Society pledges better communication over conveyancing form

The Law Society has pledged to consult with conveyancing solicitors next time it makes significant changes to the TA6 property form after it was updated to support controversial National Trading Standards Guidance on ‘material information’ required for property listings.

Responding to frequently asked questions on the fifth version of the form, which was released in March and becomes mandatory for firms with Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation in June, the Society acknowledged that some members had been surprised by the number and nature of changes.

It said:

“We keep our transaction forms under regular review and update these when necessary.

“We do not usually consult with the whole conveyancing or property membership when making these updates and changes to the TA6 form.

“We followed the same process for this update.

“However, we recognise that some members have been surprised by the number and nature of changes to the TA6 form.

“We have understood from the feedback we have had that members would have preferred us to consult and be more transparent as the forms were developed.

“We agree that, on reflection, we could have communicated the nature of the changes to the TA6 form while the working group was working on the new version and sought feedback as we went through the process.

“We are grateful for this feedback and are determined to apply this learning to future significant changes to the transaction forms.”

The National Trading Standards guidance has proved controversial – with furious property lawyers belonging to the Property Lawyers Action Group telling the organisation that much of the responsibility for complying with the guidance will indirectly fall on the sellers’ shoulders.

Last month, MPs conducting a major inquiry into the home buying and selling process probed industry bodies on whether the guidance should be codified in law and were told mandating upfront information would ‘revolutionise’ the process. It remains to be seen whether the inquiry will resume after the general election.

The Society said the new TA6 form will help ensure that once the conveyancing process is underway, the information disclosed by the seller to the buyer through their solicitors matches what was disclosed by the estate agents in the marketing. A practice note on consumer protection regulations in conveyancing has also been published.

Kindly shared by The Law Society Gazette