Senior legal sector figures have sharply criticised the government’s radical house buying reforms.
One even calls the proposals “a charade”.
The government says its proposals – revolving around increased digitisation, upfront information sales packs and binding agreements – will “slash” both the time it takes to buy and the proportion of fall-throughs now plaguing the buying process.
The proposals have received a warm welcome from much of the estate agency sector but conveyancers have sharply differing views.
David Smith – a well known property lawyer and a partner at Bishop & Sewell – says: “Slashing delays is a slightly optimistic turn of phrase given that the current average time to conveyance is 120 days which is just over 17 weeks and the government is proposing to remove four weeks from that, leaving 13 weeks .… This seems like a generous use of the word ‘slash’.
“The government plans to make ‘sales packs’ compulsory. They do not say what will be in these and the consultation admitted that they were dangerously similar to the failed policy of Home Information Packs (HIPs) which was introduced by the Housing Act 2004 before promptly being scrapped.
“Unless these packs are structured in such a way that they can actually be relied on (which was a major failing with HiPs) they will be of no significant effect at all.
“Most buyers simply do not look at the detail of a property they like and leave it to their conveyancer. It will take a major change in behaviour for sales packs to make much difference or a change in the law.
“This will also massively up estate agent costs (and fees) so if it is not of any use that would be a bit of a pointless exercise.”
“The more useful change is likely to be making the use of early binding agreements the norm. Some estate agents use these already (I have drafted some of them) and they substantially reduce the risk of prospective buyers being overly optimistic about their borrowing power and making offers they cannot ever actually afford, with either the intention of a last minute cut in their offer when it is too late for everyone to walk away or due to ignorance of their real financial position.”
A more hostile opposition comes from Stephen Larcombe, founder of the Property Lawyers Alliance.
He describes the government’s house buying proposals, and the timing of their announcement, as a bid to distract the public from the problems besetting the current Labour Party leadership.
He says previous consultation on the reforms as “a charade” with decisions taken after pressure “from a law tech sector whose lobbying power now dwarfs the voices of the very professionals who safeguard the public interest.”
He continues: “Conveyancing is to be re‑engineered by the government to serve the commercial ambitions of rapacious law tech businesses. This is the road to conveyancing hell, and its genesis reveals just how cynical a government can be when dazzled by technological fanatics and deaf to the profession it claims to support.
“Conveyancers have long been expected to absorb every new burden. We have done so because the public relies on us. However, there comes a point when a profession must say enough is enough.
“If these proposals proceed, the future of homebuying will not be shaped by evidence or professional expertise. It will be shaped by the loudest lobbyists in the room, and the public will ultimately pay the price.
“The fight for our professional independence starts today.”
Larcombe is also a spokesperson for the Conveyancing Task Force and on behalf of that organisation he says: “Property lawyers face being dragged into a digital Wild West, where opaque algorithms shape the evidence. And when things go wrong, it is professional indemnity insurers, not the law tech sellers, who will carry the blame.
“Government, meanwhile, risks repeating the mistakes of the past. Home Information Packs should have been a warning.
“But the bigger threat is a political one. The spectre of another Post Office Horizon‑style IT scandal, where blind faith in technology, weak oversight, and a naïve belief in digital infallibility combined to produce catastrophic injustice.”-
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But in a sign of splits in the conveyancing community, support for the government measures has come from the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
A spokesperson for that group says it strong backs the reforms, adding: “The CLC has a long history of championing innovation and modernisation in the legal services market, particularly where it improves the consumer experience, and we stand ready to play our part, working with Licensed Conveyancers to deliver these changes.”
There’s support, too, from Lifetime Legal, which describes itself as “a leading provider of legal services to estate agency”.
It embraces the proposed changes with chief executive Rob Sendall saying: “For too long, moving home has meant unnecessary delay, duplicated paperwork and the constant risk that a sale falls apart at the eleventh hour.
“We see the human cost of this every day. Buyers and sellers invest time, money and emotional energy, only for transactions to collapse late in the process.
“This roadmap addresses the root causes head-on: missing upfront information, weak early commitments and a lack of digitalisation.”
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Meanwhile a new body led by high-profile conveyancing sector figure Rob Hailstone, says it’s keen to hear industry views on the reforms.
Hailstone, founder of the fledgling Conveyancing Improvement Collective, says: “Having had time to reflect on the government’s announcement that it wants to reform the home buying and selling process the Conveyancing Improvement Collective (CIC) support that initiative as long as any changes improves the client/consumer journey and keeps the integrity of the legal (conveyancing) process sound.
“The client journey currently is not usually a pleasant, remotely understandable, or anything like a time efficient one. Surely most transactions should take less than three months rather than six or more.
“The CIC will study the roadmap carefully and will feedback with honest but constructive suggestions.
“The government, however, must not forget that conveyancers are the drivers of this process, and in order for it to be a smoother drive they need to ensure that the vehicle they are in control of, is fit for purpose.”
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Here’s a reminder of the government’s reform package.
Digitisation, the return of an upfront sales pack at the point of listing, and binding sales agreements are the key elements of the plan.
Agents and vendors must provide key information upfront in ‘sales packs’.
These will set out a home’s conditions, leasehold costs, and chain status so buyers can make better informed decisions.
There will also be a new earlier binding agreements “to stop parties walking away months into negotiations without a legitimate reason.”
In addition, there will be a new Code of Practice for estate agents alongside mandatory qualifications “which could ensure agents are properly equipped to support efficient
transactions and rebuild trust in the sector.”
It says the average home purchase is now taking around 120 days, one in three sales falling through costing sellers around £400 million per year, and failed transactions costing the economy up to £1.5 billion every year.
At the heart of the reforms is a major shift to digital, replacing paper-based systems.
Digital property logbooks and sales packs will allow information to be shared between professionals and accessed by buyers and sellers in real-time.
The government will also back digital identity checks, electronic signatures and AI-assisted conveyancing.
It says the aim is “to strip out duplication, reduce fraud risk and accelerate transactions from start to finish” and create “a modern, end-to-end system where people can track and progress their move more easily.”
The government announcement cites exemplars from overseas.
The Netherlands uses a live tracking system for buyers and sellers to check their transaction status helping to achieve a final completion time of 20 days on average, whilst Norway’s efforts to streamline and digitalise the system has estimated savings of up to £1.4 billion over 10 years.
The government announcement concludes: “This package will inject fresh momentum into the housing market and help people keep more money in their pockets by cutting the hidden costs and delays in buying a home to ease cost of living pressures.”
The government has given a broad timeline for the changes.
- Later this year: a Code of Practice to set out minimum standards for property agents and guidance to improve the quality of information in property listings;
- From 2027: consultation on estate agent qualifications and expanded digital tools;
- By the mid-2029 (the end of this parliament): comprehensive legislation to require sales packs, binding contracts, and digital systems that support the efficient sharing of trusted digital property information.
