Property Reform Must Tackle “Unacceptable” Delays, London Firm Warns

A package of Government reforms designed to speed up homebuying does too little to address the underlying causes of common buyer complaints, according to a prominent London property law firm – as new figures suggest a drastic slowdown in the capital’s housing market.

The comments from Sharpwell Property Law follow the publication of the Government’s Home Buying and Selling Reform roadmap, which sets out plans for upfront sales packs, digital property logbooks, earlier binding contracts and greater use of digital tools across the transaction process.

Ministers say the reforms could cut transaction times, reduce fall-through rates and lower the cost of failed sales for buyers and sellers.

New figures from Zoopla appear to show the extent of the problem, with demand in the city down by 12% since January, and up to 72% of properties listed this year remaining unsold.

Sharpwell Property Law was founded by a group of veteran property solicitors and investors in response to rising delays in the system. The average time to exchange in the UK passed 134 days in 2026, an all-time high.
Tatiana Sharposhnikova, founder and CEO of Sharpwell Property Law, said:

“Demand hasn’t disappeared. People still need property. But demand is being deferred and delayed because the purchasing process is not working for buyers.

“Sales packs, earlier binding agreements and digitisation are all welcome reforms. But they do not fix the real issues which are causing hold-ups for buyers today, and holding the British system back compared with other jurisdictions where buying and selling is far quicker.

“The Government needs to work with the property sector to tackle the wider issues. Many of these challenges are rooted in the industry’s working culture. Despite increasing regulation, professionals still operate in fragmented silos where accountability and leadership are a problem.”

Sharpwell highlighted a staffing and recruitment crisis in the wider property law sector. Since 2021, qualified solicitor numbers in residential conveyancing have fallen by 16%, with around 1,100 firms exiting the market altogether since 2021.

Ian Boswell, the firm’s co-founder and Director for Finance and Administration, commented:
“Clients are coming to us with a negative conception of the process, shaped by their experiences with ‘conveyor belt conveyancing’, with inconsistent service and a lack of the expert guidance they need at one of the most significant moments of their lives.

“Investment in people has to sit alongside investment in technology. The Government needs to address this as a foundation of any reform to the sector.”

Tatiana added that under the existing system, no single party leads a property transaction. Law firms, estate agents and lenders each manage their own piece of the process, with no single point of co-ordination.

“Buyers feel no one is driving the bus,” she added. “The legal side of a property transaction remains reactive rather than proactive. A classic example is the seller’s solicitor sitting waiting for lender documentation – the estate agent assumes the solicitor is chasing, the lender waits for the broker to clarify, and the buyer is left in the dark, wondering what’s gone wrong. This causes transactions to stall and fail.

“There should be an expectation that law firms are responsible for pushing transactions forward, keeping clients updated throughout the process.

“This goes beyond policy, and becomes an issue that the industry needs to examine from within.”
Buyers consistently cite poor communication as one of their most stressful experiences during a property transaction, according to research.

Sharpwell Property Law operates a “Friday rule” guarantee, providing a weekly bulletin to every client regardless of whether there has been movement.

“Failed transactions can often be traced back to a communications breakdown or a confidence issue with the seller. Stress reduces when people feel informed.

“Sometimes, the difference between a streamlined transaction and a costly failure can be as simple as picking up the phone instead of an email. It’s a cultural change, and one the Government should work together with industry on solving.”