Conveyancing: Plan for single AML check
The government has promised to “simplify” conveyancing as part of its home-buying reforms, “recognising that the role and responsibilities of conveyancers have expanded significantly in recent years”.
It has also pulled back from the idea of publishing information on the services of property professionals with the aim of supporting consumer choice and driving competition.
The detail behind Friday’s announcement [1] that the government has committed to a ‘roadmap’ of reform promised that it has learned the lessons from home information packs as it looks to move towards mandatory sales packs containing upfront information, including a home condition report.
The proposals “to help simplify conveyancing to ensure that consumers and professionals do not face unnecessary delays and duplication” included support for “sector-led solutions to improve shareability of AML [anti-money laundering] checks and reduce duplication in the transaction process”.
The paper outlining the response [2] to last year’s consultation said: “We believe information needed for these checks should be gathered once, at a high standard, at the earliest possible stage.”
It went on: “Consultation responses suggested that the biggest gains in conveyancing efficiency will come from the implementation of our wider reforms such as sales packs, digitalisation, digital property logbooks and leasehold and freehold estate sales information. We will therefore prioritise these reforms to streamline conveyancing.
“We recognise the potential of AI to automate routine tasks (e.g. document classification, triage, data extraction) while preserving human judgement for decisions.
“Next year we will work with DPMSG [Digital Property Market Steering Group] to establish standards that ensure AI conveyancing technologies are applied practically and consistently across the sector, and will continue to work with industry more broadly to further identify suitable AI use cases.”
This would build on government’s AI Growth Lab, which as announced earlier this month [3] will start with legal services, including conveyancing.
The consultation attracted 1,133 responses, including from 152 conveyancers, while the separate consultation specifically on material information received 188 responses, 23 from conveyancers.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) stressed that the reforms would be introduced “step-by-step, with targeted support for industry where needed, recognising that sustainable change depends on giving industry the tools, skills and time to adapt”.
We have set out the full timetable for reform at the end of this article.
Some 79% of responses agreed there should be a mandatory requirement for comprehensive upfront information, while 58% agreed upfront information should include property searches and a property condition report.
Conveyancers were the least supportive group of including both and were more likely to oppose this proposal than support it (28% for, 38% opposed); 38% were in favour of at least one of searches or a condition report being provided upfront.
The MHCLG has decided to press ahead with requiring the preparation of ‘sales packs’ prior to listing, including searches and a property condition report.
The response said “we recognise that previous efforts at reform were unsuccessful, and we have carefully considered the challenges associated with home information packs to ensure our approach does not replicate similar issues…
“In particular, we will ensure upfront information is drawn from trusted data sources, underpinned by clear standards, and updated as needed.”
There will be legislation to ensure digital logbooks and packs become a standard part of property transactions; before then, the government will support voluntary efforts and promote them through a new, advisory home buying and selling charter.
This will be a “light-touch” guide, however. “In light of concerns about perverse incentives and the administrative burden of publishing and verifying data, we are not moving ahead with proposals to publish information on property professionals’ services.
“However, the charter will include direction on the information organisations are expected to publish to support transparency for customers.”
Support for binding conditional sale contracts was strong overall (72%) but only 45% of conveyancers backed them – though this was still more than opposed the idea (38%).
“Binding contracts would need to be flexible, accounting for legitimate circumstances where parties need to pull out of transactions, for example where they are forced to do so because their chain has collapsed,” the MHCLG recognised.
Timeline for reform
Now (in 2026)
- Publish non-statutory guidance to improve the quality of information in property listings and to support estate agents to meet their legal responsibilities.
- Identify ‘sales pack’ information working with industry that can be voluntarily provided, upfront immediately, to support more efficient transactions and help the sector adjust in anticipation of legislation.
- Publish a non-statutory Code of Practice setting out minimum standards for property agents.
- Explore opportunities to support training and skills development, including through existing training and apprenticeship routes, to build long-term capacity.
- Work with industry to build preparedness for the use of binding contracts and spread awareness of the voluntary use of reservation agreements.
- Commence next stage of work to improve accessibility of key property data in local authorities.
- Publish a call for evidence on a smart data scheme for the property sector.
Next (in 2027 to 2028)
- Publish an advisory charter setting out expectations and behaviours for property professionals to support efficient home buying and selling.
- Consult on mandatory qualifications for estate and letting agents.
- Work with the sector and facilitate uptake of digital ID, qualified electronic signatures and digital logbooks and packs.
- Consider which home-ownership schemes digital logbooks and sales packs should be made a requirement of.
- Consult on leasehold and freehold estates sales information legislation.
- Work with industry to define the most suitable penalty fee structure for binding contracts.
- Create a voluntary accreditation scheme to identify data standards that meet a core set of criteria for industry to adhere to.
- Consult on a smart data scheme for the property sector.
Future (by end of Parliament)
When parliamentary time allows, introduce legislation to:
- Require the preparation of ‘sales packs’ prior to listing, including searches and a property condition report.
- Require the use of binding conditional contracts in property transactions after sales packs are embedded.
- Support the secure sharing of data, and make digital sales packs and logbooks a standard feature of all property transactions.