Time and time again, the workloads of and expectations on conveyancers can feel insurmountable and near impossible to manage. Such was the case during the post-Covid stamp duty holiday where there was a huge surge in demand for sale and purchase transactions as buyers rushed to take advantage of the tax break. We saw it again when lenders had to pull rates, sometimes within 24 hours, in response to the chaos of the 2023 Mini Budget, causing widespread stress and mental health issues for conveyancers as they tried to get transactions over the line as quickly as possible for borrowers.
The effects of these periods of intense activity are compounded by the fact that the day-to-day demands of the job keep conveyancers well-over capacity already. This situation inevitably impacts on how they prioritise their caseload, especially if the infrastructure and technology in place behind the scenes is not fit for purpose.
It is not a huge surprise in this context that the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) recently announced its concern that as the result of such pressure, post-completion work is either delayed or rushed without thorough checks and at times overlooked completely. An increased number of requisitions evidenced from HM Land Registry (HMLR) data in some practices has given them cause for this concern.
A delay in this process leaves all parties vulnerable. The buyer’s title has not been perfected, leaving them exposed. The lender too has no registered security for their legal charge and the conveyancers themselves are at risk of a claim. It is becoming a growing concern for the CLC as these failures are sometimes only identified years later, causing significant risk, stress and delays to consumers and other interested parties. The CLC have added post completion to their risk agenda as a result.
However, we cannot place all the blame at the conveyancers’ door. They are being pulled in all directions, creating a high-stress working environment, all while there is a dearth of practitioners. This pressure often leads to a focus on the start of the transaction up to exchange and completion when the conveyancer is front and centre and is continuously chased by all stakeholders, including the consumer, estate agent, mortgage broker or indeed other conveyancers. Once completion takes place, the immediate pressure for that transaction relieves. However, there is always another case waiting in the background to take its place.
It is understandable to fall into the trap of prioritising pre-completion activity but with so much at stake, something needs to change to ensure successful, accurate and timely post-completion process.
Post-completion work is, or should, be a clear step of simple application which, although crucial, merely reflects the work that the conveyancer has done to provide a clean, accurate title quickly following completion and lodgement with HMLR. To do this in a swift way which brings peace of mind to all, the title needs to be authenticated during the transaction, not after.
Ensuring that settlement of funds and successful lodgement at HMLR happen simultaneously offers a solution to all. Conveyancers can continue to spend time on pre-transaction specialist work that requires their expertise, all while vastly reducing admin and operational overheads as well as the risks for consumers and lenders. This technology exists now in the form of PEXA Pay, the seventh net settlement payment system to clear through the Bank of England, designed especially for the property transaction process. PEXA Pay, along with the PEXA Platform for transaction orchestration and lodgement, will be a complete game changer for conveyancers in tackling the latest concern from the CLC.
Licensed conveyancers are dedicated and hardworking professionals who look to provide the best service to their clients despite stressful circumstances. A solution to the post-completion conundrum could finally relieve some of those risk factors that often keep the compliance officers up at night. With increasing scrutiny from both the SRA and CLC, maybe now is the time to take action.
