Preparing for pressure, reform and change across conveyancing

There are some member meetings where discussion stays at a high level and others where the reality of what firms are dealing with day-to-day comes sharply into focus.

Last week our AGM & All Member Meetings were very much the latter, because almost every session reflected the current pressures conveyancing firms are facing, alongside the pace of change which continues to build across the wider property sector.

What was clear throughout the day – and in my view is one of the key strengths of the Association – was the willingness of members to engage openly with those challenges, share experiences and focus on practical ways to prepare for what comes next.

Tax adviser requirements dominate discussion

 Unsurprisingly, much of the conversation centred on the upcoming HMRC tax adviser requirements linked to SDLT submissions, particularly with the implementation date now fast approaching.

This is an issue we have been heavily engaged with alongside the Home Buying & Selling Council, HMRC and MHCLG, because while the administrative process itself may prove relatively straightforward, the wider implications for firms are far more significant.

Matt Gannon of SCA Law explored this in detail during his session, using practical case studies to demonstrate how quickly SDLT can move beyond routine transactional work into areas requiring specialist tax expertise and oversight.

One of the strongest themes emerging from conversations throughout the day was concern around the perception this creates for consumers. Conveyancers are being required to register because of interaction with HMRC systems, not because they are suddenly becoming tax advisers in the traditional sense, yet there is understandable unease about how that distinction will be understood by clients.

Cyber security remains one of the biggest operational risks

If there was one session that genuinely appeared to shock delegates, it was Francis West’s cyber security presentation and the workshop which followed later in the afternoon.

His central point, “They don’t hack in…they log in”, captured perfectly how much cyber risk now sits around compromised credentials, human behaviour and increasingly convincing social engineering rather than dramatic technical breaches.

The figures alone were sobering, with £11.7 million reportedly lost to conveyancing fraud between April 2024 and March 2025, but it was the practical demonstrations and real-world examples that seemed to resonate most strongly with members throughout the day.

Wider pressures remain firmly in view

The Legal Member Firm Open Session, chaired by David Bridge of Kiteleys Solicitors, also provided an important opportunity for members to discuss the wider operational and commercial pressures continuing to build across the profession.

Growing complexity, increasing client expectations, regulatory demands and resource pressures are all combining to create a more challenging environment for firms, particularly at a time when many are also trying to prepare for broader structural and digital reform.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2026

What last week’s meeting reinforced more than anything is that conveyancing continues to sit at the centre of significant change, but also firms remain willing to engage constructively with those challenges and work collectively towards practical solutions.

Thank you to all members, speakers, affiliate partners and delegates who contributed throughout the day, and we now look ahead to our next two All Member Meetings taking place later this year.

The first is at Surveyors House in Westminster on the 2^nd July, followed by our October meeting and charity dinner at Liverpool’s Liver Building on the 8^th October.

Given the pace of change currently moving through the sector, I suspect the conversations will be just as lively and everyone at the Association is looking forward to gathering again to discuss this and much more.

Nicky Heathcote is Non-Executive Chair at The Conveyancing Association