Firms lay down foundations for on-line standard commercial property documents

TENANCIES: team of 20 departments aims to speed up freehold and leasehold transactions

Some 20 property law departments are celebrating this week after months of work aimed at developing a set of commercial property standard enquiries came to fruition.

The London Property Support Lawyers Group (LPSLG) - whose members come from large law firms across the country - worked with the British Property Foundation (BPF) to devise the on-line standard documents in a bid to increase the speed and efficiency of commercial property transactions.

The firms first started work on the project last year, and the documents can now be accessed free of charge at www.practicallaw.com.

They cover general enquiries for freehold and leasehold transactions, along with supplemental enquiries on the grant or assignment of a lease and for property subject to commercial tenancies.

The service means that sellers will deal with the same enquiries in each transaction, cutting down on 'obscure' or confusing queries.

It will also enable sellers to get their properties ready for sale even before a buyer has been found by preparing information packages in advance, while buyers will benefit from receiving information in one chunk.

The enquiries are also geared towards preventing important issues from being overlooked and acting as a basic form of quality control.

Peter Williams, property support lawyer at City firm Eversheds and a member of the LPSLG, said it was now hoped that the enquiries would be used in the majority of commercial transactions within a few months.

'In particular, we hope that sellers will take the opportunity to prepare responses to the standard enquiries while the property is still being marketed, which will speed up commercial conveyancing transactions considerably,' he added.

Ian Fletcher, BPF commercial and residential director, said: 'The property industry really appreciates the considerable hard work that has gone into the enquiries from lawyers and their support staff.

Standardisation of the enquiries should improve the speed and efficiency of deals, and to work towards that aim enhances the legal profession's reputation for being client-focused.'

Paula Rohan