This article promotes a free webinar for conveyancers on planning risk, focusing on the limitations of standard planning searches and the need for stronger due diligence. It highlights SHELAA land, evolving planning policy, and the potential professional negligence exposure arising from missed planning issues.
A lettings agent has been jailed after using landlords’ properties to facilitate a large-scale cannabis cultivation and fraud operation. The case involved false tenancy agreements, specialist hydroponic equipment, electricity meter bypassing and fire risks across properties in Luton and Milton Keynes.
The article reports on a Surrey landlord who says she was unable to regain possession of her home for an extended period after a tenant refused to leave, leaving her without rent for 10 months and forcing her to live with friends, family and then in a camper van. The property was eventually recovered with the help of bailiffs, and the case is presented alongside comments from MHCLG about possession grounds under the Renters Rights Act.
The article discusses a podcast featuring former footballer Neil Heaney, who became a campaigner and law firm owner after being caught up in a property investment fraud in Spain. It highlights the risks of overseas property transactions, the importance of due diligence, and the role of specialist legal support before and after problems arise.
An estate agency owner has been jailed for eight years and four months after using his business to help facilitate a large cannabis-growing operation involving 19 factories. The case also involved related fraudulent activity and resulted in his disqualification from acting as a company director.
An analysis by The Letting Partnership indicates that 8,553 homes are currently being marketed for sale with tenants in situ across England, representing 1.8% of available sales stock. The article highlights regional variation and notes that transactions involving tenanted properties require careful handling of deposits, rent ledgers and client money records to ensure a clean handover.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has fined sole practitioner Bryn Roberts £20,148 after finding repeated breaches of regulatory obligations over several years, including failures in client care, complaints handling and client account management. The investigation identified a client account shortage, missing reconciliations and other issues that the SRA said created a risk of significant harm to clients.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has struck two solicitors off the roll and ordered them to pay combined costs of £89,000 after finding serious misconduct in conveyancing-related matters. The cases involved breaches of client account rules, misuse of client money, and conduct that caused significant financial harm to clients and to the profession’s compensation arrangements.
Street.co.uk has added the government’s official Form 4A into its rent review workflow, allowing letting agents to generate, sign and serve rent increase notices within the platform. The update is designed to reduce manual administration and support a more consistent compliance process for periodic tenancy rent increases under the Renters’ Rights Act.
The Legal Services Board has escalated enforcement action against the Solicitors Regulation Authority, citing ongoing concerns about leadership, accountability and the regulator’s ability to respond quickly to risks affecting consumers and client money. The move follows further independent reviews linked to the collapses of PM Law Group and earlier failures at Axiom Ince and SSB Group, which together involved substantial losses of client funds.
New research cited by LexisNexis suggests AI use is now widespread across the legal profession, with most lawyers using it regularly and a minority relying on it heavily. The report also highlights persistent concerns around accuracy, fabricated outputs, confidentiality and over-reliance, alongside growing expectations that AI tools should be grounded in authoritative legal sources.
The High Court has dismissed part of Svella Connect’s claim against Virgin Media, finding that the fibre network framework agreements did not create an implied duty of good faith or guarantee any minimum volume of work. The court held that Virgin Media was entitled to seek competing bids and allocate work as the contracts expressly allowed, although separate claims relating to a later exit and settlement agreement remain ongoing.
