The Land Registry is to open up its data on conveyancers, to show how well – or otherwise – they are performing.
It is looking to publish information on the 500 that send the Land Registry the most applications to register ownership of land and property in England and Wales.
It says this is part of its aim “to make conveyancing simpler, faster and cheaper for everyone”.
The Land Registry says that every day, it has to send over 5,000 requests for more information before it can complete applications.
It is now planning to publish information on the 500 biggest conveyancers, showing the percentage of their applications needing further work before they can be processed; plus a chart tracking data for the top 50, based on the volume of applications.
The Land Registry says that there will always be occasions when further information is needed but that the volume is currently too high.
The Competitions and Market Authority recently said that there is not enough information available on price, quality and service to help the public choose legal firms.
Comments (1)
Great way to start 2018 with a focus, [finally] on data, being the driving force behind exposing the fundamental flaws in the conveyancing process.
Whilst requisitions are mostly hidden from consumers, this data does give an indication to the efficiency of an organisation when it comes to registering properties.
However, it does not impact the speed of transactions, which, as we all know by now, is the real problem that needs to be dealt with this year.
The key data is time it takes to get deals through – we wonder whether the companies that will be named and shamed on this list are also the culprits when it comes to slow transaction times. Sadly, this information cannot be obtained from Land Registry.
It’ll be interesting to see how many of your reader’s favourite panel-managed law firms are on this list, won’t it.
Peter