Conveyancing isn’t broken, lawyers claim

The conveyancing system is not broken and just needs proper reform, legal professionals claim.

The Conveyancing Task Force (CTF) has revealed its feedback to the Government’s home buying and selling consultation, where it argues that structural inefficiencies are to blame for delays.

The response suggests that overlapping obligations such as anti-money laundering regulations and building safety legislation create unavoidable friction and costs.

Delays are caused by opaque lender panel practices, inconsistent instructions, and slow decision-making as well as contradictory and outdated statutes.

The CTF also blames delays in local authority searches, incomplete Land Registry data, and local authority failures to enforce planning obligations.

It argues that structural inefficiencies arise from public-sector delays, lender requirements, inconsistent enforcement, and legal and regulatory obligations. The CTF asserts that technology is not a substitute for legal judgment and that digitalisation moves risk towards consumers without statutory liability. 

The CTF is calling for reforms that address the causes of delay, not just the symptoms.

A national rollout should occur only where empirical evidence shows reduced transaction time, lower fall-through rates, and reduced consumer cost, the response said. 

The response also suggests that reforms should be phased, compatible with regulatory frameworks, and supported by clear liability rules.

It comes as the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee has revealed the latest industry representatives to give evidence for its inquiry into the homebuying and selling process.

The next meeting is scheduled for 6 January 2026 and will include Beth Rudolf, co-chair at the Home Buying and Selling Council and director of delivery at the Conveyancing Association as well as Propertymark’s head of policy and campaigns Timothy Douglas.

Kindly shared by EstateAgentTODAY Image courtesy of Adobe