The UK conveyancing market in 2026: what the data shows
Andrew Stevens, general manager at Access Legal, spotlights key points from Access Legal’s annual State of the UK Conveyancing Market report (2026) on the competitive pressures, client expectations and regulatory obligations shaping the conveyancing landscape — this year’s edition comes with the most extensive dataset in the reports history
Conveyancing in 2026 is a profession doing more with less. With fewer solicitors practising in conveyancing than five years ago and a more demanding regulatory environment, the profession is feeling the pressure. Longer completion times (123 days on average to exchange in 2025), and client expectations around speed and communication that continue to rise are adding to it as well.
If you work in or alongside the UK conveyancing sector, understanding what is driving those pressures and where the market is heading matters more than ever.
The fourth edition of the State of the UK Conveyancing Market report, published annually by Access Legal, captures the entire market context that shaped FY25/26. The report is built on 15 months of HM Land Registry (HMLR) data (the most extensive dataset in the report’s history), and it covers the competitive landscape, client expectations, compliance obligations, regional breakdown and the outlook for FY26/27.
A market shaped by two contrasting forces
The temporary Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) thresholds ended on 31 March 2025, which led to a significant spike in property transactions from January to March 2025. Buyers rushed to complete purchases before the tax rates increased.
Consequently, from April 2025, the transaction activity declined for three consecutive months. Monthly HMLR dealing completions for the reporting period reached the lowest volume in May 2025, at 273,694.
The other major focal point is re-mortgaging, with an estimated 1.8 million fixed-rate mortgage deals due to expire by the end of 2026. Although this created a substantial refinancing pipeline, it did not translate into a spike in new business for conveyancing firms. That is because homeowners opted for internal product transfers.
The workforce is smaller while the workload is not
According to the IRN UK Residential Conveyancing Market Report 2026, 10,724 solicitors were practising in residential conveyancing in England and Wales by January 2026, a number that has continued to drop since 2021.
The same report also highlights that the total number of law firms active in the sector dropped to an estimated 5,904. The trend has been consistent for several years, driven by factors like retirement, career changes, and a rate of closures that consistently outpaces new entrants.
Firms that want to capitalise on the market recovery and process higher volumes of work will need to build capacity through process efficiency, technology, and considered use of AI.
Good legal work is no longer enough on its own
The complaints data tells you what clients actually experience. 2025 data from TwentyCi placed the average time to exchange at approximately 123 days. At the same time, the Legal Ombudsman’s 2025/26 complaints data reports that the two most common causes of complaints were poor communication and failure to progress.
Access Legal’s Client Experience Value Gap 2026 report reveals a consistent pattern. In 2026, clients who’ve used legal services expect to get updates before they even think about receiving them. On top of that, only 28% prioritise lower cost, while 65% value speed, communication, empathy and convenience more than price.
The gap isn’t between good firms and bad ones. It’s between what clients expect and what most firms are set up to deliver.
Where does your firm sit in the competitive landscape?
According to the UK Legal Services Market Report 2026, the number of Solicitor RSRA-regulated law firms fell by 1,100 between December 2020 to December 2025, while the UK legal services revenue increased by 6.1%. This shows that the UK legal market continues to grow and it is not a sign that smaller practices are failing.
Our report shows that Taylor Rose Law retained the number one position nationally with 33,395 HMLR applications across the period analysed, registering 91% more volume than O’Neill Patient in second place with 17,501.
Regionally, the South East remains the highest-volume area, accounting for 22.4% of all combined regional volume across the 15-month period. When comparing April to June 2026 against the same period in 2025, growth was broad-based across all regions, with the North recording the strongest increase at 30.1% and the North West close behind at 29.4%.
Five regulatory changes in twelve months
The last 12 months were busy from a compliance perspective, which shows why firms that treat compliance as a standing operational priority are better placed to compete.
In the report, we discuss the updated anti-money laundering (AML) guidance, a new mandatory property information form, further amendments to theAML regulations, and the forthcoming transfer of AML supervision from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to the Financial Conduct Authority 9FCA), pending legislation.
What to expect in FY26/27
The report closes with seven practical steps for the year ahead. The firms that will thrive in FY26/27 are those that invest in process efficiency, technology integration, clear processes for AI adoption, and improving the client experience.
The State of the UK Conveyancing Market 2026 report is available to download now. It includes the regional breakdown across all 10 HMLR regions, the top 10 firms based on weighted monthly HMLR performance, compliance action checklists for each of the five regulatory changes, the outlook for FY26/27, and the methodology. If you want to know where your firm sits in the market, and what the next 12 months are likely to bring, it’s a useful read.
