Turning consultation responses into practical change for the property market in 2026 – Rudolf

For the CA, the responses submitted on behalf of our members are firmly focused on delivery. The aim is not reform for its own sake, but changes that reduce risk, cut delays and improve certainty for all parties involved in a transaction, including mortgage advisers, lenders and valuers, as well as conveyancers and estate agents.

Why these consultations matter to mortgage stakeholders

From a mortgage market perspective, both consultations go directly to long-standing issues that advisers and lenders deal with every day. Incomplete or late information, uncertainty around property acceptability, and last-minute legal issues all contribute to delays, declined cases and transactions collapsing after significant time and cost have already been invested.

The CA has consistently argued that these problems are structural, not behavioural. They are the result of a system that gathers critical information too late and relies on repeated checks by multiple parties, rather than trusted data being shared early and relied upon with confidence. Our responses to both consultations focus on the practical changes required to improve this and the need for implementation that prioritises both clarity and consistency.

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Earlier and clearer property information

A central theme across both our responses is the need for property information to be gathered and verified before a property is marketed, rather than after an offer has been accepted. For mortgage advisers and lenders, this has clear benefits. Issues that affect lending decisions, such as tenure, remaining lease length, restrictions on use, building safety concerns or recent flooding history, can be identified much earlier in the process.

This allows advisers to place cases with appropriate lenders from the outset, rather than discovering problems weeks later that result in declined applications or costly product changes. For lenders and valuers, it reduces the volume of cases that reach valuation stage only to fail due to title or property issues that could have been identified at the start.

We at the CA have been clear that upfront information should focus on what is genuinely material, rather than overwhelming buyers or advisers with raw technical data. The objective is clarity, not volume, and information should be presented in a way that supports informed decisions by both consumers and professionals.

Clear roles and reduced risk

Another key area highlighted in our responses is the importance of clearly defined professional roles. Mortgage advisers, conveyancers, surveyors and estate agents all rely on property information, but they do so for different reasons and within different regulatory frameworks.

The CA has argued strongly that agents should not be expected to interpret legal or technical data, and that conveyancers should not be treated as default advisers on issues that sit outside their legal remit. For the mortgage market, this clarity reduces the risk of reliance on misunderstood or misrepresented information and helps ensure advisers can confidently explain to clients where specialist advice is required.

This also has implications for professional indemnity and lender risk management. Clear boundaries around responsibility and reliance make it easier for lenders and insurers to support the use of earlier information, rather than treating it with caution or duplicating checks later in the process.

Standard data and digital delivery

A further area where we believe real change can be delivered is through the use of standardised property data and digital systems. Linking key property information to a single unique property reference and allowing it to be shared securely between professionals has benefits well beyond conveyancing.

For mortgage advisers, it reduces repeated requests for the same information and shortens the time between initial advice and mortgage offer. For lenders, it supports more consistent underwriting decisions and reduces friction between valuation, legal and credit processes.

We have continued to emphasise that digital property logbooks and data sharing must be portable and interoperable, rather than locked into single platforms. This matters for the mortgage market because it avoids fragmentation and ensures advisers and lenders are not tied to specific systems in order to access the information they need to make decisions.

Enforcement and consistency

Perhaps the most important point for all stakeholders is enforcement. We are adamant that guidance alone will not deliver change, as the legal framework around material information has existed for many years without consistent compliance. We believe proper enforcement is essential to ensure those who do comply are not disadvantaged, and the benefits of reform are felt across the entire transaction chain.

A shared opportunity in 2026

As the government considers its next steps following the closure of both consultations, our position is that 2026 can be a year of tangible progress if reform focuses on delivery rather than aspiration. Earlier information, clearer roles, trusted data and consistent enforcement offer benefits not just for conveyancers, but for mortgage advisers, lenders, valuers and, ultimately, consumers.