The Conveyancing Association, UK Finance and the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) have all published their responses to the government’s home buying and selling reform consultation.
The deadline to submit responses closed on 29 December, in which the government proposed measures such as the publication of property information before listing, binding contracts between buyers and sellers, and the wider use of digital tools.
Conveyancing Association – no binding contracts and raised standards for agents
The Conveyancing Association (CA) agreed with the government’s intention to make use of digitisation as well as improve consumer transparency and industry standards.
It said it wanted to see the reduction in complexity of titles to property “as quickly as possible” alongside the delivery of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act second legislation.
It welcomed the idea of comprehensive upfront information, adding that this should include new builds and not just resale homes. However, The CA said there were concerns that gathering upfront information could delay property listing and sale, so this needed to be researched.
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The CA proposed mandatory qualifications and the regulation of estate agents, so conveyancers know which professionals to engage with. It said government intervention to train and regulate property agents would be “futile unless it is enforced”, suggesting the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and auditing to spot non-compliance.
It also suggested improving consumer education and awareness of their rights, so people would complain about non-compliance.
The organisation said these proposals to improve the home buying and selling process required recruiting, retaining and training thousands of new conveyancers, alongside adopting technology and approaches to be more efficient.
The CA said it did not support binding offers in the current environment as they may not deliver the desired outcome. It added that there could be issues around the cost of instructing a conveyancing lawyer or surveyor to advise on a title without knowing if an offer would be accepted. Further, if the process took time, there was a risk that the buyer would lose out to someone else who was able to get advice, evidence their income and instruct an offer faster.
The organisation said the plans for reform were not a “one-time fix” as continual improvement would be needed, which would also require appropriate funding.
Nicky Heathcote, non-executive chair of The CA, said: “Both these government consultations go to the heart of how homes are bought and sold, and conveyancers have a critical role in making any reform work in practice. Our responses support greater transparency and earlier information, but they also make clear reform must be fair, enforceable and grounded in how transactions actually operate.
“If these changes are implemented properly, they can reduce stress for consumers and create a more stable and sustainable environment for conveyancing firms.”
Beth Rudolf, director of delivery at The CA, added: “Our responses focus on the practical delivery of reform. Upfront information and material information has created a massive improvement where member firms have adopted them – reducing transactions times to seven weeks and fall-throughs by 60%.
“But the industry will need complete clarity on scope, liability and data reliability, and if conveyancers are involved at the right point in the process. This is not simply a case of moving work earlier; it creates additional legal work that must be recognised, costed and supported by standardised data and digital systems. Without clear enforcement, shared standards and early instruction of conveyancers, the benefits these consultations seek will not be fully realised.”
UK Finance – charges for delayed transactions
UK Finance agreed on similar points to The CA, and its members also did not universally support binding contracts. However, UK Finance said if they were introduced, the penalties needed to be “effective, proportionate and predictable” with exemptions for genuine new information.
Further, some members of UK Finance said any binding contracts should be applied to all transactions to prevent a two-tier housing market. If penalties are introduced, members proposed the retention of a defined deposit or capped compensation, the withdrawing party to cover costs in addition to a fixed penalty, and a standardised daily interest charge for delayed transactions.
It also said there would need to be public education campaigns and an assessment of the impact of the introduction of digital property logbooks and packs.
Responding to the question of whether other areas of the property agent sector needed to be monitored or regulated, UK Finance pointed to improvements across fee transparency, dual representation, conditional selling, accuracy of marketing claims, property measurements and the timeliness of information delivery.
To streamline the conveyancing process, the organisation suggested implementing a centralised government-sponsored portal that would be updated by conveyancers at each stage of the transaction process, accessible by all parties in the chain.
It also proposed bringing in a traffic light system to highlight which party was falling behind on work in each transaction, and a standard validity period for searches. UK Finance also recommended improving the process to obtain property searches and Land Registry records.
CILEx – more regulation for high-volume, low-value conveyancing
The CILEx said more regulation of the high-volume, low-value conveyancing sector would be needed to ensure reforms are successful. It also called for a review of the fee structure to ensure the quality of advice is not compromised when the service is streamlined.
The CILEx said there were inefficiencies and bottlenecks caused by high-volume, low-fee operating models, which put conveyancers under pressure.
It said there needed to be collaborative regulatory action to support conveyancers and make sure the quality of service is not negatively impacted.
The CILEx suggested a review of fees so firms would not over-commit to high caseloads and make sure consumers continue to receive good service.
Further, the organisation proposed that the responsibility for anti-money laundering (AML) to be on those who engage with the consumer first, usually the lender or mortgage broker. It said this would remove the “heavily burdensome administrative task” from conveyancers and, in light of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) assuming the supervision of AML compliance, would avoid conveyancers being subject to dual regulation and consumers verifying their sources of funds more than once.
It also called for a review of referral fees due to concerns that estate agents were not complying with transparency requirements.
Sara Fowler, president of the CILEx, said: “We need a faster and more reliable conveyancing process that keeps pace with technological advances, holds all professionals involved to high standards and engenders the trust and confidence of consumers.
“It is imperative that in pursuit of speedier transactions there is no compromise on quality of service and that consumers get the expert advice they need. The government’s proposals offer much needed change to the sector but if the reforms are to be a long-term success, we need to see strong regulation and education, a review of current fee structures and transparency on referral fees to ensure that consumer protection is at the heart of these reforms.”