Surrey Law Society has submitted its formal response to the Government’s Home Buying and Selling Reform Consultation, setting out the Society’s views and the practical experience of conveyancers working across Surrey.

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The consultation considers wide-ranging proposals to improve the home buying and selling process, including mandatory upfront information, digital property logbooks and packs, earlier binding arrangements, streamlining of AML checks, and further digitalisation across the property market.

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Why conveyancers’ voices matter

Conveyancers play a central role in protecting consumers and progressing transactions. The Society considers it vital that reform is shaped by those with direct, day-to-day experience of the realities of residential property work — including the legal and practical factors that cause delay, risk and uncertainty.

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Surrey Law Society’s response

Our response supports the Government’s ambition for a faster, more transparent and more trusted home buying and selling system. However, it also emphasises that reform must be practical, proportionate and evidence-led, and should address long-standing structural barriers to efficiency — including issues such as leasehold complexity, management company delays, inconsistent lender requirements, and duplicative checks and processes.

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The response also highlights the importance of ensuring that digital tools support professional judgment and consumer protection, with clear accountability, appropriate liability frameworks, and robust safeguards where property and personal data is involved.

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Read the full response

The full Surrey Law Society response is available to read on our website here:
https://surreylawsociety.org.uk/news/.

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The Government consultation can be viewed here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/home-buying-and-selling-reform/home-buying-and-selling-reform.