Property


Cyber-attack cost conveyancing giant £7m plus lost business

5 May 2023

The November 2021 cyber-attack on the Simplify Group – the country’s largest conveyancing business – cost it £6.8m and also suppressed fee income, its annual report has shown.


Australian giant eyes further expansion in UK conveyancing market

26 April 2023

PEXA, the Australian conveyancing technology giant that last year bought a UK law firm, could expand its operation here yet further by acquiring listed company Smoove, which also owns one.


All-digital trial sounds death knell for paper-based conveyancing

20 April 2023

A project to build a digital settlement prototype that speeds up payments in conveyancing by linking banks, conveyancers and HM Land Registry has ended successfully.


Partner suspended for trying to “trick” farmer out of tenancy

5 April 2023

A partner in a large Midlands law firm, who tried to “trick” an elderly farmer out of part of his protected tenancy in the way he sent notices to quit, has been suspended for a year.


Home sellers “would pay more for faster conveyancing”

5 April 2023

Almost nine in 10 vendors would pay more to have a faster conveyancing process, new research has revealed. as we report too on the latest BASPI iteration and proptech investment.


High Court: Losses too remote for claim against law firm

28 March 2023

A law firm has successfully fought off a former client’s bid to broaden a multi-million-pound negligence claim after the High Court found the losses too remote to be recoverable.


Reserved activities set to stay as they are for now

21 March 2023

A full review of the reserved legal activities is not justified at the moment without a “fundamental” reappraisal of the Legal Services Act too, the Legal Services Board has concluded.


Conveyancers fined £33,000 for complaints and accounts breaches

21 March 2023

A large firm of licensed conveyancers and its senior partners have been reprimanded and fined £33,000 after a Covid-related work surge overwhelmed its ability to handle complaints.


Negligence claim over law firm’s ground rent advice dismissed

17 March 2023

A circuit judge has dismissed a negligence claim over a London law firm’s alleged failure to give a client proper advice on a how much the ground rent would increase under a lease.


“Manifestly incompetent” solicitor missed red flags on dubious deals

13 March 2023

An experienced solicitor who failed to react to a series of red flags on two dubious property sales has admitted to being manifestly incompetent. He and his supervisor were fined.


ChatGPT fails solicitor’s conveyancing test

2 March 2023

AI chatbot ChatGPT has a “long way to go” before it replaces conveyancers, according to the head of property at a regional law firm who quizzed it about first-time buyers.


Partner’s trainee supervision failure aided “property hijacks”

24 February 2023

The boss of a Manchester law firm has been fined £12,500 for failing to supervise his trainee properly in conveyancing transactions that “bore the hallmarks of property hijacks”.


Manifestly incompetent solicitor fined for role in “secret sale”

22 February 2023

A solicitor who facilitated a “secret, snap sale of inheritance property” after which the seller absconded to Morocco with proceeds to which he was not entitled has been fined for missing multiple warning signs.


Conveyancers keep fee rises below inflation

22 February 2023

Average conveyancing fees for house purchases have increased by less than inflation over the past year, with fees for leasehold transactions rising much more quickly, according to new research.


Land Registry calls on law firms to reduce “avoidable errors”

14 February 2023

The deputy chief land registrar has called on conveyancing firms to ensure they are not making “avoidable errors” on registration applications.

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