Property professionals can now enjoy greater confidence and peace of mind in every transaction, thanks to OneSearch’s new partnership with 4Stamp: the definitive SDLT solution.
From today, OneSearch customers can manage and track their post-completion SDLT and LTT calculations directly within our platform, alongside local authority searches, environmental reports, and other essential conveyancing tools. This integration brings everything together in one place, saving time and reducing risk.
4Stamp is a cloud-based solution which allows all parties access to all the updates, data, and information required to provide a certified, accurate assessment of the purchasers’ property tax liability
“We have always been dedicated to setting the gold standard for accuracy and trust in the property market,” said Liz Jarvis, Managing Director of OneSearch. “Our partnership with 4Stamp is a natural extension of this promise. By integrating their certified, expert-backed solution into our platform, we are giving our clients end-to-end confidence, from the initial search all the way through to the final tax calculation.”
Richard Friend, Managing Director at 4Stamp Ltd added, “We are thrilled to partner with OneSearch, a company that shares our core values of data integrity and professional excellence. Their market-leading platform provides the perfect home for our service. Together, we are taking the mystery out of Stamp Duty Land Tax and empowering legal professionals to eliminate risk and streamline their workflow.”
Generic online calculators can be risky, often failing to account for all variables and exposing your firm to potential liability. In fact, 8% of customers overpay on their property tax, a statistic that highlights the need for a better solution.
4Stamp is not another calculator. It’s a comprehensive, certified assessment that considers the purchaser’s circumstances, the property, and the transaction vehicle. This is why it’s trusted by professionals.
By using 4Stamp via OneSearch, you will:
- Eliminate Risk: Move beyond generic calculators and get a precise, certified tax assessment.
- Gain Protection: Every calculation is backed by professional indemnity insurance, transferring liability away from your firm.
- Save Time: Instantly get a certified value or immediate access to tax advisors for complex cases.
- Ensure Compliance: Every assessment includes a certified PDF and a full audit trail for your records.
At OneSearch, we have always been about empowering legal professionals with speed, confidence, and protection. Now, we’re bringing that same promise to the final, critical step of every property transaction.
Ready to transform your conveyancing process? Learn more about the OneSearch and 4Stamp partnership and discover the value for yourself.
Clear drainage and water insights are foundational to confident conveyancing. Every minute spent interpreting a dense report is time lost elsewhere in a transaction.
To support faster, transparent advice, we have enhanced our OneSearch DW report for 2026. This report, a core element of conveyancing due diligence from OneSearch for the past 16 years, has undergone a thoughtful redesign to deliver a cleaner, more intuitive structure, making essential drainage and water insights effortless to absorb.
Catherine Noble Hyland, Senior Product Manager at OneSearch said: “The OneSearch DW refresh aims to help conveyancers work more efficiently with less distraction. Our improved summary page was designed to reduce mental load, so our clients can move from data to client advice without missing a beat. We’ve very proud of the end result and client feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.”
Achieving Clarity: What’s New in the Design
We recognise the pressure to interpret complex data quickly while maintaining faultless accuracy. Reports that are visually dense or difficult to scan can slow transactions to a crawl, and even introduce unnecessary risk. That problem is precisely why we initiated this refresh; to remove visual friction and ensure every critical insight is immediately accessible.
You’ll notice key enhancements immediately:
- A new summary page, for ease of interpretation. This brings the most critical connection status information right to the forefront.
- Clear, uniform design. Enjoy consistency and familiarity across your OneSearch reports.
- Clickable hyperlinks between sections for faster navigation.
- A modern, streamlined layout that reduces visual noise and clutter. We’ve taken this opportunity to smarten how information is presented, allowing the most important details to stand out naturally.
Why This Refresh Matters to Your Workflow
The new layout provides direct benefits to you and your team:
- Faster Answers: The new summary page with clickable access to the specific page details allows you to scan for the connection status of the Mains Water, Foul Sewer, and Surface Water Sewer faster than ever.
- Easier Client Communication: The refreshed clarity helps you confidently advise your client on liability for maintenance, public sewer connection, and proximity to the public sewer.
- Reduced Cognitive Load: The improved structure reduces the time spent searching for details, allowing you to focus on high-value advice.
Your Confidence Remains Our Priority
While the report design has evolved, our commitment to risk mitigation is unchanged.
The OneSearch DW report remains backed by £10 Million Professional Indemnity Insurance, ensuring you are protected against search-related PI claims.
Our search continues to benefit from an insurance policy This foundational assurance, combined with the new aesthetic clarity, ensures the OneSearch DW remains the most dependable choice for your due diligence.
Same Trusted Data: Now Even Easier to Use
The data inside is still the industry standard you rely on, the OneSearch DW report has been a foundational element of conveyancing due diligence for 15 years.
This refresh introduces a new visual experience while maintaining that proven depth and reliability. The essential Drainage and Water Enquiries sections remain consistent. Think of it as the same essential due diligence, delivered with a refined and more user-friendly touch.
This is Just the Beginning
We view this refresh as part of our ongoing commitment to delivering clarity and excellence. We trust that the updated report meets your requirements and welcome any feedback you may have.
Experience the DW report on your next search, or in your bundle packs. View our product page, or contact our Service Introduction Team today for all the details.
Widespread “wait-and-see” approach to home-moving in Q4 2025 leaves market on pause.
Our Q4 2025 Property Trends Report indicates that speculation around the Autumn Budget slowed residential market activity in the final quarter of the year. In England and Wales, listings and completions dropped 7% and 6% year‑on‑year, while SSTC and search orders saw steeper falls of 17% and 19%. Mortgage valuations also slowed, though remortgaging remained steady.
Scotland performed comparatively well despite similar uncertainty. Listings dipped in October and November, recovering in December as demand resurfaced. Search activity remained muted, but SSTM volumes stabilised by year‑end. The nationwide picture suggests delays rather than loss of demand. Expectations of further rate cuts and continued price adjustments could help unlock more activity in 2026.
Other headline findings from Q4 2025 include:
- Listings volumes were down 7% compared to Q4 ‘24 volumes.
- In Scotland, listings were up 5% in Q4 ‘25 vs Q4 ‘24.
- SSTC volumes were down 17% year-on-year in Q4 ‘25.
- SSTM levels in Scotland were down 9% in Q4 ‘25 vs Q4 ‘24.
- Completion volumes in Q4 ’25 were down 6% compared to Q4 ‘24.
- In Scotland, completions were down 3% in Q4 ‘25 vs Q4 ‘24.
Download the report for the latest trends affecting the residential sector in Q4 2025.
Conveyancing is evolving faster than ever. Our latest residential market research, Paving the way for smarter residential conveyancing in 2026, reveals how technology is transforming your day-to-day work, helping you deliver smarter, faster, and more certain transactions.
Here’s a snapshot of what’s inside:
- 86% of conveyancers agree digitisation and automation have improved customer experience.
- 78% now use AI to assist fee earners, double last year’s figure.
- 73% believe earlier data insights provide greater certainty for buyers.
This market research report provides key insights to help you stay competitive, boost efficiency, and meet client needs.
Download your copy today and discover how to leverage technology and collaboration for success in 2026.
Is your firm struggling with the requirements of Anti-Money Laundering compliance?
You’re not alone. The latest industry standards and guidelines are complex, and the cost of non-compliance can be substantial.
Our infographic highlights the hidden expenses associated with manual KYC checks, missed deadlines, and non-compliance penalties in 2026. It also shows how OneSearch can help you significantly lessen these costs and improve your bottom line.
AML compliance does not end when a client is onboarded. Ongoing monitoring is a legal requirement throughout the life of a matter, and one the SRA has identified as among the most effective controls a firm can put in place.
Here is what it involves, when it applies, and how to make it work in practice.
Why is ongoing monitoring not a one-off AML exercise?
There is a common misconception that AML due diligence is something completed at the start of a matter and then set aside. The law does not work that way. The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 require firms to monitor client relationships on an ongoing basis, reviewing transactions, updating client information, and reassessing risk as circumstances change.
The SRA has been explicit on this point. In its most recent supervisory findings, it identified ongoing monitoring as one of the most effective controls firms can put in place to protect against money laundering, and one that is still not applied consistently across the sector.
What does ongoing monitoring involve in practice?
Ongoing monitoring has two core components.
- The first is transaction scrutiny. Firms need to check that the transactions being carried out are consistent with what they know about the client, their business, and their risk profile. Where a transaction appears unusual in that context, the inconsistency itself is a signal that requires further attention.
- The second is keeping client information up to date. Customer due diligence is not static. If a client’s circumstances change, whether through a change of name, a new business relationship, or a shift in the source of funds, the firm’s records should reflect that. Outdated information undermines the purpose of the due diligence process.
When does ongoing monitoring apply to a matter?
Ongoing monitoring applies throughout the life of any business relationship, not only to higher-risk matters. All clients should be subject to monitoring, but the depth and frequency should be proportionate to the level of risk.
For lower-risk residential transactions, this may involve confirming that nothing material has changed and that the transaction is progressing as expected. For higher-risk matters, such as those involving PEPs, complex ownership structures, overseas funds, or more complex source of funds scenarios, monitoring should be more active and frequent.
Certain trigger events should always prompt a fresh review. These include a change of name or address, the introduction of new parties, a sudden change in source of funds, or a client becoming reluctant to provide information that was previously available. In these situations, the risk assessment should be revisited and due diligence updated where necessary.
What are the SRA’s findings on ongoing monitoring?
The SRA’s 2024–25 supervisory report found that ongoing monitoring remains one of the more commonly neglected aspects of AML compliance. In many firms, it is simply not built into the workflow. There is no mechanism to revisit a file once initial checks have been completed, and no prompt to reassess risk if circumstances change.
The practical challenge is that ongoing monitoring requires more than awareness. Without a defined process, whether through file reviews, case management reminders, or structured checkpoints, it is unlikely to be applied consistently across matters.
How can technology support ongoing AML monitoring?
Manual monitoring processes are inherently inconsistent. Whether a fee-earner revisits a file to check for changes often depends on individual diligence, which varies.
Digital AML systems can help address this by embedding monitoring into the process. They can automate ongoing checks, such as re-screening clients against sanctions and PEP databases, flagging changes in status, and prompting reviews at set intervals or when risk indicators are detected.
OneSearch AML provides ongoing monitoring of AML and KYC data over a 12-month period, automatically tracking changes to customer profiles and alerting the firm when action may be required.
Ongoing monitoring is best understood not as an additional task, but as a continuous part of managing risk throughout a matter. It requires firms to stay engaged with both the client and the transaction, ensuring that what is happening remains consistent with what is known. The level of scrutiny should always reflect the level of risk, increasing where complexity or uncertainty is present.
Where firms struggle is not in recognising the requirement, but in embedding it into day-to-day workflows. The SRA’s position is clear: monitoring should be active, proportionate, and capable of influencing decisions as a matter progresses, rather than being treated as something completed at the outset and left unchanged.
