The Intermediary – November 2025 - Flipbook - Page 55
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
to be especially important as the market continues
to consolidate and, let’s be honest, potentially
gets even busier. Conveyancing has been seen as
a commoditised service and often viewed as quite
an old-fashioned industry. This simply isn’t correct
and will not attract the right kind of people into
becoming future conveyancers.”
There are practical moves that can be made.
Slade’s firm uses an app and digital signatures, and
he outlines the potential for even greater gains if
the sector can digitise all key documents.
He says: “If we could do the same for the TR1
form, that would be massive. The mortgage deed
is the last big one. If we could get that signed
electronically, too, we wouldn’t have to post
documents out, risk them getting lost, wait for
them to come back. It could save a week or two.”
Digitising the TR1 is easier said than done,
of course, due to the fragmented homebuying
ecosystem, with inconsistent data, legacy systems,
limited digital ID adoption, and unresolved legal
and liability issues. There is, therefore, work to be
done before this can be achieved.
Gray acknowledges the complexity of digital
transformation, saying: “We’re looking to raise
the bar on what’s coming into us, to validate
information more fully upfront, which will start to
lift standards.”
He points out that while the Government has a
role, significant change will need to be industryled, and that “no single organisation can make
change happen in isolation – enough of the sector
needs to move together.”
Next steps: With digitisation of TR1 as
a key goal, businesses must engage with
tech now, rather than waiting for others.
R A I S I NG S TA N DA R D S
Meaningful progress calls for a new era of
collaboration, and for the establishment of
higher, consistent standards across the sector.
Property transactions too often are hampered by
fragmented approaches and incompatible systems.
Coughlan says: “There is not one ‘big ticket’
change that will rectify the challenges we face.
But we have some real momentum with players
like LMS, Landmark and the Land Registry,
and some lenders that are running real tests in
their sandboxes. Conveyancers just want clear
standards and accessibility. Everyone is making
incremental improvements vertically, but we need
the game-changers that will move things forward,
to do that we need to work together.”
Holden emphasises the importance of
distinguishing trusted information, arguing that
process reform is not just about ticking boxes for
compliance. Only actionable, verified data delivers
true assurance and value.
Coughlan points to the Property Data Trust
Framework as a positive step, but one that remains
a challenge to implement, adding: “Not every firm
can integrate APIs and ingest data. Rather uniquely
in this industry, conveyancing, estate agencies,
and mortgage broking are largely fragmented, so
bringing it all together is a very real challenge, that
we all need to solve.”
Quinton highlights the issues caused by a lack
of shared standards: “If agents, brokers, and
conveyancers all do things differently and don’t
share information, it creates friction. We need to
find ways to trust each other more.”
Hale adds: “When we talk about collaboration,
what we mean is two businesses working together
to agree on a structured and well-governed way →
