Blog: Making a vision a reality – Mortgage Finance Gazette

It follows two major consultations, which sought the views of professionals working across the property market to help shape what will be the biggest shake-up of the market in a generation, increasing clarity, certainty and confidence that transactions will proceed much earlier in the buying journey for all those involved.

As a long-standing member of the Home Buying and Selling Council and Digital Property Market Steering Group that did so much to develop the plans the government has adopted, the CLC looks forward to working with colleagues across the industry to make this vision a reality and continue our mission to support innovation in the delivery of legal services.

The key takeaways

A headline point is the introduction of mandatory and legally binding contracts much earlier in the process to prevent buyers and sellers from backing out at a late stage without legitimate cause. This will be supported by ‘sales packs’ containing all the upfront information prospective buyers need in order to make an informed decision. This will give buyers and sellers much greater confidence in the transaction much sooner than at present.

This speed to confidence is arguably much more important than reducing the overall length of transactions, however, that is important too, and the government estimates that these measures will cut the average home buying time by four weeks, as well as delivering a projected saving of £650 for first-time buyers.

A new code of practice will also set out standards for estate agents, alongside proposals for mandatory qualifications for the sector.

Surfing the digital wave

Notable among the government’s plans is the continued focus on digitalisation. The use of digital ID checks, property logbooks and eventually digitalising ‘sales packs’ will mean that professionals and would-be buyers and sellers alike will swiftly have all the necessary information at their fingertips.

To be clear, this means a move away from a forms-based approach that often still sees data being buried in pdf documents rather than being able to flow freely and be relied upon as consistently understood data fields.

We particularly welcome the stated commitment to supporting the best-practice use of AI conveyancing technology, with the plan to incorporate AI tools and automate certain aspects of the conveyancing process. The government recognises the need to ensure the secure sharing of data, and we look forward to seeing the details of the government’s planned regulatory framework.

Our position has always been that AI can enhance a conveyancer’s work, freeing them up to use their skills and expertise and focus on advising their clients. The use of AI is not to de-skill and disrupt the market, but give a helping hand to the ever important and human work of home buying and selling.

As part of this, the CLC is proud to be a launch partner for the government’s recently announced AI Growth Lab, sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

The Lab will function as a regulatory sandbox to facilitate the development and adoption of AI products, within the existing frameworks. The CLC and other bodies involved will work with AI innovators directly to develop new tools and programs. Applications for AI innovators — including lawtech companies, legal services providers and providers and conveyancing firms — are expected to open in the coming weeks.

The CLC is also proud to be partnering with Raidiam and the Open Property Data Association (OPDA) on a Smart Property Data Trust Framework, a sandbox that is being developed through a £750,000 grant from the Regulators’ Pioneer Fund. Data providers and users, including lawtech firms and conveyancers have been able to test how property data will be able to  be shared and reused with confidence by professionals across the home-moving process in future.

The sandbox’s success, from proof of concept to the testing of a wide range of business use cases, is a promising look into the future, as we move beyond a paper-based system and to a truly digital, fast and reliable home buying and selling process.

Rebuilding the homebuying and selling market

The government’s roadmap promises to usher in a generational shift to home buying and selling. These are sweeping reforms that will be implemented in a coordinated way, and the CLC looks forward to playing its part alongside the rest of the industry.

Stephen Ward is director of strategy and external relations, Council for Licensed Conveyancers