"As always, the industry works best when it works collaboratively, and this new sector-specific guidance is the result of a number of industry bodies and organisations pooling their expertise and resources."
The collaborative sector guide sets out how the legal aspects of home moving can take place while complying with social distancing measures and Public Health guidance.
The sector-specific guide for conveyancers follows the earlier release of a cross-industry guide on reopening the market safely.
The guide aims to provide conveyancers with information to enable sales and purchases to be carried out while maintaining safety as test and trace is introduced and social distancing measures are eased or increased in line with Government guidance.
The guidance is applicable to both England & Wales, however the regulations and guidance relating to the reopening of the market, issued by the UK Government, apply only in England. It applies to owner-occupied homes and second-hand homes, but not new-build.
The Guide addresses considerations for electronic and wet ink signatures, ‘Mercury’ style execution, ID verification, witnessing and simultaneous exchange and completion, while adhering to social distancing requirements.
It also covers meeting with clients, dealing with lenders, exchanging contracts, agreeing completion dates, and executing documents.
The Guide can be downloaded from the CA website by visiting: www.conveyancingassociation.org.uk.
Paul Smee, chair of the Conveyancing Association, commented: “As always, the industry works best when it works collaboratively, and this new sector-specific guidance is the result of a number of industry bodies and organisations pooling their expertise and resources. We’re all acutely aware that this new post-Covid-19 environment presents a number of challenges for conveyancing firms in terms of their ability to progress cases, and we wanted to ensure our members had information which they could follow not just to do this but also to proceed in a safe manner. We believe this Guide does exactly that and we are urging all conveyancing firms to make full use of it.”
Simon Davis, president of the Law Society, said: “It is important that conveyancers work together to ensure that home moves can take place safely and that buyers and sellers can understand how the new process is different. It will be important for conveyancers and buyers and sellers to remain flexible as the position may change suddenly. Local lockdowns might be imposed that might affect some transactions. This sector-specific guidance will help conveyancing solicitors to get the market back on its feet safely, securely and as expediently as is possible.”
