Digitalisation: the panacea for all conveyancing maladies and an early Valentine’s Day present?

Our readers may have heard the news from Matthew Pennycook (the Housing and Planning Minister) that the UK Government is now fully committed to digitalising the conveyancing process.

The Minister says: “We are streamlining the cumbersome home buying process so that it is fit for the twenty-first century, helping homebuyers save money, gain time and reduce stress while also cutting the number of house sales that fall through.”

Of interest is that the jurisdiction of Norway has been referenced as an example of how well digitalisation can work, with transactions completing in around one month.

Government statistics suggest that transactions which fail to complete can be as many as one in three (30,000 annually), with associated costs of £400m per year, and with a further four million working days lost by those in the industry (valued at a significant £1bn).

Full details of the press release can be found here.

We at Ferbrache & Farrell LLP have written many articles about HM Land Registry and its transformative development through ongoing digitalisation. Anything which can help the wider conveyancing process become more frictionless can only be a beneficial step forward.

As part of the new commitment, a number of pilot projects are being set up by Government, in collaboration with HM Land Registry, and supported by a Digital Property Market Steering Group.

We await with interest the ensuing developments, and our team are already enthusiastic, early adopters of relevant technology to best help our clients.

For further information about any UK Real Estate matters, including selling, buying, leasing, or financing, please do not hesitate to contact Anna Douglass or Alastair Hargreaves, or any member of the UK Real Estate team at Ferbrache & Farrell LLP and who will be delighted to help.