CLC Consumer Survey on Referral Arrangements

The Council for Licensed Conveyancers, the CLC, is the specialist regulator for licensed conveyancers and probate practitioners in England and Wales. We are looking at referral arrangements in the conveyancing sector, how they are explained and understood by consumers.

A referral arrangement can happen when, for example, an estate agent, mortgage adviser, lender or other organisation recommends a conveyancer to you and they may receive a payment or other benefit in return. Referral arrangements are not uncommon in businesses and are used to obtain new work, alongside, or instead of, traditional marketing and advertising.

The CLC currently permits referral arrangements, provided clients are made aware of them. This includes being told if referral fees are paid and if there is any impact on them as consumers.

We need your help as a consumer. We want to understand what consumers are told about these arrangements, when they are told, and whether the information provided has helped them make an informed choice about which conveyancer to use. We are gathering information on how widely referral arrangements are used, how much conveyancers pay for a referral. We need this information to check the rules are being followed and that consumers best interests always come first.

We have recently published our interim findings, and your views are important in shaping our final recommendations.

We want to hear from people who have recently used conveyancing services to understand experiences and awareness of these arrangements. Your feedback will help us consider whether current rules and guidance are working as intended and whether clearer information or stronger safeguards are needed in the future.

How we use your data:
Your responses are anonymous - your responses cannot be traced back to you. No individual responses will be published or shared. The data will be used solely for the purposes of this thematic review and will be handled in line with the CLC's privacy policy.

Key Information:

The deadline for responses is midnight on Friday 25 September 2026
The survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
You can read our Thematic Review of Referral Arrangements Interim Report on the CLC website or by clicking on the blue text in this sentence.

The survey should only take a few minutes to complete. Your responses will help inform our work to improve transparency, support consumer choice and maintain confidence in conveyancing services.

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.

1.How did you find your conveyancer?

Other (please specify)

2.What was the main reason for choosing your Conveyancer?

Other. Please provide further information.

3.If your conveyancer was recommended by an Estate Agent, mortgage adviser or other business - were you told they may receive a fee (money or a gift) for referring you?

Yes

Not sure

If you selected Yes, who told you about the referral arrangements?

4.How were you told about the referral arrangement?

Before the quote was given to me

When I received the quote

When I received the Terms of Engagement/Client Care letter from the Conveyancer

Don't Know

I was not told about a referral arrangement

Other (please specify)

5.Were you told by the mortgage advisor, estate agent or other referrer that you could choose a different conveyancer if you wanted to?

Yes

Not sure

6.When do you think you should be told about a referral arrangement?

By the Estate Agent/Mortgage Advisor/other when they recommend the Conveyancer

When you first contact the Conveyancer

When the Conveyancer gives a quote

When you formally instruct the Conveyancer

I do not need to know

Other (please specify)

7.If you had known more about referral arrangements, (for example, how much the referrer was paid, or whether the referrer received some benefit,) do you think this would have changed your approach to choosing a conveyancer?

Yes

Not Sure

Not applicable

Please explain your answer.

8.Do you have any other comments or observations on referral arrangements which you think the CLC should consider?

This is the end of our questions.

What happens next?
Your responses will help shape our final report and recommendations on referral arrangements. We may use anonymised quotes from the responses to illustrate key themes. The final report will be published on the CLC website, and we will share our findings with stakeholders across the legal sector.

Thank you for your time today.