CoPSO welcomes the Law Society guidance on Climate Change Reports
20 April 2023
Trade body's members are key distributors of Climate Change Reports.
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has welcomed the much-anticipated Law Society guidance which says that solicitors have a duty to advise on climate legal risks in transactions. However, the guidance also says that solicitors should not advise on climate change physical risks outside of their knowledge or qualification.
James Sherwood-Rogers, Chair of CoPSO said: ‘The new Law Society Guidance helps to clarify the duty of conveyancers following the opinion on the matter issued by Stephen Tromans QC which caused some controversy within the profession. Perhaps the key sentence in the guidance is that solicitors “may have to look beyond the narrow scope of instruction by a client to consider whether and to what extent climate legal risks are relevant”. As the key distribution mechanism for climate change reports, CoPSO members have a key role to play in presenting solicitors with important information to discharge this responsibility.’
All CoPSO members are required to be subscribers to the Search Code which is independently regulated by the Property Codes Compliance Board (PCCB).
James further commented, ‘The protection that the Search Code provides homebuyers and the lawyers acting for them, as well as mortgage lenders, is vitally important in providing reassurance for all parties when discharging the responsibilities that the guidance outlines.’