Professor Andrew Steven to co-chair Scottish Government conveyancing review

Andrew Steven, Professor of Property Law, has been appointed co-chair of a new Scottish Government working group reviewing Scotland’s conveyancing system. He will lead the Conveyancing Review Working Group alongside Jill Andrew, a partner at Edinburgh law firm Murray Beith Murray.

The group brings together representatives from across the legal, property and academic sectors to examine issues affecting the buying and selling of homes. It will consider evidence from across the sector, including the late conclusion of missives and increasingly long property chains, and the challenges in the current system that can create uncertainty and rising costs. The aim is to recommend a quicker and more efficient system that benefits both buyers and sellers. The group is due to report by late 2027.

Kirsten Oswald, community safety minister, said: “A well-functioning conveyancing system is a vital part of Scotland’s civil law framework, and one that touches the lives of thousands of people every year.

“I’d like to welcome Jill Andrew and Professor Andrew Steven as joint chairs, along with all the members of the group, and I look forward to seeing their recommendations for a conveyancing system that works better for everyone involved.”

Professor Steven holds the Chair of Property Law. From 2011 to 2019 he was a Commissioner at the Scottish Law Commission, responsible for property law reform, where he led projects on standard securities, title conditions and moveable transactions.

He was a member of the Scottish Parliament working group on tenement maintenance, which reported in 2019, and since 2020 he has been a trustee of the tenement charity Under One Roof. He also co-writes an annual volume on conveyancing.

Ms Andrew is chair of the Edinburgh Conveyancing Forum and a longstanding tutor on the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice conveyancing course in the Law School.