Moving House during Coronavirus - new contract conditions released

We're delighted to see that the Conveyancing and Property Committee of the Law Society of NI (of which our managing director Philip Armstrong is a member) has released its Coronavirus Special Conditions for house movers during the coronavirus period.

These enable flexibility in the completion process. We must stress; this is not about having an easy escape route if one party gets cold feet, it’s about the practicalities of delaying completion for 30 working days if a Covid19 “event” occurs close to the completion date. The contract remains binding in all other respects.

There are 13 different types of “Coronavirus Event”, ranging from another lockdown, to issues with access for surveys/inspections, to illness/ self-isolation/ quarantine measures being in place in respect of a party to the transaction. Our belief is a few will be used occasionally, and most- rarely.

The Conditions are NOT prescriptive and can be amended. We hope however that this does not tempt some solicitors to dispense with the more substantial provisions – by all means remove what is not applicable, but please don’t destroy the valuable benefits that the Conditions provide for all parties. We shall see.

All in all, a great effort from the LSNI, which is again showing leadership and practical guidance for its members.

We expect that the housing market in Northern Ireland will reopen soon, and as a firm, we've been working remotely through lockdown and are continuing to carry out conveyancing services for our clients. For more information, you can contact us through this page, or get a quote at https://www.armstrongsolicitors.com/get-a-quote.