UK needs to rethink its antiquated conveyancing system if it’s to ‘Get Building Again’

Following the Government’s announcement to simplify the buying process the talk across the country currently is all about housing, our lack of it, the high demand, spiralling prices and a broken system. As with anything in the political sphere, talk is cheap and action is expensive, so just how what do they need to do to put us on a par with the rest of the world?

At the heart of the issue is our antiquated conveyancing system, which is currently the slowest process across the major nations of the world. On average the process to buy a home in the UK is 10-12 weeks, whilst over one third of all property sales fall through due to issues, frustrations or changes of circumstance that arise during conveyancing. Compare this to the fastest of them all, the USA, where the home buying timeline averages between 30 to 60 days. Even our commonwealth cousins in Australia, New Zealand and Canada benefit from a system that at its longest takes 90 days for a sale to go through.

So, if we really are to ‘Get Britain Building Again’ or want to breathe life back into a stagnant market then the greatest minds of the UK property industry need to come together to fix a broken system that is one of the worst performing in the world.

The solution is simple – we need to simplify the process and use smart technology to cut the bureaucracy and outdated requirements that are analogue in a digital world.

Too many of the legal processes that pave the way to exchange of contracts have remained unchanged for decades, if not longer. Whist we have seen the general adoption of ID verification apps, such as Thirdfort, that have helped speed up a task that once required documents to be submitted in their original form, there are still archaic methods that require digitisation.

One is the steadfast need for quill and ink signatures on documents in the presence of a witness – one that cannot be related or living at the same residence – another aspect that is an unnecessary roadblock. Whilst there are arguments that this belt and braces approach will avoid any potential legal spats down the line it is an overly cautious approach that is falling behind the standards set by other countries.

As a starting point to avoid the delay, confusion and frustration that is breaking down chains, a standardised Open Forum or Portal with full transparency of each process point within the conveyance process and every moment in time captured and recorded, which everyone in the chain can access, would reap immediate benefits by keeping everyone informed and reduce blind chasing and miscommunication.

From there the technology is readily available to simply streamline and digitise many of the conveyancing processes, such as switching to verified electronic signatures, document uploading, online survey management and so on.
Put into place correctly and if adopted by all parties in the process (agents, solicitors, lenders, surveyors) it is perfectly possible that the time to sell can be reduced by up to 70%, which would mean the UK is perfectly capable of matching the speed of its global neighbours.

The adoption of a technology led system, that could replace many roles and responsibilities within the conveyancing process, is unlikely to be universal immediately, however, there is urgent need for those at the top to put their heads together and face this issue head on. That is not to say we don’t need real humans – we do – and the best and brightest, but at this time there is too much room for human error that often leads to delays.

We need to see the most influential figures and greatest minds from the businesses and bodies that oversee estate agents, the legal profession, mortgage lenders and surveyors, to come together and create a taskforce to revamp this tired practice and implement a standard conveyancing protocol, so the grey areas can begin to clear and everyone in the chain can understand the process and their role within the system.

Communication, transparency, and cooperation among all parties involved are key to a successful and timely conveyancing process and the only way we are going to see real change is by ripping up the rule book and revolutionising an outdated process.