Council for Licensed Conveyancers defers fee payments until July

The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) is supporting firms throughout the Covid-19 virus by allowing them to defer the payment of regulatory fees.

Related topics:  Finance News
Rozi Jones
8th April 2020
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"We want to ensure they can continue to operate and provide essential services to their clients in an appropriately regulated environment."

The CLC says businesses that were sound before the coronavirus restrictions came into force should emerge from this period in good shape. However it believes that the short-term economic effects of Covid-19 are likely to be particularly difficult for the conveyancing sector.

As a result, the CLC Council will give firms the option to defer payment of their Practice Fee and Compensation Fund contributions for April, May and June. Most CLC practices pay by monthly direct debit and the scheme is open to those practices.

Firms deferring their payments in this way will be given the option to repay the deferred fees over either four or 12 months, starting in July 2020.

The CLC is now writing to practices with details of how to apply. Firms will need to provide financial information supporting their application and details of actions they have taken and will be taking to support their practice.

However, the CLC points out that practices must continue paying their professional indemnity insurance premiums as the policy is triggered at the point a claim is made, rather than when the alleged negligent act was done.

Sheila Kuma, chief executive of the CLC, said: “These are difficult times for everyone and the property market, and hence conveyancing practices and their clients, have been struck very hard by the restrictions in place to control the pandemic. While this crisis will pass, it is right that we act swiftly to support the firms we regulate. We want to ensure they can continue to operate and provide essential services to their clients in an appropriately regulated environment.

“Feedback from our regulated community indicates that deferring payment of regulatory fees will be of great help to them. Thanks to our careful approach to budgeting, the CLC is in a position to do that, and our governance arrangements allow us to act quickly. Should the challenges for the sector continue past June, we will look at what further steps we can take to support CLC-regulated firms.”

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