The number of conveyancing cases requiring additional enquiries due to missing or inaccurate upfront information has fallen considerably over the past two years, new research suggests.
Drawing on the experiences of 500 home movers and 250 property professionals, including estate agents, conveyancers and mortgage lenders, Landmark’s new report, Property Transaction Reform: What the Market Wants Next, suggests progress is being made on upfront information quality.
The findings show the average proportion of conveyancing cases requiring additional enquiries due to missing, incomplete or inaccurate upfront information has fallen from 43% in 2025 to 33% in 2026.
In 2024 the proportion of cases requiring additional enquiries was over half, at 51%.
The report does, however, highlight the need for earlier risk identification, better-connected processes and greater certainty across the homebuying journey.
It found 97% of conveyancers identified at least one issue at the start of a transaction that creates additional work or delays.
More than a third (40%) of conveyancers cite workload and insufficient resources as a frustration, up from 35% in 2025, while they estimate spending 34% of their working day chasing stakeholders or being chased for updates.
It revealed 81% of conveyancers believe meaningful homebuying reform is long overdue, although only 61% feel the government’s roadmap is being developed with sufficient collaboration across the sector.
Simon Brown, CEO, Landmark Information Group said: “The direction for reform has been set, but the real challenge is how we turn that ambition into practical delivery. Our research shows that home movers and property professionals are experiencing many of the same problems, whether that is making important decisions without the right information or spending valuable time trying to understand how a transaction is progressing.”
Rob Gurney, Managing Director of Ochresoft, said: “The reduction in additional enquiries is encouraging, but conveyancers are still dealing with too many issues that could have been identified before a transaction reaches the legal process. When risks emerge after buyers and sellers have already invested time and money, resolving them becomes more difficult and uncertainty increases for everyone involved.”
“Earlier access to accurate information would allow conveyancers to identify and prioritise genuine legal risks sooner, reducing unnecessary rework and giving clients greater confidence about what lies ahead. The opportunity is to move away from reacting to problems later in the transaction towards preventing avoidable delays in the first place.”
