Solicitors have been having a field day in the property boom with conveyancing fees nicely pegged to house prices but there could be problems ahead. Not only have some of the more established firms been disturbed by the antics of young pups in the profession who have set up shop on many new housing developments offering cut-rate conveyancing, but solicitors may soon have to fall into line with new practices about to be unveiled in the UK.

In Britain, the tortuous process of buying a home will be over in days rather than months under the new rules which will provide the biggest shake up of conveyancing this century. Under the legislation to be introduced shortly, which is partly aimed at beating gazumping, buying property will become more expensive for sellers and cheaper for buyers. The onus will be on sellers to pay for a "condition report" and provide all relevant information. It will then be up to the buyer to decide whether a further survey is required. Estate agents will not be allowed to market properties unless they have checked that the seller has complied with the new rules.

One of the main aims of the measures is to cut down the conveyancing time from eight weeks to a few days, with the intention of getting rid of gazumpers who elbow out their rivals with higher bids and protract the selling process.

Busy conveyancing solicitors will undoubtedly take notice of the UK's move to simplify the whole exercise. If it works over there, change can't be too far away here either.