Set up for property success, not delay

Rob Gurney, Managing Director, Landmark Information Group

Every day lost between listing a property and instructing a conveyancer adds friction to an already complex transaction process. Landmark Information Group’s data shows that the average sale-to-exchange time is 112 days – a delay driven in part by the longstanding practice of instructing conveyancers only once an offer is agreed.

In a market under pressure to move faster, those early delays could have a disproportionate impact on certainty, client experience, and ultimately the likelihood of a successful transaction. For too long, the industry has accepted these lost weeks as inevitable. In reality, they are avoidable.

Scope creep, pressure and late instruction

The lengthening of transaction timelines is not a failure of conveyancers. Instead, it reflects years of scope creep, rising consumer expectations and ways of working that have struggled to keep pace with a more complex, data-heavy property market. Conveyancers are now expected to manage greater volumes of information, tighter regulatory requirements and increased pressure from all sides – often without being brought into the process until late in the day.

When instruction happens only after an offer is agreed, valuable time is lost before the legal work can even begin, creating delays that sit outside a conveyancer’s control and ripple through the rest of the transaction.

Early instruction: a small change with big impact

Earlier instruction ensures the seller’s legal pack can begin to be prepared when the property first comes to market, rather than weeks later once a buyer has already been found. For agents, this means greater pipeline certainty and fewer stalled transactions. For conveyancers, it enables a more balanced workload. And for buyers, it helps to create a smoother, more transparent and often quicker journey from offer to completion.

Early engagement with seller-side conveyancers at the point of listing can expedite the transaction process and save valuable time during those early moments. This will ensure the right information is collated, available and verified by a trusted party.

How the Project 28 Charter moves the industry forward

Members of the Project 28 Charter – the industry’s initiative to drive faster, more certain property transactions – will endeavour to instruct a seller-side conveyancer at the point of listing to create a complete contract pack with all required transaction documentation. The Charter – which is now open to membership – contains eight commitments to streamline the property transaction process, including utilising the industry’s digital readiness, to turn lost weeks into meaningful progress.

As the Government, and specifically MHCLG, reviews its Homebuying and Selling consultation, the Charter represents an industry approved blueprint to answer the Ministry’s proposals for drastic shake ups to how conveyancers work.

By advocating for the instruction of a seller-side conveyancer at the point of listing, upfront availability of relevant property information, the use of trusted data sources, and the implementation of a secure, interoperable data repository, the Charter supports the industry’s vision of a streamlined, digital-first property transaction process.

Real progress will not come from working harder within the same constraints, but from changing the foundations of the process itself. Earlier instruction, better information and clearer standards are all achievable today – and the Project 28 Charter provides a framework for making that shift collectively.

The question now is not whether change is needed, but how quickly the industry is prepared to act.

The Project 28 Charter is now open to members. Click here to visit the website and join the movement.

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