The Legal Ombudsman has shared details of the complaints it received about residential conveyancing in 2025/26.
In its annual report published earlier this month, the LeO revealed complaints had risen by 37% overall, with an increase of 3,812 taking the total to 14,259. Residential conveyancing accounted for 73% of the increase. The ombudsman has now shared further detail about the types of complaints it received about conveyancing.
Conveyancing complaints were driven mainly by delays, poor communication and post-completion registration problems, which the LeO says suggests a pattern of service breakdowns rather than isolated technical errors.
The strongest themes related to consumers feeling uninformed, unsupported, or unclear about what was happening.
“This points to a need for clearer communication, more consistent progress updates, and earlier intervention when expectations begin to diverge”, the LeO said.
Complaints also suggest that advice, documentation, costs and scope of service are closely linked in consumers’ experience of dissatisfaction.
“Where consumers do not understand what advice is being given, why there are delays, or what they are being charged for, confidence in the overall service can quickly erode”, the LeO warned.
“Service improvement focus should be on improving transparency, setting expectations clearly at the outset, and ensuring service providers are explaining decisions and next steps in plain language throughout the retainer.”
Overall, a quarter of consumers (25%) said they had not received a response to their complaint from their service provider, which the LeO said indicates too many service providers are not to be following their regulatory obligations with respect to complaint handling.
The same core service issues continue to drive complaints across different areas of law, with communication and delay accounting for 46% of complaint types.
Across most areas of law, complaints were linked to consumers feeling unclear about what was happening, why decisions were being made, or what they were being charged for.
“This points to a continued need for service providers to set clear expectations at the outset, provide regular updates, explain advice and next steps clearly, and address concerns before they escalate,” the LeO said.
The LeO has shared a spotlight on residential conveyancing with further information about the drivers of complaints and effective handling.
