Government to fund group to provide leasehold transparency (EAT)
Housing minister Gavin Barwell says the government will provide “substantial investment” to ensure more transparency in leasehold tenure.
Bank fined £163m for money laundering failings (LSG)
The Financial Conduct Authority has fined Deutsche Bank AG more than £160 million for failing to maintain an adequate anti-money laundering framework.
Regulator’s ‘transparency’ proposals could mislead clients
Providing raw regulatory data on solicitor firms could mislead clients and undermine their ability to exercise informed choice, the Law Society said today, responding to Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) proposals.
Agents warned after rise in cases involving identity theft in property sales (PIE)
Agents are being warned to be on their guard as property fraud involving identity thefts of sellers grows, with a case due to go to the Court of Appeal this […]
Housing association chief takes reins temporarily at the Law Society (LF)
A non-lawyer housing specialist has been named interim chief executive of the Law Society ahead of Catherine Dixon’s departure tomorrow.
Retiring solicitor ‘grossly negligent’ to allow property fraud (LSG)
A sole practitioner looking for a way out of his firm has been suspended after employing people without background checks who turned out to be criminals.
Law Society appoints interim chief executive (LSG)
Paul Tennant OBE, who recently stepped down as chief executive of the housing association Orbit after 14 years in the role, will join the Society next Monday. Tennant has spent […]
Boost for sole practitioners as HSBC raises conveyancing threshold (LSG)
HSBC has announced that it will increase the loan threshold imposed on sole practitioners registered under the Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme from £150,000 to £350,000.
US firm plans to take UK by storm with 5,000 agents in five years (EAT)
The Keller Williams franchise agency, one of the largest in the world, is relaunching in the UK on Wednesday with the aim of bring US-levels of realtor service to sellers.
Conveyancers could be first to publish prices (TC)
Crispin Passmore of the SRA has stated that conveyancing may be one of the first legal areas to be subject to the new conditions.
Mishcon’s £1m ID fraud bill sounds alarm bells (LSG)
Conveyancing solicitors have been put on high alert by a judgment ordering a firm that fell victim to identity fraud to pay more than £1m.
Chaos behind the scenes as white paper on housing gets rewritten (PIE)
The Government’s long-awaited white paper on housing has been put back yet again, amid speculation of disagreement among ministers and fears of a backlash.