tm blog

When the charge for single-use plastic carrier bags was introduced in England on 5th October 2015, Tesco reported a 78% drop in number of single-use carrier bags taken from its stores in England in the first month.

According to a panel of environmental experts, if the government are to meet their targets for Sustainable Planning and Development, a similar initiative could be the key to addressing some of the barriers.

This suggestion was put forward at a Sustainable Planning and Development roundtable event we hosted; featuring a range of guest speakers including:
• Stephen Sykes, UKELA Chairman & Sykes Environmental LLP
• Jon Lovell, Founding Director of Hillbreak
• Chris Taylor, Product Development Director at GeoSmart

It is hard to penalise a developer if an issue arises after they’ve finished a site

As it currently stands, issuing penalties for failings around Sustainable Planning and Development is a challenge, especially as once a developer has built something, they leave the site and it is hard to put them “on the hook”.

Further issues include over-complicated laws and regulations, which make it challenging for even large businesses with extensive legal resources to make sense of and adhere to, as well as difficulty in receiving planning permission.

Passing the cost onto the consumer could be key in driving real change

Given the additional cost of implementing some of these initiatives, and with minimal risk of incurring a fine, it is no surprise that many developers are choosing to overlook Sustainable Planning and Development methods. 

One possible solution however is to pass the cost onto the consumer, in a similar way to charging for single-use plastic carrier bags. Internalising the cost of the impact like this could help to bring the issue into the demand phase of house building – as oppose to outsourcing the negative impact onto others.

In essence, if consumers are faced with higher living costs for living on non-sustainable developments, then demand for sustainable buildings could go up; and investors would be far more likely to adhere to regulations.

Coupled with tax breaks for developers for using environmentally friendly technologies, this could result in a win-win situation and mark a positive step forward for Sustainable Development.

A number of sustainable solutions are already available

There is no doubt that enforcing Sustainable Planning and Development is a complicated issue to address, but steps must be taken if we are to reduce the impact of flooding and land contamination, as well as ensure that our planet’s resources are available for future generations.

The good news is that conversations about various initiatives are already taking place, and a number of solutions are on the market to help support Sustainable Planning and Development.

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) for example, replicate the natural drainage from the site before development and reduce run-off and flood risk through detention basins, permeable pavement, and water butts.

Since April 2015, SuDS have been a requirement for major developments in all cases unless demonstrated to be ‘inappropriate’; meaning that a high level SuDS feasibility report is necessary for property professionals at the initial master planning stage to identify drainage options and risks.

Such reports are now available for conveyancing solicitors to order. For example, GeoSmart’s SuDS feasibility report, is currently available as a first-to-market product for users of tmconvey.

The number of bogus law firms reported to the SRA over the past few years has increased exponentially.

So much so, in fact, that the SRA saw fit to reserve special mention for the problem in their recent update to the risk outlook 2014 - and yet, many law firms remain blind to it.

Property remains by far and away the work type that attracts the most claims against solicitors. Over the last few years, property claims represent around 40% of all claims, although this peaked at 60% in 2010.

Due to the high level of claims, it is no surprise then that underwriters rate both residential and commercial conveyancing as the highest-rated work that a law firm undertakes.

Accreditation such Lexcel and CQS will be viewed positively, but the single biggest factor is that risk management cannot just a tick-box exercise; it has to be engrained within the culture of the firm.

Strong case management processes and procedures, case supervision and checklists are all important and, with PII renewal on the horizon, it may be timely to let underwriters know how you manage various risks in the conveyancing process.

There are many ways to help reduce the level of risk associated with conveyancing transactions, here's five of them:

Outcome Focused Regulation or OFR has now been with us since October 2011 and over the last three years law firms have adapted to and now operate effectively within the guidance of the new regime.

Here at TM we want to ensure our services match the high levels of practice expected since the introduction of Outcome Focused Regulation and so we have also been adapting and looking at how we develop our services to you.

Below are some of the issues and risk questions raised by Outcome Focused Regulation and how TM can help manage them.

We are pleased to announce the schedule for our Educational Programme for Jan – June 2014.

Featuring a mixture of regional live events and online webinars, we will be bringing together key partners from within the industry to deliver knowledge-packed CPD sessions.

Lockton Companies have joined forces with TM Group to present

Property Law; a risky business

Thursday 13th February 2014

Bristol Zoo, Clifton, Bristol BS8 3HA
 

Residential and commercial conveyancing accounts for more claims than any other work-type.

Residential and commercial conveyancing work undertaken by solicitors accounts for more claims against the profession, by number and value, than any other work-type.

This is not some statistical bias arising from the sheer volume of property transactions. Claims consistently account for a higher percentage of fees earned than any other practice area, by a significant margin. Lockton’s Work-type risk profile chart – which is compiled using data from a range of solicitor PI insurers – consistently places Commercial Property and Residential Property work as the two highest risk areas of practice.