Three questions the Law Society Protocol consultation does not ask, and should
Summary
The article discusses the Law Society’s draft updated Conveyancing Protocol and argues that it should go further in addressing the shift from paper-based conveyancing to digitally shared property information. It highlights three consultation questions firms should raise: how verifiable property information should be structured, who can rely on shared data and on what terms, and what an AI-generated output must contain before a solicitor can approve it.
Why it matters
Residential property surveyors are increasingly part of transactions where upfront information, digital records and data reliability are central to conveyancing. The issues raised affect how survey findings, condition information and other property data may be recorded, shared and relied upon in future workflows.
Key points
- The draft Conveyancing Protocol is intended to modernise good practice for CQS-accredited firms.
- The consultation closes on 14 January and seeks focused responses rather than line-by-line comments.
- The article argues the Protocol should reflect a pre-listing, data-led transaction model rather than a paper bundle model.
- It calls for clearer rules on verifiable property information, reliance on digitally shared data, and approval of AI-generated outputs.
- The Law Society, HM Land Registry and the Digital Property Market Steering Group are all part of the wider reform direction.
This is an RPSA summary of a publicly available article. The full content remains with the original publisher.
