Over the last few weeks lockdown restrictions have eased, and we are all taking our first steps towards a less restricted life, including for many the business of moving house.
The housing market is now fully up and running again, and is being boosted by the chancellor’s introduction of a stamp duty holiday for homebuyers on properties up to £500,000.
So, if you are now looking to resume moving home have you given any thought as to what it means when your conveyancer tells you they are regulated?
First and foremost consumers instructing a conveyancer should expect that the individual and business is subject to ongoing robust regulation, that the customer’s best interests are being served throughout the process and that from the outset it is clear and transparent what fees to be paid.
You should also expect your money to be held separately from the practice’s own funds and be kept safely.
Finally, in the rare chance something goes wrong, regulation means you are protected.
Clear pricing
Transparency for consumers has been a significant area of focus across the legal sector in recent years. Ensuring that consumer’s best interests are being served by providing clarity about fees and ensuring easy access to key service information to help consumers in their choice of lawyer have been two of the key areas.tra
Thanks to new rules that came into effect in December 2018, all property lawyers are now required to clearly publish price, service and quality information on their websites (or in alternative formats if requested).
This is part of an industry-wide push to empower consumers and foster innovation and competition across the legal services market. If you are going to be looking for a conveyancer, you should now expect to be able to easily find details on their website on:
- Cost information
- Service information
- Regulatory information
- Complaints process
- Details of any referral fees paid
As consumers, you are free to choose who you appoint as your conveyancer whatever any other adviser may say.
Research carried out by YouGov has shown that as many as three in five homebuyers who use a conveyancer recommended by their estate agent don’t know if their lawyer is paying a fee for this recommendation.
We are not saying it is wrong for conveyancers to pay referral fees, but transparency is key and that is why CLC lawyers have always had to inform clients about them.
However, it is important that you are aware of the payment of referral fees before you decide who to appoint. From 2019 the government has expected estate agents to be transparent about any referral fees they receive if their client follows their recommendation, a step we fully welcome.
Communicating effectively
It is also worth being aware that conveyancing firms are being actively encouraged to work in new ways to ensure they meet customer needs.
These range from relatively simple updates, such as allowing for customers to contact businesses in a way they find suitable, be it phone, email or online chat facilities through to providing opportunities for consumers to complete transactions digitally, introducing new biometric measures for online identity checks, so removing the need for slower and less secure face to face methods.
Protection
And finally, in the unlikely event that something does go wrong, using a regulated firm ensures you are protected.
In the unlikely event you feel that there is reason for a complaint about the service you have received, in the first instance it’s always best to raise it with your conveyancer.
If that doesn’t lead to a satisfactory outcome you should raise it with the firm the conveyancer practices from.
In the event that neither of those can address the complaint, if you have a complaint about the service you have received you should take it to the Legal Ombudsman and if it is about their conduct to their regulator, likely to be either the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) or the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) which can investigate breaches of professional conduct of their regulated people and practices.
If you are about to start the process of buying or selling a home you can find a CLC regulated conveyancer on their website here.
Stephen Ward is director of strategy and external relations at the Council for Licensed Conveyancers
