of these receive referral fees as a result. I believe that...

The only people, by law, who can deal with the legal aspects of conveyancing are solicitors and licensed conveyancers. If you have had poor service from your conveyancing solicitor or licensed conveyancer, and they haven’t dealt with your complaint satisfactorily, you can do the following: • In the case of a conveyancing solicitor, you can complain to the Legal Complaints Service (LCS). If it agrees with your complaint, the LCS can order your conveyancing solicitor to refund your fees or pay you compensation. If you are not happy with how the LCS handles your complaint, you can then take the complaint to the Legal Services Ombudsman. • For a licensed conveyancer, you can complain to the Council for Licensed Conveyancers who, like the LCS can order your conveyancing lawyer to refund your conveyancing fees or pay you compensation. If you suffer a financial loss as a result of negligence (i.e. the conveyancing solicitor or conveyancer didn’t do something they should have done, or did ...

The government may start a selling spree as it acts to reduce record borrowing, set to hit more than 12 percent of gross domestic product this year. The Land Registry has been earmarked by the Government as part of proposals to sell-off £16 billion of public assets to raise cash. So does it matter ? I set out below some of the reasons conveyancing solicitors should care as should members of the public. Conveyancer’s Self Preservation As a public body the Land Registry has no commercial agenda other than to try and cover its costs. Should the Land Registry fall into private hands there is the possibility of it offering certain services that otherwise would have been carried out by solicitors or licensed conveyancers that traditionally have the closer relationships with buyers and sellers. Currently, the Land Registry is predominantly focused on dealing with conveyancing lawyers as opposed to members of the public. What happens if that changes? What happens if they choose to charge for...

UK lenders who have clear interest in the future of conveyancing have recently commented on a Law Society Consultation on Improving Residential Conveyancing. Lenders rely on conveyancing solicitors and conveyancing lawyers to act for them both at the outset of a mortgage transaction or where lenders exercise their power of sale. The CML express doubts as to whether the introduction of HIPs has assisted the conveyancing process and, suggest as which? have done, that HIPs may actually limit consumer choice because of tie ins and referrals. The CML particularly highlight the plight of home owners facing repossession : “For borrowers in difficulty trying to sell a property to overcome financial problems it is a further expense. Lenders assist where possible but for customers experiencing payment problems a HIP is an added expense.”

Three top London agents have strongly denied breaking the Home Information Pack law. The Association of Home Information Pack Providers initially identified the three estate agents as repeatedly listing properties without Home Information Packs. Following their “outing” of the estate agents, AHIPP withdrew the names for legal reasons, but is standing by its overall allegation that agents, particularly in London, are routinely flouting the law on Home Information Packs. One of the estate agents responded to the online magazine Estate Agency Today : “We are unsure as to what the basis is of this accusation. We strongly request anyone come to our office so we can show them the HIP reports we hold for the properties we are marketing.” I am not aware of any talk within the conveyancing industry of there being any repeated problem of acting for purchasers without Home Information Packs being made available.

The Legal Services Board has just issued a consultation paper on 18 November 2009 “ Alternative business structures: approaches to licensing ” The consultation, which has a huge impact on future of conveyancing, is to close 19 February 2010. The consultation and invites licensed conveyancers to submit comments either to the Legal Services Board direct or the Council of Licensed Conveyancers. The issues raised in the consultation are very important to the to the future of conveyancing and the licensed conveyancer industry as well as to the other branches of the legal profession such as conveyancing solicitors. It's not difficult to find a licensed conveyancer practices currently have non lawyer managers or have owners who are not lawyers. All these conveyancing firms will need to become licensed bodies (also known as Alternative Business Structures) regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers as one of a number of licensing authorities. The Consultation Paper sets o...

This was a conveyancing-related case where land was bought for developmental purposes, but the buyer later found a drainage pipe which very much limited the potential of the land. The pipe's existence had not been disclosed on the sale, because it was not known to the seller . Held: Under the National Conditions of Sale, it is the purchaser who takes the risk of there being easements unknown to the seller. The court clarified that a seller was not liable for damages for misrepresentation if he had taken reasonable steps to make known to the purchaser what he himself knew. Clause 14 of the Conditions attached to the Agreement for sale in this was is not an exclusion clause, but rather qualifies the sellers obligations. It did not therefore fall to be tested for reasonableness. In using the phrase 'not so far as the vendor is aware' replies to preliminary enquiries the court determined that that such a statement was akin to a representation that the seller’s conveyancing ...