Insight

Law Society’s Practice note on climate change

Published

30 July 2025

Read time

5 minutes

Climate change is no longer a theoretical risk in conveyancing - it’s a tangible, material issue.

Today’s conveyancers must navigate a landscape where physical risks (like flooding), transition risks (regulatory change and environmental standards), and liability risks (professional negligence for failure to advise) converge.

The Law Society (the representative body for solicitors in England & Wales) has responded to these challenges with layered guidance, culminating in it issuing its Practice note on climate change and property on 12 May 2025 (which has already been updated to include a link to a supplementary technical note on physical climate change risk – the current version at the time of writing is dated 6 June 2025).  

Historical development of the Law Society’s guidance on climate change

Climate change resolution (October 2021)

On 28 October 2021, the Law Society passed a resolution committing to support solicitors in addressing climate issues. It aimed to embed climate considerations in legal practice, emphasise responsibilities towards clients, and uphold the rule of law – even in eco‑sensitive matters.

Impact of Climate Change on Solicitors (April 19, 2023)

On 19 April 2023, the Law Society published its first general guidance document: "The Impact of climate change on solicitors". This guidance note is in two parts, Part A and Part B.

Part A is titled “Understanding and reducing your client’s and your organisation’s climate impact” and sets out guidance for firms on how they can manage their business in a manner which is consistent with a transition to net zero carbon emissions. It addresses issues such as:

i.physically reducing the amount of carbon emissions firms produce;
ii.how to assist clients who wish to reduce their own carbon emissions;
iii.how to avoid being accused of “greenwashing”;
iv.how to communicate your commitment to net zero; and
v.issues for firms to consider as employers.

Part B (titled “Climate change risks”) provides guidance for firms on:

i.how climate change physical and legal risks may be relevant to advice provided to clients;
ii.issues which may be relevant when considering the interplay of legal advice, climate change and solicitors’ professional duties; and
iii.       issues which may be relevant when considering the solicitor-client relationship in the context of climate change.

The guidance firmly signalled that climate legal risks are now an unavoidable component of mainstream legal practice. That said, it expressly notes that, whilst the SRA supports the guidance note, it should not be interpreted as the SRA’s regulatory position on climate issues. However, it remains an important piece of guidance for conveyancers.

The PDF version of the guidance note (which is available here) contains three annexes.

Annex 1 (Categorisation of climate risks), sets out a number of examples of three types of risk identified (physical risks, transition risks and liability risks), as well as potential impacts on solicitors’ legal practice and potential climate legal risks created and impacts on client advice for each of the three risk types.

Annex 2 (Examples of climate-related legal risks for specific practice areas) does as the title suggests and provides examples of potential risk areas across the following areas of law firm practice:

  • corporate governance and risk management;
  • corporate reporting and due diligence directive disclosure obligations;
  • disputes / potential challenges;
  • real estate / asset based transactions;
  • commercial contracts and agreements; and
  • human rights / social governance issues.

Finally, Annex 3 (Checklist for climate-conscious legal practice) is a fairly lengthy checklist for firms to use in order to assist them implement the guidance contained in the practice note. It is split into three sections:

  • issues for advice;
  • issues for retainer; and
  • suggested questions for specific specialisms (commercial, real estate and M&A).

Each question in the checklist refers to the relevant section in the guidance, which is helpful.

Feedback and demand for sector‑specific guidance

Following the issuing of the April 2023 guidance by the Law Society, the SRA-regulated legal profession voiced a clear need for clarification of it; particularly those lawyers specialising in conveyancing. There was a general feeling of uncertainty around applying climate considerations in conveyancing transactions; particular concerns included issues relating to flood risk, energy compliance, and changing legislation. As a result, the profession called out for dedicated, practical support from its representative body.

Consultation and roundtables (September 2024 – February 2025)

Responding to this demand, the Law Society launched a consultation in September 2024 involving property practitioners, local law societies, and industry bodies. Notable results from this consultation were that:

  • 67% of participants felt uncertain in about how to advise on climate risks;
  • 38% felt there was not enough data or resources to inform clients on climate risks;
  • 76% lacked confidence in discussing climate risks with their clients; and
  • 72% wanted further training or resources to be made available.

The resulting feedback was intended to shape the scope of a property‑specific practice note, with the aim to ensure that it was rooted in real-life conveyancing workflows so that it was relevant and useful for firms undertaking conveyancing work.

Practice note on climate change and property

On 12 May 2025, the Law Society released its Practice note on climate change and property, aimed squarely at firms undertaking conveyancing. Its launch followed the conclusion of the consultation exercise and was positioned as voluntary, user-friendly guidance. Indeed, the very first sentence of the Introduction to the Practice note states: “This Practice note is the Law Society’s view of good practice and is not legal advice.”

The Practice note, (now supported by a supplementary technical note), includes:

  • examples of climate risks in property transactions;
  • advice on how to advise on climate risk (including survey and data strategies, drafting clauses, and flagging risk areas);
  • advice when acting in different types of conveyancing transactions (residential, commercial, mixed-use, buy-to-let, property development); and
  • valuation and survey considerations (including climate risk search reports).

It also includes model wordings for clauses to include in reports on title, tailored to limit professional exposure and clarify who is taking which steps in a property transaction.

The Practice note builds on and expands on the advice provided in the 2023 guidance. While the April 2023 guidance was largely strategic, the Practice note seeks to be of more practical assistance to firms owing to its advice on areas such as climate searches, insurance and financing aspects, as well as practical signposting on when to refer clients to other professionals such as surveyors and engineers.

April 2023 guidance v 2025 Practice note at a glance

April 2023 guidance

May 2025 Practice note

High-level risk types and duties

Transaction-based, step-by-step guidance

Strategic professionalism and compliance

Day-to-day conveyancing workstreams

Professional risk flagged

Tools and clauses to manage that risk

Operational competence and scoping

Templates to clarify retainer responsibility

Concept of duty to warn/disclose

Practical application in searches and reporting

Practice note: the detail

The Practice note is divided into 5 sections:

  1. Introduction;
  2. Examples of climate risks in property transactions;
  3. How to advise on climate risk;
  4. Acting for clients in different types of transactions; and
  5. Valuations and surveys.

1.

Introduction

 

The introduction provides a brief overview of the Practice note and, as mentioned above, confirms it merely states the Law Society’s view of good practice and is not legal advice or legally binding. It does however state that, subject to client instructions, conveyancers should advise on the potential legal implications stemming from physical risks or transition risks – specifically risks identified on the particular transaction by the parties, advisers or search results.

It also confirms that the Practice note is aimed at “…solicitors and their teams who handle property transactions…” and is “…suitable for most solicitors, regardless of their firm’s size or whether they specialise in residential or commercial work…”

2.

Examples of climate risks in property transactions

 

This section provides detail and examples of the three categories of climate-related risks (physical, transition and liability or legal) first identified in the 2023 guidance.

Physical risks

With regard to physical risks, examples in the Practice note include ground stability / subsidence, coastal erosion, flooding, wildfire risk and physical damage to the property from extreme weather events. It states that such examples can impact the infrastructure on which the property depends, such as transport and utilities, and that these can affect insurability, sales, leasing, development or financing of the property. This can affect the property’s value or marketability, or affect its use and/or enjoyment. It points out that clients need to understand that physical risks could impact their property in the future, possibly in the short to medium term.

It also states in unequivocal terms that conveyancers are not qualified to advise on physical risks, and that professional indemnity insurance may not cover this type of advice, so conveyancers should advise clients to seek advice on these matters from suitably-qualified professionals such as building surveyors before contractually committing to a transaction.

Transition risks

The Practice note states that transition risks arise from activities related to the UK’s 2050 net zero goal, and are the changes (be them policy, legislative, regulatory and market changes) made by governments, industries and consumers, among others, to respond to climate change.

It provides examples of regulations and standards affecting properties, such as:

  • The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) Regulations;
  • UK Building Regulations;
  • Greenhouse Gas Reporting Requirements; and
  • The Future Home and Building Standards.

It states that MEES is probably the most significant of the above for most property transactions (both residential and commercial), in particular because the requirements of MEES are expected to become stricter in the future. As such, conveyancers should explain the implications of MEES to clients, particularly if the property has a substandard EPC rating, or is likely to have one following proposed changes to MEES, as well as the potential consequences, who is responsible and possible action steps to take.

Liability or legal risks

The Practice note states that liability or legal risks are an actual or potential negative impact arising from physical risks or transition risks which may lead to a legal liability or obligation. Examples provided include:

  • costs to upgrade property which has a substandard EPC rating;
  • a new financial penalty (what type is unspecified);
  • a development not being able to be implemented as originally planned; and
  • a physical event impacting on the ability to enforce legal rights or comply with legal obligations.

Examples of potential implications of the above include:

  • planning conditions being imposed to make proposed developments more flood resilient, which could limit the property’s use or increase costs;
  • a landlord suffering a financial penalty as a result of MEES;
  • where a property has riparian obligations (obligations imposed on landowners whose property borders a natural watercourse) and fails to take reasonable measures to engage in flood risk management, they may be liable in negligence for damage to neighbouring properties; or
  • legal rights of way being unable to be exercised because of the physical impact of climate change on accessways to the property (such as an access road being flooded making access impossible).

The Practice note states that conveyancers should advise on the legal implications of potential liability or legal risks arising from physical or transaction risks – specifically those identified on the particular transaction by the parties, advisers or search results. To identify physical risks and their potential non-legal consequences, clients should be directed to get advice from suitably-qualified professionals.

3.

How to advise on climate risk

 This section (as the title suggests) explains how conveyancers can and should advise clients on climate risks, pointing out specifically that “…[conveyancers] should advise on the legal implications of potential liability arising from physical or transition risks…” It provides a helpful checklist for property transactions, setting out several action points, which should be documented in the engagement letter, report on title or elsewhere:

 

1.

Explain to the client:

  a.How climate risks may affect various aspects of the property and what the consequences may be;
  b.The possibility of commissioning a climate risk search;
  c.The possibility of commissioning a feasibility study;
  d.The option for the client to consult another professional adviser who is qualified to advise on the impact of climate risks; and
  e.What you will or will not be doing in relation to climate risk in relation to the transaction.

 

2.

Advise the client on their potential legal liabilities resulting from climate risks.

 

3.

Consider and advise whether lender requirements might also require a climate risks search.

 

4.

Record in writing whether the client has decided to request a climate risk search.

 

5.

When reporting the results of a climate risk search to the client:

  a.Clarify that you are not competent to provide a technical interpretation of the results;
  b.Clarify that you are not competent to advise on the technical, practical and financial consequences which flow from the search result; and
  c.Advise the client to consult the search provider or a relevant specialist.

 

6.

Document any advice in writing.

 7.If, acting for a lender, a climate risk search is obtained for a buyer (even if not required by the lender) and it raises concerns, seek instructions from the lender on whether they wish to proceed with the loan.
 This section of the Practice note also provides sample wordings to include in reports on title and/or engagement letters, as well as providing further guidance on climate risk searches (section 3.4) and the Government flood risk checking service (section 3.5).

4.

Acting for clients in different types of transactions

 

This section reminds conveyancers to establish the intentions of the client with regards to the property at the outset. It lists a number of questions to consider depending on the nature of the instruction, and gives the following common scenarios:

  • acting for a tenant on an occupational letting for a market rent with little or no premium;
  • acting on the purchase of a freehold property or a lease with capital value;
  • acting for a lender; and
  • enquiries of the seller, landlord or borrower.

5.

Valuations and surveys

 

The final section of the Practice note addresses what type of survey would be best when considering climate risk. It states that lenders will normally carry out a property valuation, but points out the limitations of a valuation report, as the RICS Standards require valuers to make clear in the valuation report any information that needs to be verified by the client’s or other interested parties’ legal advisers before the valuation can be relied on. As such, clients should be advised to obtain a building survey as they would be more likely to provide useful information about the property’s vulnerabilities to climate risk.

It also discusses specialist surveys, and sets out a list of organisations which may be able to recommend suitably-qualified professionals to provide specialist surveys or investigations, should they be of interest to the client.

Reaction to the Practice note from conveyancers

It’s fair to say that the Practice note has had a mixed reception from conveyancers, both SRA-regulated and CLC-regulated firms. Whilst it provides significantly more clarity and practical advice than the 2023 guidance, there have been a number of negative aspects voiced by conveyancers.

Critics argue that requiring conveyancers to advise on climate risk adds to workload and could open firms up to litigation for omission, and others suggest the Practice note implies that conveyancers must perform scientific assessments, which they are unqualified to do, and expecting conveyancers to serve as de facto environmental or engineering experts may exceed reasonable competence thresholds. Some also consider that the Practice note is contradictory and unclear in a number of respects.

There is also the concern of increased cost to clients of commissioning climate searches and providing advice on them. Clients may challenge why legal fees include technical risk assessments. However, the Practice note now exists, and we consider that it should not be ignored by conveyancers. 

What does this mean for me?

The Practice note is at pains to set out that it is only the Law Society’s view of good practice and is not legal advice or legally binding. Also, unlike the 2023 guidance, it has not been officially endorsed by the SRA (well, not yet anyway). 

As a CLC-regulated firm, the guidance note is clearly not legally binding and can therefore be treated as merely guidance of what constitutes good practice regarding climate change aspects to take into consideration during conveyancing transactions. However, your firm will regularly be dealing with an SRA-regulated law firm on the other side of a conveyancing transaction, many of which will likely choose to adopt much or all of the guidance contained in the Practice note. As such, it is not much of a stretch to anticipate that firms which have adopted the Practice note into their policies and procedures will expect the same from firms acting on the other side of a conveyancing transaction, regardless of their regulator.

We can also easily envisage situations where a claim is made against a firm with allegations of a failure to comply with the Practice note; it being the only guidance currently created for the legal profession of what conveyancers ought do when it comes to advising on climate risk. It would be an unattractive argument to run that, as it is only guidance, following the Practice note is entirely optional. 

We therefore recommend that you should at the very least become familiar with the Practice note and, if you have made a positive decision to adopt it into your own firms’ practices (or have decided not to do so), you communicate this to the party on the other side of the transaction at the outset of the matter, together with your reasoning in this regard. 

The Practice note is at pains to set out that it is only the Law Society’s view of good practice and is not legal advice or legally binding. Also, unlike the 2023 guidance, it has not been officially endorsed by the SRA (well, not yet anyway).

However, we can easily envisage situations where a claim is made against a firm with allegations of a failure to comply with the Practice note, it being the guidance created by the profession’s representative body of what conveyancers ought do when it comes to advising on climate risk. It would be an unattractive argument to run that, as it is only guidance, following the Practice note is entirely optional.

As such, we recommend that firms take steps to incorporate the guidance contained in the Practice note into their practices and procedures for conveyancing work.

What should my firm do to implement the Practice note?

Firms should consider taking the following steps:

  1. Audit your current workflows: Do standard environment searches include climate searches?
  2. Update engagement letters to clarify the scope, nature and limitations of any climate advice to be provided and any referral pathways.
  3. Train staff to recognise climate risks and employ model clauses as set out in the Practice note.
  4. Build relationships with climate survey and technical providers, making sure that you check the PII which any third-party providers carry so that you have potential recourse if things go wrong, as recommended by Howden’s Edward Donne at this year’s annual Bold Legal Group Conveyancing Conference.
  5. Monitor risk signals: e.g. flood maps, coastal change notifications, heat maps.
  6. Document every stage from risk identification to advising and referral.

Conclusion

The Law Society’s Practice note on climate change and property is a practical evolution of the April 2023 guidance – a shift from abstract duties to structured workflows, client safeguards and risk management.

Some conveyancers currently resist this shift, citing cost, competence boundaries, or ideological concerns. But climate risk isn’t going away – and neither is its impact on property, finance, and litigation.

Firms which embed climate considerations with clarity, transparency and pragmatic client engagement are less likely to find themselves facing complaints and negligence claims relating to this issue further down the line.

Michael Blüthner Speight

Michael Blüthner Speight

MA (Oxon), Solicitor
Divisional Director
Legal Practices Group