Conveyancers are shouldering an ever-increasing weight of responsibilities but remain hesitant about increasing their fees, the annual market roundtable hosted by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) has heard.
Participants – drawn from across the conveyancing world – also discussed how understanding where data comes from is critical to the push for upfront information as a way to speed up the process.
In debating poor communication between lawyers and clients, the roundtable recognised that clients do not really understand the conveyancing process, which has held back moves to increase fees.
Peter Rodd, the residential conveyancing representative on the Law Society council, argued that prices have become even more distorted as more responsibilities are loaded onto conveyancers.
“We now have the question of climate. To what extent is the conveyancer going to be responsible to their clients for advising on those issues and the possibility of flooding? There was a suggestion a few years ago that we should tell people about the cleanliness of the air in their area. None of that is legal, but it is all getting pushed towards the conveyancer, because, at the end of the day, the conveyancer is the one who is insured and takes responsibility.”
This in turn extends transactions, because the case law is clear that conveyancers cannot just supply the information to the client – they have to explain its significance too, Rodd added.
Rob Gurney, a former licensed conveyancer and current managing director of Ochresoft – part of Landmark Information Group – said Landmark estimated that conveyancers’ responsibilities have doubled in the last 15 to 20 years, while at the same time modern consumers expect far greater speed. “The expectation of the consumer is impossible to meet, whereas, 15 to 20 years ago, we could meet it.”
Many conveyancers are said to be itching to increase their prices but remain worried about the impact. Again, they need to explain what they do and ensure the communication is clear. “Be brave and charge for the work that you do,” said Paul Bennett, a law firm adviser at Bennett Briegal. Those who have increased fees by relatively modest amounts initially “have gone on to raise those fees again and again over the coming years”.
CLC strategy director Stephen Ward said it was “the value proposition that has been under priced”. He explained: “Lawyers have found it very difficult to describe to their clients the value of what they do. You can list out the prices, but what is the value? It is the confidence that you own the place that you think you own, and that you understand everything about it that is relevant to you so that you can use and enjoy that property as intended.”
Much of this led back to perhaps the hottest topic in conveyancing right now – upfront information. Beth Rudolf, who is part of the upfront information working group of the cross-industry Home Buying and Selling Group, said: “All the bits are there, but the problem is that we have no mandation – yet.”
For Mike Harlow, deputy chief executive of HM Land Registry, the core challenge was digitising the data and ensuring it could flow through into everybody’s systems. Change would then flow from the availability of digital data and the tools to make efficient use of it, without mandation. But others said lawyers needed reassurance that they could trust such data.
Other issues discussed included the impact of a slowdown in work, recruitment issues in conveyancing, and Land Registry delays.
CLC chief executive Sheila Kumar said: “We have been on the precipice of significant change in the property market for a long time now and some are frustrated that we are still only looking over the edge. But we are getting closer and it was striking how most of those round the table now largely agree on what needs to be done.
“The CLC is part of the Digital Property Market Steering Group that brings together regulators and representative bodies of conveyancers, estate agents, lenders and valuers to drive the transformation of home buying and selling. We are committed to playing our part and ensuring that conveyancers can deliver simpler, faster, more secure and more certain property transactions that maintain the high standards of consumer protection that we are known for.”
