Reform cannot stop at the front door: the case for modernising the last mile

For decades, buying or selling a home in the UK has been characterised by uncertainty. Repeated paperwork, fragmented communication and lengthy delays have become accepted as an avoidable part of moving home. What should be one of life’s most exciting moments, filled with positivity and optimism, too often gives way to uncertainty, frustration and stress.

The encouraging news is that the industry is moving forward. There is welcome momentum behind reforming the way homes are bought and sold, with government, regulators and industry increasingly aligned around upfront information, trusted data, digital verification and greater interoperability. These changes can help buyers make informed decisions sooner and bring potential issues to light before they cause delays.

Consumers strongly support this direction and are ready for a more transparent connected and digital experience Our UK Home Moving Experience Report 2026 found that almost 93% of recent home buyers believe access to more verified upfront property information would increase their confidence when purchasing a home. 

But consumers experience the transaction as one continuous journey, and reform cannot stop once the upfront information has been provided. If completion and registration remain fragmented, manually coordinated and difficult to track, uncertainty simply moves to the final stages. Reform must reach the last mile, modernising completion and title registration as part of the same clear, connected process.

One journey, not a collection of processes 

For home movers their progression through their dealings with estate agents, mortgage brokers, conveyancers, and mortgage lenders form one journey. They judge the experience by whether they understand what is happening, whether their money and information are secure, and whether the transaction reaches the promised outcome. 

Our report found that only 7% of respondents completed their home move without delays, while more than 80% experienced significant stress at multiple stages. Uncertainty around the completion date was one of the biggest causes of that stress, underlining why the last mile is central to the wider reform agenda.

Completion day is crucial as it is the point where mortgage funds are released, payments move between multiple parties, ownership transfers and title registration begins. Yet this crucial stage remains one of the least modernised parts of the process, and delays at this point can affect every linked transaction in a chain, not only one buyer and seller.

Turning trusted information into coordinated action

Upfront information and Smart Data can reduce duplication and surface potential risks earlier. But for trusted information to realise its full value, it must support coordinated action throughout the entirety of transaction. That requires more than digitising individual documents or processes. It requires secure infrastructure that connects the organisations involved, reduces manual hand-offs and provides a shared view of progress when funds are moving and the application to update the register is being prepared. 

Secure digital completions, interoperable systems, and real-time visibility should therefore be central to reform, not a later technical add-on. They can help reduce manual hand-offs, strengthen auditability and give lenders and conveyancers a shared view of progress, and provide consumers with clearer visibility throughout their move 

The opportunity is not to choose between fixing the beginning or the end of the transaction. It is to connect them, and ensure the entire process works effectively, from start to finish. A future-ready property market should provide trusted information from the outset and maintain certainty until the funds have moved, the keys have changed hands, and the register is updated.