OBJECTIVE 01

Reducing unnecessary enquiries

One of the most persistent, but fixable, problems in residential conveyancing.

Why this matters

The number of enquiries raised in a conveyancing transaction should reflect the property and the title – not habit, not template forms and not a lack of confidence in the process.

The scale of the inconsistency is striking. A contract pack sent to one firm acting for a potential buyer prompted six additional enquiries. When that same sale aborted and the pack was sent to a different firm, 46 enquiries were raised. Same property. Same pack. Entirely different approach.

As Marc Lansdell, MD of Evolve Law, put it: “Conveyancers… is it time to take a long look in the mirror and accept we are a major part of the problem?”

Unnecessary enquiries slow transactions down, frustrate buyers and sellers, and make conveyancers look disjointed. Many are duplicates of questions already answered in the TA6, TA7 or TA13. Others ask for documents available publicly online. If the CQS protocol is being adhered to, some simply shouldn’t be raised at all.

This is one of the first issues the Conveyancing Improvement Collective is tackling — and we’re not starting from scratch.

Meet GRACE

Guidance for Raising Appropriate Conveyancing Enquiries

GRACE is a practitioner-led guidance document created by Vicki Redman of Swiitch, designed to help conveyancers identify which enquiries are appropriate — and which should be avoided.

Now in its second edition, GRACE sets out two categories of enquiry:

• Category A — enquiries that are inappropriate for most standard residential transactions, including those already covered by protocol forms or standard conditions of sale
• Category B — enquiries that can be avoided on most standard transactions, where a specific reason to raise them does not exist

The guidance includes real examples of problematic enquiries, explanations of why they should be avoided, and a practical flowchart to help conveyancers decide whether an enquiry is legitimate before raising it.

It is provided for conveyancers, by conveyancers – and that is exactly the spirit of CiC.

Share your experience

Have you received enquiries that made you stop and think “Really, is this necessary?”. Have you found ways to push back professionally? Do you have examples of enquiries that wasted time, caused delays or simply duplicated what was already in the paperwork?

The collective wants to hear from you. Your real-world experience is exactly what will shape our work on this objective, whether that’s examples of the worst offenders, suggestions for how guidance could be clearer, or thoughts on what needs to change at a wider level.

All submissions are read by the collective. Nothing is published without your permission.