Many conveyancing complaints do not begin with a mistake in the legal work. They begin with a gap between what the client expected and what actually happened.
The Legal Ombudsman has warned that information found online can create incorrect expectations about both the conveyancing process and the time it should take. Residential conveyancing accounted for 36% of complaints accepted by the Ombudsman in the final quarter of 2025, while research cited by the Ombudsman found that consumers expected a purchase to take eight and a half weeks when the average was closer to 17 weeks.
That gap matters. A client who expects an eight-week transaction may interpret an ordinary period of waiting as evidence that nothing is being done. If the firm has not explained the process clearly, reasonable delay can quickly become dissatisfaction, repeated chasing and, ultimately, a complaint.
Explain the whole conveyancing journey at the outset
Managing expectations does not mean warning every client that their transaction will be slow. It means explaining what the transaction is likely to involve, what can be controlled by the firm and what depends on other people.
At the beginning of the matter, the client should understand:
- the principal stages of the transaction;
- which steps depend on the seller’s solicitor, a mortgage lender, search provider, managing agent or local authority;
- why a leasehold, new-build or otherwise complex transaction may take longer;
- how often the firm will provide updates;
- when the client should contact the firm urgently; and
- why no responsible conveyancer can guarantee an exchange or completion date before the necessary work has been completed.
A simple process map can often communicate this more effectively than several pages of general wording. It also gives the client something concrete to refer to when the transaction appears to pause.
Manage the periods when there is no news
The quiet periods in a conveyancing transaction are often the most difficult for clients. The firm may be waiting for searches, replies to enquiries, a mortgage offer or information from a managing agent. The lawyer knows why the file cannot progress, but the client may only see silence.
A useful update does not need to contain a development. A short message can explain:
- what the firm is waiting for;
- who is responsible for supplying it;
- when it was requested or last chased;
- what will happen when it arrives; and
- whether the client needs to do anything.
For example: “We are still waiting for the local authority search. It was ordered on 8 April and the current estimated return date is 24 April. You do not need to take any action. We will contact you when it arrives, or sooner if the estimated date changes.”
Firms must also keep track of changing third-party service levels and reflect them in the timescales given to clients. For example, Coventry Building Society now allows five working days for redemption statements requested through its portal. Requesting the statement in good time and explaining that timescale to the client can prevent an avoidable last-minute delay from appearing to be inactivity by the conveyancer.
Predictable updates can reduce reactive chasing because the client knows when the next contact will take place. If a promised update date cannot be met, the client should be told rather than left to chase.
Use the client-care documents to set real expectations
Terms and conditions should not be treated as small print that exists only to protect the firm. Together with the engagement letter and the firm’s CQS Client Care Policy, they should provide a practical framework for the relationship.
The documents should explain communication arrangements, service levels, likely third-party delays, responsibility for supplying information, circumstances that may involve additional work and costs, and matters that fall outside the firm’s control.
Those documents also need to remain current. The CLIENTCAREmonitor Terms and Conditions Notification Service provides monthly notification of new wording that firms may wish to consider adding to their own terms. It enables a firm to retain its existing drafting process while keeping emerging risks and changes under review.
The Report on Title is the final expectations document
The Report on Title is not simply a summary of searches and title documents. It is the point at which the client should understand, before becoming legally committed, what they are buying and how any material issue may affect their use, enjoyment, value, sale or remortgage of the property.
A good report should distinguish between:
- the legal position;
- the practical consequence for the client;
- any lender requirement;
- the available options or protections; and
- any decision the client must make before exchange.
Simply identifying a restriction, short lease, missing right or unusual ground-rent provision is not enough. The client needs to understand what it could mean in practice. The e-ROT Notification Service helps firms keep their Report on Title precedent under review by providing a monthly selection of suggested paragraphs addressing current and emerging conveyancing risks.
When the problem only becomes clear years later
Poor expectation management can have consequences long after completion. A client may only discover the significance of a title or leasehold problem when they later try to sell or remortgage. At that stage, the issue is no longer an abstract paragraph in an old report. It may affect value, mortgageability or the ability to proceed with a transaction.
WhenIBought.com is designed for owners who discover a property problem after purchase and are questioning what they were told at the time. It covers issues including short leases, missing easements, absent freeholders, building regulations, planning permission, ground rent and flying freeholds. It helps owners identify the relevant questions and understand why the position at the date of purchase may matter.
This is precisely why a Report on Title should do more than record that a document was supplied or a risk existed. It should explain the practical implications in language the client can understand and retain.
Do not let communication stop at completion
Clients may assume that registration will be completed almost immediately after they collect the keys. Firms should explain the post-completion process, including the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax where applicable, submission of the registration application, possible HM Land Registry timescales and the circumstances in which a requisition may cause further delay.
The client should also know whether the firm will provide confirmation when registration is complete and what documents they will receive. Our article on why post-completion work cannot be treated as an afterthought explains the wider risks created by delays and avoidable registration errors.
A practical expectation-management checklist
Firms should be able to answer yes to each of the following questions:
- Do we explain the transaction stages and likely dependencies at the outset?
- Do we identify early when a matter is likely to be more complex than usual?
- Do clients know how and when they will receive updates?
- Do our updates explain what we are waiting for and what happens next?
- Are our terms and conditions, client-care documents and service levels consistent?
- Does our Report on Title explain practical consequences rather than merely list legal facts?
- Do we explain completion, registration and post-completion timescales?
- Can we demonstrate that our precedents and client documents are reviewed and updated?
The bottom line
Managing expectations is not an exercise in lowering them. It is about giving the client an accurate picture of the journey, communicating during periods of uncertainty and explaining material risks in practical language.
A client who understands what is happening, why the matter may pause and when they will next hear from the firm is less likely to feel ignored. More importantly, a client who understands the property before exchange is less likely to discover years later that an important issue was technically disclosed but never properly explained.