And here’s the kicker: many of these issues aren’t necessarily deal-breakers, but they are risk grenades. And lenders, particularly the high-street banks, do not like risk grenades.

Take, for instance, the boom in leasehold properties. Years of government dithering over reform have left conveyancers in the firing line when a buyer realises their flat comes with a medieval style ground rent clause or a landlord who has disappeared without trace. The policy for an Absent Landlord, a niche product in Legal & Contingency’s portfolio, has gone from legal backwater to lifeline.

Legal Indemnity policies are quietly propping up the market

Of course, you’d be forgiven for thinking legal indemnities are just a solicitor’s paperwork compulsion. But in practice, they are the enablers of modern property transactions. A decent Restrictive Covenant policy can turn a no-go house with a 'no development' clause into a garden-office paradise. A Lack of Building Regulations policy is the only reason half the open-plan knock-throughs in Hackney are still mortgageable.

Let’s be clear: no one wants to rely on legal indemnities. They are, after all, a workaround for things that ideally should have been resolved properly at the time. But the real world rarely operates like a Land Registry fairy tale. More often than not, legal indemnity insurance is the only practical way to keep transactions moving and lenders funding, particularly as councils navigate a lack of funds to invest in staff and systems and consequently slow responses to local authority searches.

Legal hurdles in the race to go green

A new generation of homeowners, motivated not only by rising energy costs, but by a genuine desire to live sustainably and appeal to an increasingly climate-conscious property market, has emerged. Driven by personal values, long-term cost savings, or resale appeal, more homeowners are looking to retrofit their properties with green upgrades: solar panels, heat pumps, EV charging ports, and more.

But the legal framework governing the UK residential property market isn’t always ready to support these ambitions. Clients increasingly expect their lawyers not only to identify legacy restrictions but also to propose workable solutions. Here, indemnities serve as the bridge between sustainable homeowner ambitions and the realities of a legal system that has yet to catch up with net-zero targets. 

All manner of green home improvements need to be done with evidence of building regulation sign-off, but was that documentation ever produced; can the seller find it? A Lack of Building Regulations policy will satisfy the lender to ensure that the transaction doesn’t stall. 

Green home improvements often run up against archaic covenants, restrictions, or a lack of clarity over access and easements. Installing an EV charging port on the side of the house, or solar panels on a roof might infringe a restrictive covenant from 1923 not to make alterations. 

For conveyancers, the challenge is clear: anticipate where green improvements intersect with legal risk and deploy indemnities proactively so that sustainable progress is not stalled by outdated paperwork.

Is it a hack or is the system working?

It’s tempting to see legal indemnities as duct tape for a broken conveyancing system. But in truth, they reflect how property law adapts to the unfixable. In a perfect world, every certificate would be present and correct, every covenant transparent, and every title squeaky clean. 

Here in the UK, with an established housing stock, we carry out loft conversions and extend and alter to add value to ensure our homes meet our family needs. Homeowners give little thought of the constraints affecting the title, so conveyancers sometimes need to have crystal balls to avoid things coming back on them when things go wrong.

Legal indemnities are not a shortcut; they’re a safeguard. A mechanism for saying, “This shouldn’t stop the sale, and we have a rational way to manage the risk.” That’s not a loophole. That’s smart law.

So, the next time someone tells you they’re buying a charming Victorian terrace with “a few quirks,” just know that somewhere, a conveyancer is quietly ticking the box for chancel repair liability. And thank goodness for that.