Repeated failure to check deeds could land conveyancers in regulatory hot water, HM Land Registry has warned.

In the week HM Revenue & Customs’ tax adviser registration requirement came into force, capturing conveyancers involved in stamp duty land tax returns, Land Registry outlined the circumstances when conveyancers will be referred to the regulator.

Assistant registrar Serene Rollins said the vast majority of applications were submitted correctly but Land Registry occasionally received applications that raised serious concerns, such as dishonesty.

‘Referring to regulators is about addressing those concerns that could compromise data integrity or public confidence in the profession. It is not about honest mistakes or avoidable requisitions,’ Rollins said.

Conveyancers could be referred to the Solicitors Regulation Authority or Council for Licensed Conveyancers if they manipulate or re-use signatures or wrongly hold themselves out to be a regulated legal professional. Conveyancers might also be referred over ‘repeated competence concerns’, such as failing to check deeds before submission, or ‘repeated systematic concerns’, such as repeatedly losing deeds.

Conveyancing

Repeated failure to check deeds could land practitioners in regulatory hot water

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Rollins stressed that Land Registry would first engage with the conveyancer to understand what had gone wrong and see if the issue could be resolved, though some issues may require an immediate referral, such as dishonesty that amounted to fraud.

Conveyancers now have HMRC as well as Land Registry to contend with, after HMRC's tax adviser registration requirement came into force this week.

Conveyancers who complete and submit stamp duty land tax returns on behalf of clients must register as a tax adviser. Should an unregistered conveyancer ‘interact’ with HMRC, it will be deemed a ‘prohibited interaction’. The firm would be issued with a formal compliance notice, banning them from interacting with HMRC on behalf of clients until they are registered. Further interactions would result in financial penalties of up to £10,000.

 

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