In its 2024 Risk Agenda, the regulator said some work was not being done “properly and promptly”. 

It warned that some conveyancers could “fall into the trap” of not finishing off a transaction after it has completed, and they have taken their fee. 

The CLC’s annual publication included a list of the biggest risks faced by the regulator’s regulated community that have been uncovered during its monitoring and inspection work throughout the year. 

Its Risk Agenda report also included anti-money laundering (AML), sanctions, conflicts of interest, the Accounts Code and complaints handling. 

The CLC added post-completion to the Risk Agenda this year, saying it had become a “growing concern” as some failures were only spotted years later after causing “significant risk, stress and delays to consumers and other interested parties”. 

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Post-completion treated as an ‘afterthought’ 

The regulator said although there were delays from HM Land Registry, these were made worse by “slow or sloppy” title change applications from conveyancers. 

The Risk Agenda stated: “The data that the CLC receives from HM Land Registry on requisition rates gives cause for concern that some practices are not taking their responsibility seriously or are using HM Land Registry to check their work rather than making an effort to ensure that it is accurate to begin with.

“Some seem to treat post-completion matters as an afterthought, as it is undertaken after they collect their fee. The reality is that clients have been charged for this work and there is an obligation to perform it promptly and with diligence. Taking the fee and not completing the work is a breach of the Accounts Code and demonstrates a lack of integrity.” 

The CLC said a lack of post-completion processes could be adding to a problem that was first identified last year, relating to failures to comply with undertakings. The regulator has published a new Advisory Note on this. 

Its report said: “While we understand that sometimes an individual breach is due to the action/inaction of a third party – such as a lender or management company – the CLC is increasing its activity on this issue and tracking practices where we are seeing repeated or systemic breaches. 

“Problems can emerge from practices not having proper processes in place post-completion or even to provide undertakings in the first place.” 

 

A review of the conveyancer Complaints Code 

The CLC said it would review the Complaints Code this year in light of new guidance from the Legal Services Board, and probe into complaints handling to focus on firms responsible for a “disproportionate number” of referrals to the Legal Ombudsman (LeO). 

Last year, complaints handling accounted for around £1m of the CLC’s overall budget of £3.65m, despite six out of 10 firms not accounting for complaints to the LeO. 

Sheila Kumar, chief executive of the CLC, said: “The good news for consumers is that licensed conveyancers are dedicated professionals who our monitoring shows provide excellent services under often stressful circumstances.

“But trip wires abound in the modern legal landscape and the Risk Agenda is part of our work to ensure the lawyers the CLC regulates [do] not fall over them.”