We’ve heard it all before, haven’t we? Another focus on improving the process, another promise to ‘fix’ the broken home buying and selling market, another round of headlines about cutting costs, speeding up completions and dialling the stress down.
It’s no wonder so many people in our industry take these announcements with a hefty pinch of salt. After all, we’ve been talking about reform for the best part of twenty years - from the HIPs experiment, eventually watered down and then killed off - to digital pilots that never quite got off the ground.
And yet here we are, still dealing with a process which (on average) appears to take longer than ever, amidst delays, uncertainty, fall-throughs and transactions that can take months to crawl over the line.
So yes, it’s easy to believe that nothing is ever really going to change. But this time, the tone feels different, and the work that has got us to this point feels like it means more than ever before.
It’s for these reasons, and many others, that it feels like the Government’s new consultation isn’t another quick fix or headline grabber. It feels, and I may be judged to be wrong in the future, like it’s a serious attempt to tackle the underlying issues that have held the market back for far too long.
The focus on upfront property data, digital identity, interoperability between systems and greater transparency finally gets to the heart of the problem: inefficiency. And for once, the policy discussion aligns with what the industry has already been saying for years.
Because let’s be honest, the drive for change hasn’t come from Westminster - it’s been coming from within the industry itself. Conveyancers, brokers, lenders, and technology providers have all been pushing this agenda forward. We’ve seen steady progress with digital onboarding, e-signatures, and smarter ways to manage information and communication. It’s slow, yes, but it’s happening. The difference now is that this Government seems to be catching up to where the market already is.
That doesn’t mean we should sit back and let them get on with it. If we want these reforms to deliver the improvements they promise, then we, as an industry, need to continue to make our voices heard.
The consultation is open, and this is the time for lenders, advisers, conveyancers, and trade bodies to respond constructively. We all know where the friction points are. We all know which parts of the process create the biggest delays, and what kind of technology could help fix them. If we don’t tell policymakers how to get this right, we can’t complain if they get it wrong.
From a conveybuddy perspective, reform is long overdue, but it will only succeed if advisers are recognised as central to the process. Advisers already play a key role in ensuring clients make the right decisions, and that should continue as the system evolves. A truly modernised process won’t remove the need for advisers, it will make them even more important.
Clients will still need someone they trust to interpret the process, explain the implications, and guide them to quality service providers.
Advisers are the ones who can help clients avoid the pitfalls of choosing a conveyancer purely on price or because ‘free legals’ were included in a remortgage deal. They can point clients towards firms that have the capacity, who specialise, that use technology well, and that can complete efficiently and transparently. That’s how advisers add real value.
What’s encouraging is that we can already see momentum building. Technology providers and legal firms are experimenting with shared data platforms and AI-driven admin tools to take out repetition and manual entry. Lenders are increasingly conscious of how conveyancing delays affect pipeline and service delivery. Advisers are more aware of how client experience during the legal process can shape repeat business and referrals.
So yes, it’s working, albeit slowly, but surely. The direction of travel is right. What’s needed now is scale, structure, and shared standards.
For the reforms to truly deliver, they have to be designed in partnership with those of us who live and breathe the process every day. That means listening to advisers, conveyancers, and other frontline professionals who know what clients actually experience. It also means recognising technology isn’t a magic wand. It’s an enabler. One that still relies on people using it intelligently and consistently.
So let’s bust this myth once and for all. Change is coming - real, practical change - but it’s not guaranteed. It depends on us. The Government can set the ambition, but the industry has to make it work. That starts with responding to the consultation and ensuring the reforms reflect how transactions happen in practice, not just in policy papers. If we do that, we can finally build a home buying and selling process that’s fit for purpose, that delivers for clients, and that recognises the adviser’s place at the heart of it all.
