Residential Property Law and Conveyancing Update 2025

KEY SUBJECTS

• TOPICAL PROPERTY ISSUES
• SHARING IS SCARING: THE COMPLICATED WORLD OF JOINT OWNERSHIP LAW!
• LAND REGISTRATION ISSUES FOR RESIDENTIAL CONVEYANCERS
• DEFINING THE RETAINER
• DEVELOPMENTS IN RESIDENTIAL LEASEHOLD CONVEYANCING
• ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE RISKS – WHAT CAN CONVEYANCERS EXPECT FROM 2025?

SPEAKERS

David Keighley, Solicitor, Legal Lecturer and Trainer

Paul Sams, Managing Partner, Dutton Gregory

Ian Quayle, Chief Executive, IQ Legal Training

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

09.30am CHAIRMAN’S INTRODUCTION

TOPICAL PROPERTY ISSUES

This session will examine recent case law, practice guides and related developments. To ensure the content is both topical and relevant the issues to be covered will be determined nearer the time but are likely to include:

• Land Registry Practice Guide updates
• UKFML Handbook changes
• Law Society Consultations
• Leasehold Reform proposals
• A review of recent case law
• Practice points

David Keighley, Solicitor, Legal Lecturer and Trainer

SHARING IS SCARING: THE COMPLICATED WORLD OF JOINT OWNERSHIP LAW!

Joint ownership adds far more than “double the potential trouble” when a couple (or more) people buy a property. There are so many consideration to take into account. This session will consider:

• What actually is joint ownership?
• What are the risks?
• Declarations of Trust – how can they be used to mitigate risk
• Undue influence – examples of the same and recent case law to show how it can go wrong
• Severance – how to severe a joint tenancy as well as example cases where it is questionable as to whether it was severed or not

Paul Sams, Managing Partner, Dutton Gregory

LAND REGISTRATION ISSUES FOR RESIDENTIAL CONVEYANCERS

• Dealing with agreed and unilateral notices on registered titles
• Tips and traps when dealing with restrictions
• Boundary issues in residential transactions
• Recent developments and adverse possession 

Ian Quayle, Chief Executive, IQ Legal Training

DEFINING THE RETAINER

Residential conveyancing practitioners face ever increasing demands. It seems to be expected that we be experts in, and be able to advise on, all aspects of a wide range of issues such as planning, building regulations, knotweed, bamboo, contaminated land, SDLT, CGT, building safety and climate change. It is implicit in a solicitor’s retainer that advice will be given which is reasonably incidental to the work being undertaken but how far does that extend and how if at all can you limit your responsibility? This session will look at:

• SRA & Statutory Requirements
• Liability in contract & Tort
• Limiting Liability
• The importance of defining what you will do

David Keighley, Solicitor, Legal Lecturer and Trainer

DEVELOPMENTS IN RESIDENTIAL LEASEHOLD CONVEYANCING

The Building Safety Act 2022 

• Is it safe to act for sellers and buyers?
• The impact of the BSA on professional indemnity Insurance
• Identifying the status of buildings
• Dealing with documentation – the leaseholder deed of certificate and the landlord certificate
• Acting for lenders – things to look out for
• Lessons from recent case law

Dealing with Service Charge Issues in Residential Leasehold Transactions 

• Back to basics – what does the lease say?
• What can be recovered?   Expenses, legal costs, the reasonableness test, compliance with the LTA 1985
• The obligation to consult
• Decisions of the FTT – important issues for residential conveyancers, sweeper clauses, legal costs and apportionment
• Best practice for conveyancers – dealing with service charge accounts, applications to FTT, and advising clients

Ian Quayle, Chief Executive, IQ Legal Training

ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE RISKS – WHAT CAN CONVEYANCERS EXPECT FROM 2025?

Groundsure and Paul Sams will be taking a closer look at environmental and climate risks, how to best advise clients, and how to apply the new (soon to be released) sector-specific climate guidance by The Law Society.

This session will cover:

• How the guidance came into existence
• What the guidance actually says
• What our duties are under the guidance as lawyers
• What you can do to protect your clients

Paul Sams, Managing Partner, Dutton Gregory

Danielle Orosa, Groundsure

5.00pm CLOSE OF PROCEEDINGS