On Sunday night, the government announced a series of sweeping changes to the home buying system, calling the propsoals ‘the biggest shake-up to the home buying process in this country’s history’.
The current system, the statement from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said, is ‘chaotic’, ‘a barrier to home ownership’ and the cause of a ‘sluggish housing market’. Housing secretary Steve Reed said ‘buying a home should be a dream, not a nightmare’, and promised to ‘fix the broken system’.
The proposed reforms are underpinned by technology, MHCLG explained, with a strong focus on digital tools to ‘create a system that is more streamlined, less stressful, and fit for the future’.
Unsurprisingly, the proposals have prompted fierce debate. In our coverage yesterday, we shared the thoughts of the organisations who responded immediately following the announcement, which were overwhelmingly positive. Read what Rightmove, Propertymark, Nationwide, Santander and RICS had to say in our coverage of the story as it broke.
Now that the dust has had a little time to settle, industry experts have explained what the changes could mean for the property sector, how some of the proposals would work in practice, and where we go from here.
With two consultations set to run until 29th December – one on the wider proposals, and another focused on material information, there’s no doubt this is a topic that will be at the top of the property sector’s agenda for many months to come.
Regulators and associations
The Law Society of England and Wales
“The Law Society is committed to improving the home buying and selling experience for consumers, conveyancers and others involved in the conveyancing process. We know that many feel that the conveyancing process is slow and complicated. It can also be confusing as to who should be doing what, and there is the risk of duplication of effort. Information is often not available as quickly or as easily as it should be. Making the right reforms would help address all of these issues.
“Improving the conveyancing process for buyers and sellers and making it fit for the 21stcentury involves making the appropriate changes to the whole system, not just one aspect of it. We are keen to work with our members, government and all those involved in the conveyancing market to make sure the right reforms are enacted.
“We support estate agents being regulated, more transparency in property chains and having conveyancers instructed as early as possible in the home buying and selling process. Better joined up technology can help facilitate home buying and selling but such systems must be accessible to all types of firms. A thriving conveyancing market is a diverse market. We will seek views from our members as we consider the government’s proposals carefully.” Mark Evans, Vice-President
Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC)
“The CLC is working with others across the industry in the digital property market steering group to transform home buying and selling in the interests of individual home owners and the wider economy.
“There is broad consensus about the changes that need to be made to deliver that transformation and the government’s support with this announcement will help deliver much needed progress and change, which we hope will have the support of every profession involved in the property market.
“Buyers deserve much better information than is usually provided when they are looking for a property. That upfront information will help them make the right choice and help their conveyancer progress their purchase more speedily. Property log books are a great tool that have been shown to greatly smooth and speed up the buying and selling process.
“The specialist conveyancers the CLC regulates are already embracing new approaches and tools to offer the kind of service we have all come to expect in the digital world. As the specialist regulator, we will continue the work of modernisation with them and parters across the sector.” Stephen Ward, Director of Strategy and External Relations
Society of Licensed Conveyancers (SLC)
“These consultations represent a timely opportunity to address long-standing challenges in the property market. Licensed conveyancers are committed to delivering a smooth and secure transaction process, and we support efforts to improve transparency and reduce delays for consumers.
“It is vital that the role of the conveyancer remains focused on legal due diligence and the protection of clients’ interests. We must avoid placing additional administrative burdens on conveyancers that dilute their core responsibilities or create inefficiencies in the process.” Simon Law, Chair
The Conveyancing Association
“The Conveyancing Association welcomes these reforms, which we and other industry stakeholders have long campaigned for, in order to deliver a better home selling and purchase experience for all. By ensuring vital information is provided upfront, consumers and industry alike will benefit from greater certainty, reduced risk of fall-throughs and a faster, less stressful process. This is an important step towards the modern, transparent and efficient homebuying system that families and professionals have been calling for.
“These reforms have both the ability to enable conveyancing lawyers to be proactive, and to support estate agents to comply with the law. We would urge a further step to now be made via the regulation of property agents, so they know what, and how, to deliver in this area.” Beth Rudolf, Director of Delivery
Open Property Data Association (OPDA)
“These reforms are a real step forward for the homebuying process and reflect years of hard work across government and industry to make transactions faster, clearer and more digital. The proposals around upfront information, digital logbooks and data sharing are exactly the kind of changes OPDA has been supportingthrough our work with the Digital Property Market Steering Group and The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). It’s encouraging to see those conversations now taking shape in policy.
“The challenge from here is to make sure the data infrastructure underneath these reforms is truly open, standardised and governed in a way that benefits the entire market – not just the biggest platforms. That’s been at the core of OPDA’s work from the start, and we’ll continue working with government and industry partners to make sure this modernisation is delivered in practice, not just on paper.” Maria Harris, Chair
Residential Logbook Association (RLBA)
“Its important to be clear about the different roles that logbooks will play at the ‘sales’ end of the process and at the ‘buying’ end. The idea of logbooks being able to export a digital ‘sales pack’ based on upfront information has been part of the core RLBA specification for logbooks for five years – we are ready to go. We now need to make sure that estate agents and conveyancers are able to link to logbooks and receive this information in digital form. Logbooks can already export these ‘sales packs’, we just need the industry to prepare to receive them and the new MHCLG proposals will help that come into being. The RLBA believes that, within a decade, logbooks will be the primary tool for homeowners to compile upfront information about their home before sale.
“For buyers, the logbook should be the final repository of information at the end of the sale. Every data point and document created through the transaction process should make its way into a logbook at the end of the conveyancing process with both estate agents and conveyancers able to upload to it. The buyer should be given everything, uploaded to the logbook if it exists already, or used to create a new one if it doesn’t. This means that the homeowner will be already prepared for the next sale as they complete the first.
“But most logbook companies are preparing for a longer relationship with the homeowner with the transaction only the start. In the same way that most high-end cars come with a companion app nowadays, logbooks are increasingly being positioned as ‘companions for the life of the home’ with a range of functionalities to let homeowners develop, maintain and enjoy their homes.” Nigel Walley, Chair
Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP)
“ALEP welcomes the consultation on reforming the home buying and selling process and in particular the promise to improve the provision of leasehold sales information. This is already an objective set out in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. We feel that the task of streamlining the conveyancing process should not be underestimatedand we welcome the chance of stakeholders to engage in the best way of refining these measures.
“We look forward to discussing further the opportunity for change and improvement in the conveyancing process, although do we note with caution the issues caused by previous attempts to reverse the emphasis by the introduction of ‘Home Information Packs’ and we very much hope that any proposed reforms will look to learn the lessons from the past in this area.
“We look forward to engaging with government and other bodies to ensure that the chances to improve matters for all involved in the home buying and selling process, be they leaseholders, freeholders or property managers to bring about effective and lasting change.” Mark Chick, Director of ALEP and Senior Partner at Bishop & Sewell LLP
Law firms
Higgs LLP
“These major reforms could mark a pivotal moment for the residential property market in England and Wales, if implemented. Inefficiencies and uncertainty have plagued the process for too long and this has led to widespread frustration with buyers, sellers and professionals alike.
“The proposed changes around mandatory upfront information, optional binding agreements, and digitisation all point towards a system that is faster, more transparent, and most importantly, one which is built on trust. It is hoped that these changes will also raise professional standards and implement a more consistent approach across the sector which is key to restoring public confidence and creating a conveyancing process fit for purpose. We welcome the government’s consultation and will be following the detail closely as the roadmap takes shape ahead of 2026.” Jen Hicks-Jones, Head of Property
Hunters Law LLP
“The government’s latest announcement to ‘shake up’ the homebuying system is short on detail and lacks punch. The process has already been shaken up more than enough in the last decade – with numerous SDLT changes and reliefs, leasehold reform, the Building Safety Act, and countless technological developments. Reintroducing Home Information Packs under another name will not work, and statutory pre-contracts or ‘lock-out’ agreements have generally failed the test of time.
“That said, the principle is very welcome. Sellers should show more commitment to a sale, and buyers should have more information before they start spending time, money and energy. The solution is simple: make it mandatory for sellers to instruct a conveyancer before marketing their property. Agents should include the conveyancer’s details in their listings – it is the best signal of a serious sale.
“If both sides come prepared from the outset, with conveyancers already engaged, transactions will move faster and far more smoothly for everyone involved.” James Vernor-Miles, Head of Residential Property and Partner
PropTech
PEXA UK
“It is very encouraging to see the Government grip reform of the home buying and selling process by the horns and begin some of the vital changes that PEXA has been calling for – like mandating digital property logbooks.
“Buying a home is one of the most important moments of someone’s life. Yet for so many, this dream turns into a nightmare. The reality is that transactions take too long, are too labour intensive, are needlessly stressful for all parties, and fall through far too frequently as a result.
“It is clear to all that the UK’s home buying and selling process is no longer fit for purpose. Britain needs greater digitisation to facilitate more seamless, transparent and secure transactions, and this needs to be built on industry-wide foundations of standardised data and digital ID verification.
“The government’s home building ambition is there for all to see. Now, it’s time to turn ‘build, baby, build’ into ‘buy, baby, buy.'” Joe Pepper, CEO
InfoTrack
“Everyone will agree that there are significant opportunities to improve the home buying and selling process for all involved. Property represents the world’s greatest concentration of wealth but remains frustratingly hard to buy and sell, particularly in the UK. The statement from the government certainly raises hope that individuals and the economy could really benefit in the future.
“Conveyancers could benefit from changes as much as the home-owning public, but they need to be embraced as part of the solution not treated like the problem. The conveyancing profession has already significantly embraced technology but is often held back by structural challenges, such as chains, burdensome regulations, and complex titles, as well as areas of the property ecosystem that are too slow to digitise. These are the gnarly problems that need clever solutions.
“eSignatures, in their various forms, are as close to a quick win as anyone will find, while the impact of sharing IDs and AMLs will be much less significant – they already only take minutes to complete, are relatively inexpensive, and have no impact on whether a sale falls through. However, the widespread adoption of ID checks by legal services firms does make the integration with eSigning software significantly easier and potentially creates a faster pathway to Qualified Electronic Signatures which lenders can embrace.
“There are some big challenges ahead, it is exciting, but there must be a focus on changes that will deliver real, impactful, and sustainable results.” Sam Jordan, COO
tmGroup
“We welcome the government’s focus on streamlining property transactions. These reforms are absolutely the right direction, but the real change will come from how technology is employed to make them work in practice.
“What the government is proposing, from verified seller identities to upfront property packs, can’t happen without trusted technology platforms that actually work together. The keys to success are interoperability and collaboration: joining up the data between ID, title, searches and signatures so that estate agents, conveyancers and buyers can share verified information instantly. Get this right and we can finally remove duplication, prevent fraud, cut transaction times and make the entire experience better for homebuyers and industry professionals alike.
“That’s exactly what our technology delivers, and we’re ready to support these reforms.” Matt Green, CEO
VSiD
“With regards to digital ID and signatures, the technology has been in place for some while to help streamline processes, thanks to HMLR being at the forefront of advocating its use to combat fraud and speed up transactions. Capturing data from the Property Information and other TA forms electronically means it can be linked to an individual and transferred directly to relevant parties.
“Using Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES) negates the need for a physical witness. I believe these new proposals represent a positive advancement for conveyancing in that they create a more joined up approach which will inevitably benefit buyers and sellers alike.” David Kern, CEO
Novus Strategy
“The industry has been asking for more government leadership on this issue and these reforms are the electric shock that could transform the homebuying process from a frustrating, painful inconvenience into an aspirational experience not to be avoided. The reforms will give the sector’s innovators confidence that there’s a common goal, with government setting clear expectations and direction.
“They’re also extremely timely, given that technology has reached a level of digital maturity capable of delivering the transformation people and businesses desperately want to see. If anything, the government is undercooking the potential benefits. Cutting four weeks off transaction times is pretty conservative given how far-reaching these proposals are, and the dividend for businesses is set to run into the billions.” Claire Van der Zant, CEO
SmartSearch
“It’s high time the UK property system was cleaned up and these plans to overhaul the buying and selling process could be a real turning point, not just for speeding up transactions and improving transparency, but for tackling the billions in dirty money that continue to distort the market.
“The National Crime Agency estimates up to £10 billion is laundered through UK property each year. Our own analysis shows this illicit wealth has inflated house prices by around £3,000 across the UK and more than £11,000 in London, putting homeownership even further out of reach for ordinary families.
“By introducing greater upfront transparency, binding contracts and strong source-of-funds verification, the proposed changes won’t just speed up sales and cut costs, they will shine a light into those opaque structures that have allowed illicit wealth to distort our housing market. Estate agents who adopt trusted identity verifications will win credibility and customers, while helping ensure every buyer and seller can see the system is fair.” Phil Cotter, CEO
Survey Shack
“Today’s consultation is a welcome step toward a faster, clearer home move. Requiring meaningful upfront information, including proportionate property condition details, helps buyers make informed offers and reduces late fall-throughs. Government estimates indicate timelines could shorten by around four weeks, and industry research shows the cost of failed sales is significant.
“What matters now is clear, usable standards so condition data is captured once, shared securely, and trusted by all parties. That means simple guidance for sellers and agents, digital tools that structure photos and facts, and a sensible route to professional follow up where needed.” Brett Ray, Co-Founder & CEO
Agents and property platforms
Mortgage Advice Bureau
“MAB cautiously welcomes these proposed reforms to the homebuying process, which have the potential to significantly improve outcomes for home movers. All too often transactions are delayed, or collapse altogether, due to lack of upfront information or unnecessary inefficiencies, causing stress for buyers and putting mortgage offers at risk.
“Improving transparency when a property is first marketed and reducing the average transaction timeline will not only help buyers make more informed decisions, it will also ensure mortgage offers remain valid and aligned with the faster pace of the transaction.
“These changes should reduce the number of deals that fall through, saving borrowers and our industry both time and money. We’re particularly supportive of moves toward standardised data and digitalisation, which can help bring the conveyancing and mortgage processes closer together. We hope the government continues to work closely with lenders, brokers, and legal professionals to make these reforms a success.
“We’re optimistic that the industry can find the means to ensure there is zero cost duplication in any proposed changes, especially as the headline to these changes implies cost savings. Unlike previous efforts, we’re hopeful that whatever is implemented is done so with full industry buy-in and support, and is implemented accordingly – especially as data and technology makes this eminently more possible today compared to over a decade ago.” Ben Thompson, Deputy CEO
reallymoving
“Reform of the homebuying and selling process is long overdue and I hope this government will be bold enough to see it through. Introducing a digital property pack upfront, containing a survey, search results and other information, would help buyers make an informed decision about a property right from the start, so they’re going into the purchase with their eyes open and the transaction is far less likely to fall through. It will also curb speculative listings, giving buyers greater confidence that sellers are committed and motivated.” Rob Houghton, Founder and CEO
Avocado
“These reforms could mark a major cultural shift in how property is sold. By adopting smarter tools and modernising fee structures, agents have the chance to raise standards, improve service and strengthen profitability – proving that what’s good for consumers can also be good for the industry.
“The theory behind this makes sense to me personally. I feel there should be a much higher level of quality and certainty in agents SSTC pipelines. If we can also see an increased speed in which transactions go through, then it’s a win win. However, it’s a big change and we all know how the implementation of HIPs went.” Ian Macbeth, Co-Founder
One Response
Today’s Conveyancer provides excellent coverage of what was a fevered reaction to the government’s proposed conveyancing reforms (Reforms). However, most property lawyers feel that such a reaction has scant regard to the facts.
Ignoring facts, as someone once said, does not mean they cease to exist.
Uncomfortable Facts
Many “uncomfortable facts,” such as conditional selling and the abuse of bargaining power by developers, were missing from the government’s announcement for Reforms. Issues like referral fees and conditional selling have previously been highlighted by property lawyers. For instance, hiving off the consequences for unethical behaviour, or badly built dwellings, for resolution by toothless bodies operating under weak ‘codes of practice’ would be a backward step inimical to the public interest. What is the point of an unthinking acceleration of conveyancing processes if members of the public are then, as a consequence, bullied into buying not a home, but a badly built, poorly designed flawed structure, riddled with heart breaking defects.
Digital property logbooks, ID verification, and standardised data sharing to enhance ‘transparency’ were mentioned in the announcement. However, why would any government in the middle of a cyber-crime pandemic promote the idea of exposing for instance the Land Registry to a cyber-attack?
The practice exposed by the BBC of agents pressuring buyers to use in-house conveyancing and mortgage services has been severely criticised for creating conflicts of interest and disadvantaging consumers. Making the payment of referral fees, closely linked to conditional selling appear acceptable, is to ignore corruption in all but name.
A False Narrative
The government and others have established a dishonest narrative. So, one of the biggest causes for delay is a ridiculously over complex AML regime with 1500 pages plus of rules and guidance. Another is bad law-making, which in the case of high buildings means the Building Safety Act. But the Government still claims falsely that it is ‘the system’ which stops buyers achieving their home-buying dreams. However, as Yeats said:
“I have spread my dreams under your feet.
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”