Poor communication, unclear or unrealistic expectations and unjustified delays without proper explanation are the key causes of complaints in property transactions, according to the Legal Ombudsman in the latest Spotlight published on its website.
The Spotlight goes on to provide guidance for practitioners, focusing on what the ombudsman describes as three critical junctures: instruction and early expectation management; ‘no news’ periods, and completion and closing communication.
The challenges are compounded by mismatched consumer expectations and misinformation online, the LeO said, pointing to studies which show average transaction times of 17 weeks compared to consumer expectations of 8.5 weeks. This misalignment in expectations has the potential to cause dissatisfaction and, possibly, complaints.
Complaints about residential conveyancing accounted for 36% of accepted complaints in Q3 2025/26, up from 30% the previous year. However, LeO acknowledged the numbers need to be taken in the context of over one million transactions in the same period.
On setting expectations, the LeO suggested a lack of information at the outset leads to misunderstandings about timescales and the conveyancing process. Instead, explaining the whole journey up front, including where progress may pause, can help reduce reactive chasing and repeat explanations while improving the consumer experience.
The ombudsman said:
“While early conversations can feel time intensive, they often help to ensure that the service provider’s resources can be used to progress the transaction, which is particularly important in high volume caseloads.”
The LeO also suggests client profiles are important for firms to understand and encourages them to “take account of what they know about their customers” when managing expectations. In a case study shared in the report, a firm offered to cover the cost of one month’s rent for a client who claimed to have suffered delays because her conveyancer “took no steps to move matters forward”. The firm said it took responsibility for poor communication, which had directly caused an avoidable delay of a month.
The ombudsman also acknowledged many delays are outside of the control of conveyancers “due to third parties, mortgage offers expiring, and chains collapsing or pausing unexpectedly”. In another of the three case studies, the LeO stressed the importance of providing “information about the key stages in any transaction at the outset of a retainer, in particular those key points where the service provider may have to wait for third party information (e.g. searches, or management packs), results in more informed customers, and potentially reduces customer contact”.
“Complaints can arise because a consumer has not received an update, frequently because there is nothing to update them on. However, a consumer does not know that unless they are told” said LeO, advising the best course of action is to “update consumers in line with service level agreements even when there is ‘no news'” and “reasonably chasing third‑party information and telling consumers when you’ve done so.”
“We recognise that providing updates when there is no substantive progress can feel difficult to prioritise alongside active legal work, particularly when delays sit outside the conveyancer’s control. However, insight shows that short, predictable updates – even when there is nothing new to report – can improve consumer satisfaction, prevent escalation and reduce the volume of incoming queries over time.”
The same can be said of the period around completion where “consumers do not have a clear understanding of what happens at or after completion”, LeO continued. Clearly explaining completion and registration timelines, being upfront about when consumers should and shouldn’t expect updates, and highlighting factors that may extend registration times will all go some way to avoiding complaints.
Senior ombudsman Clair Daniel was recently a guest on the Today’s Conveyancer podcast and outlined how poor complaints handling features in nearly half of all cases taken forward by the ombudsman. Much of their work is currently focused on stopping complaints at source by equipping firms to better deal with issues before they become complaints, she explained.
Daniel pointed to rising customer expectations shaped by instantaneous digital communication, cost‑of‑living pressures increasing the inclination to complain, and sheer volume of transactions as key factors in the rise in the numbers of matters the ombudsman sees.
Communication and delay remain the two most common causes of complaint – together accounting for around 47% of complaints often arising from mismanaged expectations, such as unclear service‑level agreements or clients misunderstanding the steps and timeframes in transactions.
Spotlight on: Residential Conveyancing is now available on the Legal Ombudsman website.
