‘Government alone cannot improve home moving process’ says Land Registry official
Reforming and digitising the sales process will require substantial input from both the property industry and Government agencies, says HM Land Registry's Callum Moffat.
The Government cannot improve the home buying and selling process on its own and will need the property industry to pull together to make it happen, an senior Land Registry official has warned.
The comments by Callum Moffat, (main image) Innovation Delivery Manager at HM Land Registry, to a packed audience at Friday’s Negotiator Conference were part of debate that highlighted how, despite significant advances in technology, the average sale still takes 120 days and one in four transactions fall through.
Common protocols
The proposed reforms, which are focused on digitisation and mandatory up-front information, aim to shorten timescales and reduce the annual £1bn value in failed sales.
By giving buyers clearer information earlier, the panel said the system could then move towards more binding agreements once an offer is accepted.
However, for it to work, every part of the sales process must align. Estate agents, conveyancers and as many as seven different Government departments will need to agree on a standardised framework and common protocols.
We can do it, but we need your help.”
Kate Faulkner OBE, Chair of the Home Buying and Selling Group and a key contributor to the consultation process, acknowledged the scale of the task. She remained confident, though, that the reforms could succeed, but only if agents made their voices heard. “We can do it,” she said, “but we need your help.”
Tom Treadwell, who is a Strategy Advisor at MHCLG agreed, while Moffat said that Government “cannot do it on its own”.
Up-front information
One of the panel’s key concerns was the cost of producing up-front information, which will fall on vendors and may discourage some from listing.
Faulkner suggested a phased approach – starting with a lighter set of mandatory documents, then expanding gradually and supported by a media campaign to keep the public onside.
Treadwell added that it would create a “better transaction experience” for all parties, pointing to Scotland’s Home Report system, which has significantly reduced fall-through rates. He concluded by saying that the biggest number of complaints received by MHCLG was about house sales collapsing before completion.
