Major Overhaul Of UK Homebuying System

The government has launched a major consultation into “common-sense reforms” to the home buying and selling process, proposing changes that “will halve the number of failed transactions,” while “preventing last minute fall throughs, slashing weeks off the process and driving up standards across the board.”

Most of the measures under consideration – such as mandatory qualifications for estate agents and more up-front information on property listings – have been on the table for some time, but it sounds like recently-installed Housing Secretary Steve Reed is keen to actually make them happen.

Explained: Proposed reforms to homebuying system

- A new Code of Practice and mandatory qualifications for property professionals including estate, letting and managing agents
- More consistent and comprehensive upfront information for buyers (including on leasehold costs, buying chains, flood risk and building condition), in an attempt to stop “nasty surprises” that may thwart transactions
- Optional but binding contracts to stop stop sellers/buyers walking away from deals
- Increased digitisation of the selling process to improve record-keeping, accuracy and security. Suggestions include digital property logbooks, digital ID verification, and standardised data sharing
- Deeper adoption AI to help speed up conveyancing

Reed’s team says the various measures could speed up the home-buying process by “around four weeks” and save first-time buyers an average of £710 on their purchase.

A separate consultation is being held on Material Information in property marketing. This one aims to “support estate agents with their legal responsibilities, including requirements under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act,” by providing “explicit guidance for agents on what information they should include in listings.”

The full list of proposed mandatory upfront information includes: tenure, council tax band, EPC rating, property type, legal and transactional information such as title information and seller ID verification, leasehold terms, building safety data, standard searches, property condition assessments tailored to property age and type, service charges, planning consents, flood risk data, chain status, and clear floor plans.

The consultations have been largely welcomed by the industry, including the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, property portals, and estate agency trade body Propertymark. “The current system is too often costly, time-consuming, and prone to collapse,” comments the RICS – citing its own research that “nearly one in three” agreed sales collapse before completion.

Rightmove estimates that the average transaction in England and Wales currently takes seven months to complete – which most people agree is too long.

The Housing Ministry says a “full roadmap to fix the broken system” will be published early in 2026.