Four key conveyancing firms are revolting!
The four suppliers of conveyancing information and services have set up a breakaway industry association.
The usually quiet world of conveyancing is changing after the four main players within the industry revealed that they have set up a new industry association.
Groundsure, Landmark, Tide (part of Anglian Water) and Searchflow have jointly established the Conveyancing Information Executive (CIE) and left the two other organisations, the Council of Property Search Organisations and The Property Codes Compliance Board.
The breakaway may sound like a storm in a teacup to many agents, but the four companies involved in setting up the executive say they believe the industry needs a new organisation as technology rapidly takes over the delivery of conveyancing in the UK.
Several government initiatives including the Land Registry’s Digital Street initiative and the ongoing digitisation of local searches, mean ‘big data’ is now a key issue within conveyancing.
Data standards
In a statement to The Negotiator, the organisations involved said: “CIE Directors share a belief that the future of property data due diligence lies in the application of technology to big data, more robust data standards, transparency and openness around data integrity and working with the wider industry to deliver the solutions of the future.”
The four go on to say that all members will adhere to the Conveyancing Information Executive Standards as its member’s regulatory guide, and will also be required to use The Property Ombudsman to deal with any consumer redress matters using Conveyancing Information Executive Standards in just the same way as they may have done historically for the Search Code.
“The CIE is currently in discussions with a number of organisations and look forward to announcing additional new members in due course,” they have said.
All four companies involved are giants within the conveyancing world. Groundsure provides environmental searches; Landmark is the key mover in land and property data; Anglian is the largest water company in the UK by coverage and Searchflow is a major online supplier of conveyancing quotes and other services.
