The Intermediary – March 2026 - Flipbook - Page 8
RESIDENTIAL
Opinion
Streamlining the
process, safely
and securely
T
he Ministry of Housing,
Communities and
Local Government’s
(MHCLG) Home Buying
and Selling Reform
consultation signifies
positive progress for the industry,
including brokers and lenders.
It is garnering the Government
support it needs to drive change and
encourage ongoing private investment
in the right technology to support all
stakeholders in property transactions.
The intermediary market, along
with the wider industry, can feel
encouraged by the objectives of
the consultation.
These include creating faster and
more reliable transactions, reducing
fall-throughs and fraud risk, and
improving consumer awareness,
with the overarching aim of building
trust in the system that is a crucial
cornerstone of the UK economy.
Consultation in practice
Making progress towards achieving
these goals requires an in-depth look
at specific steps of the process and
how they can be improved. Material
information, digital property
logbooks, improved data flows and
streamlined conveyancing are all
essential ingredients of a digitised
home buying and selling process.
The good news for the Government
is that it does not need to pass primary
pieces of legislation to create a more
efficient and transparent home buying
and selling environment.
With a series of low-cost regulatory
changes, we could establish a coherent
digital framework that speaks to all of
those points.
Currently, when prospective
homeowners take the first step in the
homebuying process, many are faced
with very lile information to enable
6
The Intermediary | March 2026
them to make an informed decision.
This leads to a series of issues later on
in the transaction: if issues surface,
delays occur and deals can ultimately
fall through,
Using secondary legislation
to define and enforce material
information requirements at the point
of listing – which it has been estimated
currently adds around £1,240 per
transaction and introduces months
of delay – would go a long way in
addressing this.
With beer upfront information
in place, the next logical step is to
improve the quality and ability of this
data to flow through the transaction
process. Using existing powers to
support trusted property data by
recognising common data standards
and opening access to authoritative
datasets, such as the Property Data
Trust Framework, would remove
duplication and optimise workflows.
Additionally, extending existing
powers under the Land Registration
Act 2002, could enable digital
completion and title registration,
allowing verified data to flow through
to the point at which money is
exchanged for title.
Initiatives like the Future Property
Transaction Group showcase exactly
how this can be done to deliver more
transparent and certain transactions
via effective industry collaboration.
One step further
Ensuring the improvement of the
transaction process is at the forefront
of the Government’s policy thinking is
no mean feat, but there remains much
to do before we can deliver a fully
secure end-to-end transaction.
Transactions oen rely on manual
processes, losing an estimated nine
million hours annually. Significant
time is lost due to the duplication of
ANGELA HESKETH
is head of Government and
public affairs at PEXA
checks, particularly ID verification
and anti-money laundering
(AML) checks.
The consultation demonstrates clear
actions towards beering the property
industry, but real aention is still
needed in the most vulnerable stage in
the home-buying chain: completion
and title registration.
The movement of funds in a
property chain of transactions
currently involves multiple
stakeholders holding funds in separate
accounts, manual transfers via
generic banking rails, and duplicated
verification checks.
This fragmented approach
diminishes visibility at its most crucial
moment, where neither the consumer
nor the professional can be certain of
the transaction’s status in real-time.
Digital completion infrastructure is
therefore a foundational component
of an efficient and affordable property
transaction, and the industry should
consider how property completions fit
within the wider reform agenda.
We can expect to see ongoing
engagement with officials as this work
progresses, through collaborative
work with Government, regulators
and the wider industry to support
reforms that will improve outcomes
for consumers and professionals alike.
Ensuring that digital completions
are properly considered as part of
the wider reform agenda will help
us progress to a stage where beer
infrastructure is implemented
across the board, and will enable
conveyancers, lenders and brokers
to deliver a beer service to
their clients. ●
