A Report on Title precedent cannot remain static while legislation, lender conditions and the risks affecting property transactions continue to change. The September 2026 e-ROT notification provides five new suggested paragraphs dealing with three areas in which clear client advice is particularly important.
The update covers properties on developments that are still being built, electricity transmission lines near or affecting a property, and the information that should be given to a buy to let purchaser following the changes to the private rented sector in England.
The five paragraphs are not intended to be inserted automatically into every report. They include optional and alternative wording that firms can adopt, adapt or retain for use when the facts of a particular transaction require it. That distinction lies at the heart of the e-ROT Report on Title Notification Service.
New developments and the limits of standard searches
A purchaser buying on an unfinished development may focus on the property shown in the brochure or the immediate view from the plot. The completed development may look quite different. Later phases can introduce additional homes, commercial premises, new roads, continuing construction traffic and changes to the character of the surrounding area.
The new precedent is designed to explain a critical limitation. Standard local authority enquiries principally address the property and specified matters within their defined scope. They do not amount to a full review of the planning history and future build out of the wider development.
The wording therefore identifies the boundary of the conveyancer’s work and directs the client to examine the approved site layout, planning portal and available information about later phases before exchange. It also prompts the client to disclose any particular requirement, such as a quiet outlook or concern about traffic, while further enquiries can still be made.
This is not simply a retainer limitation. It is a piece of practical client advice. A buyer who understands that construction may continue and the wider layout may change is less likely to mistake silence in the report for confirmation that the surrounding area will remain as marketed.
That approach complements our earlier discussion of managing expectations through the Report on Title. Clear scope and timely warnings can prevent a difference between assumption and reality from becoming a complaint after completion.
Electricity transmission lines require more than a passing reference
The second new paragraph applies where a search, plan or survey identifies overhead electricity transmission lines or a pylon near the property.
A conveyancer should identify the issue without straying into specialist advice that falls outside the legal retainer. The wording makes clear that the firm is not advising on possible health effects or attempting to value any impact on the property. It directs the client to appropriate public information and recommends specialist advice where the issue affects the decision to proceed.
The legal and transactional questions remain important. Proximity to transmission infrastructure may concern a future buyer, affect perceived marketability or influence a lender or valuer. Where apparatus crosses or adjoins the property, the title may also contain a wayleave, easement, agreement or statutory right governing access, maintenance, building or planting.
The precedent therefore separates three questions that should not be blurred:
- what the title and any relevant agreement legally permit;
- what the lender and valuer require for the present transaction; and
- whether proximity affects the client’s personal decision or the property’s future saleability.
This is a useful example of why a Report on Title should not simply reproduce search results. It should explain what the result means, identify the limits of the solicitor’s expertise and tell the client what action to take before becoming contractually bound.
Buy to let reporting after the tenancy reforms
The remaining three paragraphs address buy to let purchases in England. They provide different levels of reporting rather than three sections that must all be used together.
The detailed version brings together the lender’s particular letting conditions and the reformed tenancy framework. It allows the conveyancer to record restrictions concerning occupation, acceptable tenants, subletting, holiday letting, corporate tenants, houses in multiple occupation and any requirement to provide tenancy documentation to the lender.
It also explains that, since 1 May 2026, private assured tenancies in England are periodic and a landlord cannot serve a new section 21 notice. Possession now depends on an applicable statutory ground and the correct notice and court procedure.
The compliance version concentrates on the steps and deadlines affecting a proposed letting. These include the applicable energy efficiency standard, electrical and gas safety, deposit protection, prescribed tenancy information, licensing, right to rent and alarm requirements.
The short form flag is intended for firms that provide the detailed buy to let advice separately. It alerts the purchaser to the material differences between an investment purchase and ordinary owner occupation and directs the client to the accompanying advice before exchange.
Our earlier article on proactive preparation for the Renters’ Rights reforms provides useful background. The September precedents translate that changing legal environment into transaction specific reporting suitable for a purchaser and, where relevant, the mortgage conditions applying to that purchase.
Why one precedent is not enough
A master Report on Title can provide structure and consistency, but it cannot anticipate every change in legislation, lender practice, property risk or client expectation indefinitely. Firms face two competing dangers. A report may omit a newly important issue, or it may accumulate so much generic wording that the advice becomes difficult for the client to understand.
The answer is not to add every new paragraph to every report. It is to maintain a current central precedent together with well drafted optional wording that can be selected when relevant.
The December 2025 e-ROT precedent update illustrated the same approach across subjects including tenancy reform, listed buildings, statutory utility rights and planning restrictions. The subject matter changes from month to month, but the underlying risk management principle remains consistent.
A monthly prompt for review and competence
The notification service is separate from the e-ROT Generator. A firm can retain its existing Report on Title process and receive five new suggested paragraphs each month for consideration.
The firm decides what to adopt, what to adapt and what to retain as optional wording. The notification also provides a practical prompt for discussion, training and continuing competence. It gives conveyancers a reason to consider not only whether a paragraph is legally accurate, but when it should be used and how it interacts with the firm’s retainer and reporting process.
Keep your Report on Title precedent current
The e-ROT Notification Service supplies a curated monthly set of five suggested paragraphs for firms to consider adding to their main precedent or retaining for appropriate transactions. You can use the service without changing your existing Report on Title system.
The suggested paragraphs require professional consideration and adaptation to the facts, retainer and jurisdiction of the individual matter. This article is a summary of the September 2026 notification and does not reproduce or replace the precedent wording.