The conveyancing profession could be forgiven for feeling a sense of déjà vu.
Home Information Packs promised to bring greater transparency to property transactions before being abandoned. The inclusion of material information requirements in the fifth edition of the TA6 form prompted considerable debate, with those questions subsequently removed from the sixth edition.
Yet the principle behind both initiatives has never really gone away. Providing better information earlier in the conveyancing process remains one of the most credible ways to address delays, reduce failed transactions, and improve the consumer experience.
Today, against a backdrop of advancing digital technology, there is a renewed push for reform.
The home buying and selling reform roadmap, published in June 2026, sets out plans for mandatory upfront sales packs, digital property logbooks, more connected identity verification and binding conditional contracts.
But for property professionals, the real shift may be less about the individual reforms and more about the changing timing of legal work. If more information must be available before a property is marketed, work traditionally undertaken after an offer is accepted will need to happen earlier. And that fundamentally changes the role of client onboarding.
Material information is only part of the picture
Material information and upfront information are related, but they are not interchangeable.
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 already prohibits misleading omissions of material information in commercial practices. Upfront information goes further, encompassing the documents and information needed to support a transaction from its earliest stages. In other words, all material information is upfront information, but not all upfront information is material information.
The June roadmap builds on this, proposing additional guidance on material information and legislation requiring more comprehensive sales packs before properties are listed.
Moving information forward means moving work forward
The scale of the challenge is well documented. According to the government’s roadmap, property transactions take around 120 days on average from offer acceptance to completion, approximately 60% longer than in 2007. Around one in three transactions fail.
Too often, important information emerges only after buyers and sellers have already committed considerable time and money. A title restriction, an unresolved leasehold issue, or missing documentation can trigger additional enquiries, unexpected costs and delays that might have been avoided.
The Conveyancing Association has reported that member firms adopting upfront information have reduced transaction times to seven weeks and fall-throughs by 60%. These are encouraging results. But bringing work forward does not make that work disappear. Someone still needs to gather information, verify identities, review title documents, assess risk and ensure that the relevant records are complete and accurate.
If sellers are expected to instruct conveyancers before marketing their properties, firms will need processes that can handle that activity efficiently, often before a sale is certain to proceed.
Onboarding must become more than administration
Opening a file, requesting identification, gathering basic details, issuing forms and arranging payments remain essential. But as long as firms treat these tasks as routine administration, they risk leaving important questions unanswered for too long.
Likewise, when clients complete multiple documents in stages, they may need to enter the same information into different systems, leaving conveyancing teams chasing missing details and clients frustrated.
An intelligent onboarding process should do more than digitise those existing steps. Rather, it should help firms identify what information is needed, capture it in a structured way, and make it available to the right people at the right time.
For example:
- Client identification and AML checks should be initiated early, with appropriate scope for verified information to be reused where regulatory requirements permit
- Source of funds and source of wealth enquiries should be risk-based and initiated as soon as reasonable, rather than becoming unexpected obstacles later in the transaction
- Title information should be obtained and reviewed as early as practicable, allowing potential complications to be identified before they become urgent
- Property questionnaires should be accessible digitally, with clear explanations and prompts that help clients provide complete and accurate responses.
Crucially, clients should not have to repeatedly provide information already supplied simply because a matter has moved to another stage or system.
Of course, none of this removes the need for professional judgement. Technology can support information gathering, identify inconsistencies and reduce repetitive administration. But it can’t automate away expertise.
The commercial case cannot be ignored
There is an understandable concern that upfront information reform could increase the workload and financial exposure of conveyancing firms. The Conveyancing Association has already highlighted the need for clarity around liability, data reliability, appropriate resourcing and remuneration.
Those concerns are legitimate. Earlier involvement may require firms to invest more time before a transaction reaches a commercially certain stage. Without appropriate pricing and processes, this could place additional pressure on resources.
But firms that adapt early also have an opportunity to improve efficiency and capacity.
Identifying problems earlier can help firms manage expectations, allocate resources more effectively, and avoid disruption from issues that emerge close to exchange. Combined with reduced administration, this can release capacity for higher-value legal work.
For clients, clear instructions, straightforward digital interactions and better visibility of progress can also reduce uncertainty during what is already a stressful experience.
The important measure should no longer be simply how quickly a client can be onboarded, but how effectively that initial process prepares the entire matter to progress. For firms seeking growth, getting this right can create capacity to handle more matters without a corresponding increase in administration.
Technology decisions are now strategic decisions
With digital information sharing, property logbooks and common data standards central to the government’s proposals, firms need to think carefully about their technology choices.
Does a system simply store completed documents, or does it capture structured information that can be checked, updated and reused? Can it support secure information sharing with other parties and adapt to emerging industry standards? Does it make the client’s experience easier, particularly for those completing tasks on a mobile device? And perhaps most importantly, does it genuinely reduce how often a fee-earner must intervene, or does it create another layer of administration?
Artificial intelligence will play a role, particularly in identifying missing information, inconsistencies, and routine issues that require further review. But its value will depend on the quality of the underlying data and the safeguards governing its use.
Digital transformation will achieve little if firms simply recreate fragmented manual processes in electronic form.
The first 72 hours matter
In October, an industry panel of representatives from the Conveyancing Association, Open Property Data Association, and Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology urged conveyancers to engage with digital reform now rather than wait for legislation.
This is sound advice. Not only to gain a competitive advantage, but also because firms that start improving processes today can help shape future standards.
There is no guarantee that every government proposal will arrive exactly as envisaged. The profession has seen enough reform initiatives to understand that. But the underlying problems are not going away.
The question is no longer simply whether upfront information will become mandatory; it is what the first 72 hours of a matter look like in your firm. And how much of that time is spent moving the transaction forward rather than simply gathering the information needed to begin.
This article was submitted by Minerva as part of an advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the advertiser and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
