End-to-end e-conveyancing is here, supplier claims

A decade-old dream of fully electronic conveyancing may have become reality if an announcement today lives up to a property data company's claims. The company, Search Acumen, unveiled technology which it says enables lawyers to manage the entire residential conveyancing process through a central dashboard.

The platform provides a single interface that automatically combines and distils data from different sources to streamline key stages of process. These include managing client onboarding, local authority searches, engagement with HM Land Registry, title reports, indemnity issues, bank checks and post completion filings including AP1 forms and Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) submissions, the company said. It digitises the AP1 submission process in line with HM Land Registry's plan to make digital applications compulsory from November. 

Any user at a conveyancing firm can communicate directly with the nominated Land Registry case worker, reducing the risk of delays, the company claimed. It estimated that up to five hours could be saved per transaction. 

Andrew Lloyd, managing director, said: 'Our residential platform will continue our track record of abolishing antiquated ways of working and empowering legal professionals to have greater control over transaction processes. It provides a single intuitive portal for the project management of residential sales and purchases and will play a crucial role in digitising key processes, most pressingly AP1 submissions ahead of November’s deadline.'

Several commercial companies have been working on integrated digital conveyancing systems following the collapse of HM Land Registry's in-house attempt in 2007 and the Veyo project supported by the Law Society. Immediately before Christmas, the Competition & Markets Authority announced an investigation into the acquisition of searches company TM Goup by Toronto-based Durham & Dye.