Government proposals to overhaul the homebuying process have been broadly welcomed by the property industry though leading figures warn that the reforms must go further to deliver meaningful and lasting change.
Unveiled this week as part of a wider effort to modernise the housing market, estate agents will play a central role in delivering what ministers are calling the biggest overhaul of the homebuying and selling process in modern history.
Under sweeping new proposals agents will be required to provide key details about a property upfront – including title and tenure, leasehold terms, EPC rating, building safety data, flood risk, and chain status – before a listing goes live.
The measures are designed to cut transaction times and provide buyers and sellers with greater certainty through improved access to upfront information.
POSITIVE FIRST STEP
Industry leaders have described the plans as a positive first step, but caution that they stop short of addressing the deeper structural issues that continue to frustrate home movers – including inconsistent processes, delays in conveyancing, and a lack of digital integration across the property chain.
INDUSTRY REACTION
Andrew Groocock, Chief Operating Officer at Knight Frank, says: “We welcome the opportunity to speed up the transactional side of the home buying process, but putting all of the onus on estate agents is not the answer.
“While the proposals’ ambition is commendable, there needs to be a complete overhaul of the Land Registry so that the data on it is accurate to at least a month rather than 3-4 months delayed.
“The ability to provide searches needs to be significantly improved, there are boroughs in London where local authority searches consistently take over 40 working days – this needs to be digitised and instantly available, but that change sits with the government to invest in the correct solution to speed things up.
“There is a danger that the proposals simply pass all of the accountability and costs onto the vendor and estate agent. Under the current system the time delay sits between the offer acceptance and exchange period, the government’s proposals will simply shift this delay to the period before any property can be launched to market.
“We would encourage the government to consult with all those working at the sharp end of the industry in order to make meaningful, effective change which will benefit home buyers and sellers for the long term.”
MANY SELLERS DON’T WANT TO REVEAL ALL
Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS Residential Chairman, says: “More efficiency and less waste in home moving must be welcome but not so easy to achieve in practice as these proposals are not new.
“What we don’t want to see above all is a drop or delay in transactions which would be more costly not just for buyers and sellers but for job and social ability which is so fundamental to economic growth.
“On the ground, as long-standing chartered surveyors and estate agents, we have found many sellers do not necessarily want to reveal ‘warts and all’ about their properties whereas for others speed is not paramount so will need time to adjust.
“Sufficient capacity will be essential too in terms of numbers of suitably qualified and experienced surveyors to take on the additional workload as a significant number of additional detailed inspections will be required than at present.
“The legal profession will also need to become conversant with the new arrangements asap, for instance to determine what are ‘reasonable’ grounds for withdrawal, to avoid gazumping and gazundering to ensure the smoothest possible delivery after consultation.”
CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE
Amy Reynolds, head of sales at Richmond estate agency Antony Roberts, says: “We warmly welcome these proposals, which recognise just how outdated and stressful the homebuying process has become.
“Anything that brings greater transparency and certainty to buyers and sellers is a step in the right direction. Providing key information upfront will help everyone make more informed decisions, reduce fall-throughs, and restore confidence in the market.
“Estate agents are often caught in the middle when transactions stall because of missing information or unexpected issues – so giving buyers clarity earlier will save not only time and money, but also a lot of unnecessary frustration.
“Digitisation and clear professional standards are long overdue and will help raise the bar across the industry. It’s encouraging to see a genuine focus on collaboration between government, agents, conveyancers and lenders to deliver a system that truly works for today’s buyers and sellers.”
LONG-OVERDUE INITIATIVE
Robin Thomas of Recoco Property Search, says: “Having worked as an estate agent for over 30 years and for the last nine years acting as a buying agent in the West Country, I am delighted to see such a long-overdue initiative being proposed and hopefully implemented.
“If you are buying a car or an electrical appliance this information has to be available to a buyer right from the start. With people’s most important purchase the same rules should apply.
“Moving house is very expensive with professional fees, Stamp Duty Land Tax, surveys, removals and other costs all adding up to a large sum which deters many would-be sellers and buyers from proceeding. Any reduction in costs is to be welcomed.
“The average time from agreeing a sale or purchase to exchanging contracts has increased from about three weeks when I first started dealing with property transactions to over 12 weeks and sometimes much longer.
“Partly due to the length of time to get to the point of exchanging contracts a high % of agreed sales fall though often on the point of exchange. This creates unnecessary costs and huge stress on sellers and buyers alike.”
BINDING CONTRACTS UNLIKLEY TO WORK
Lucy McCallum, Head of Residential Conveyancing at WSP Solicitors, says: “Giving buyers the option to enter into binding contracts early on in the process before all legal checks have been completed, is unlikely to work in practice.
“The Government’s proposal to mandate upfront property information is a positive step towards tackling the inefficiencies and delays in the current home buying system in England and Wales.
“By including key details like title issues, leasehold information and any other potential issues, buyers can make more informed decisions and raise issues with their proposed lender early on to ensure they are able to proceed.
“It also flags issues early on giving both parties the benefit of greater transparency and certainty. If implemented properly, these reforms could help reduce transaction times and save both parties significant costs.
“Giving buyers the option to enter into binding contracts early on in the process before all legal checks have been completed, is unlikely to work in practice.
“Particularly where a buyer has a lender. If a lender’s requirements cannot be met once all due diligence has been completed, the buyers would be bound to complete, and unable to fund the purchase and they would risk losing their deposit. We would need to see more details on what is being proposed.”
LEGAL CHALLENGES
Frank Smith, Managing Partner at Frank Smith & Co Solicitors, says: “The government’s proposed reforms to the house-buying process mark a major step toward modernising conveyancing through greater upfront transparency and the introduction of earlier binding contracts.
“While aimed at reducing costs and delays, the changes raise key legal and practical challenges. Increased disclosure obligations and earlier contractual commitments could heighten the risk of liability where information is incomplete or inaccurate.
“The proposals mirror the suspended Home Information Packs (HIPs) scheme, suspended in May 2010, which faced criticism for deterring sales and creating duplication (i.e. unnecessary repetition of work or information, such as both parties commissioning similar reports or documents). Any new framework must therefore ensure clear definitions, proportionate liability, and realistic timelines for due diligence.
“It will be vital to balance these reforms with the long-standing principle of caveat emptor (“let the buyer beware”), which traditionally shields sellers from negligence claims where no misrepresentation occurs. Shifting too far from this could make sellers more hesitant to list their properties and decrease housing supply.
“That said, there could be a case for placing greater responsibility on sellers – particularly in order to protect first-time buyers and less experienced purchasers. With proper safeguards, increased transparency could enhance confidence and fairness in the property market as long as it does not overburden sellers.”
MISTAKES OF THE PAST
Liz Ramsden, a Residential Property Lawyer at Knights, also warns the proposals risk repeating the issues that came from the scrapped Home Information Pack (HIP) system from 2007, and urges the government to think carefully to avoid making these mistakes again.
She says: “The proposals announced by the Government today are well-intentioned and come at a time when the housing market desperately needs reform, but against the backdrop of a housing crisis, there’s a real risk they’re being rushed.
“These new plans sound strikingly similar to the old Home Information Pack system, which ultimately proved too costly and complex for sellers. Back then, many sellers paid hundreds of pounds to compile legal searches and documents upfront, only for the information to go out of date before a sale was agreed, forcing them to pay again.
“The new proposals risk repeating those mistakes. And the idea of binding contracts is particularly concerning. What would happen if someone were to lose their job or find issues following the surveys and checks on the property? The system needs reform, but it has to protect consumers as much as it promotes efficiency.
“To avoid another failed rollout, the Government must learn from the last attempt and ensure information packs are digital, low-cost, and reusable, with clear validity periods to stop data expiring. It also needs to make legal advice mandatory before any contract becomes binding. Without those safeguards, the reforms could once again burden sellers and confuse buyers rather than speeding up the process.”
REAL STEP FORWARD
Maria Harris, Chair at Open Property Data Association (OPDA), says: “These reforms are a real step forward for the homebuying process and reflect years of hard work across government and industry to make transactions faster, clearer and more digital.
“The proposals around upfront information, digital logbooks and data sharing are exactly the kind of changes OPDA has been supporting through our work with the Digital Property Market Steering Group and The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). It’s encouraging to see those conversations now taking shape in policy.
“The challenge from here is to make sure the data infrastructure underneath these reforms is truly open, standardised and governed in a way that benefits the entire market – not just the biggest platforms. That’s been at the core of OPDA’s work from the start, and we’ll continue working with government and industry partners to make sure this modernisation is delivered in practice, not just on paper.”
FASTER, CLEARER HOME MOVES
Brett Ray, Co-founder and Chief Executive of Survey Shack, says: “Today’s consultation is a welcome step toward a faster, clearer home move.
“Requiring meaningful upfront information, including proportionate property condition details, helps buyers make informed offers and reduces late fall-throughs.
“Government estimates indicate timelines could shorten by around four weeks, and industry research shows the cost of failed sales is significant.
“What matters now is clear, usable standards so condition data is captured once, shared securely, and trusted by all parties. That means simple guidance for sellers and agents, digital tools that structure photos and facts, and a sensible route to professional follow up where needed.
“Survey Shack was created to help today’s buyers and sellers, and to set the platform for how future generations will interact with condition inspections. We already support estate agents and homeowners to collect standardised condition data before listing, and we stand ready to work with government, portals, and lenders to turn these proposals into results for the public.”
NOTHING TO FEAR
Isobel Thomson, chief executive of safeagent, says: “Today, Government in its Home buying and selling reform consultation indicates that it is seeking input into its proposal to introduce mandatory qualifications for estate and lettings agents in what is portrayed as an enhanced regulatory framework.
“At a time when there is so much uncertainty surrounding the detail of aspects of the Renters’ Rights Bill, safeagent would counsel professional agents that they would have nothing to fear from the introduction of mandatory qualifications given that these were introduced seamlessly into the Scottish and Welsh markets without upset to the sector. Safeagent will respond to the consultation in due course.”
GREATER CERTAINTY
Beth Rudolf, Director of Delivery at The Conveyancing Association, says: “The Conveyancing Association welcomes these reforms, which we and other industry stakeholders have long campaigned for, in order to deliver a better home selling and purchase experience for all.
“By ensuring vital information is provided upfront, consumers and industry alike will benefit from greater certainty, reduced risk of fall-throughs and a faster, less stressful process.
“This is an important step towards the modern, transparent and efficient homebuying system that families and professionals have been calling for.
“These reforms have both the ability to enable conveyancing lawyers to be proactive, and to support estate agents to comply with the law. We would urge a further step to now be made via the regulation of property agents, so they know what, and how, to deliver in this area.”
ESTATE AGENT DANGER
Rob Houghton, Founder and Chief Executive of reallymoving, says: “Reform of the homebuying and selling process is long overdue and I hope this government will be bold enough to see it through.
“Introducing a digital property pack upfront, containing a survey, search results and other information, would help buyers make an informed decision about a property right from the start, so they’re going into the purchase with their eyes open and the transaction is far less likely to fall through.
“It will also curb speculative listings, giving buyers greater confidence that sellers are committed and motivated.
“Our data shows first-time buyers currently pay £2,186 on average to buy their first home, assuming they are below the stamp duty threshold, but this could fall by around £770 to £1,416 if search and survey costs were borne by the seller. We could see increased costs incurred by sellers reflected in asking prices across the board however, as they try to recoup that expenditure.
“It’s crucial that the survey provided by sellers is sufficiently detailed to satisfy both lenders and most homebuyers – in other words a Level 2 Homebuyer Survey. Anything less risks duplication and wasted cost.
“There’s also a real danger that this process could hand too much power to estate agents, allowing them to dominate distribution of upfront services such as searches and surveys. Without safeguards, this could lead to inflated prices, preferred provider arrangements and opaque referral fees or kickbacks. A Code of Practice may help but this issue needs to be explicitly addressed within it.”
TACKLING DIRTY MONEY
Phil Cotter, Chief Executive of digital compliance experts SmartSearch, says: “It’s high time the UK property system was cleaned up and these plans to overhaul the buying and selling process could be a real turning point, not just for speeding up transactions and improving transparency, but for tackling the billions in dirty money that continue to distort the market.”
And he adds: “The National Crime Agency estimates up to £10 billion is laundered through UK property each year*. Our own analysis shows this illicit wealth has inflated house prices by around £3,000 across the UK and more than £11,000 in London, putting homeownership even further out of reach for ordinary families.
“By introducing greater upfront transparency, binding contracts and strong source-of-funds verification, the proposed changes won’t just speed up sales and cut costs, they will shine a light into those opaque structures that have allowed illicit wealth to distort our housing market. Estate agents who adopt trusted identity verifications will win credibility and customers, while helping ensure every buyer and seller can see the system is fair.”
TRANSFORM HOMEBUYING
Claire Van der Zant, Chief Executive of technology consultancy Novus Strategy, says: “The industry has been asking for more government leadership on this issue and these reforms are the electric shock that could transform the homebuying process from a frustrating, painful inconvenience into an aspirational experience not to be avoided.
“The reforms will give the sector’s innovators confidence that there’s a common goal, with government setting clear expectations and direction.
“They’re also extremely timely, given that technology has reached a level of digital maturity capable of delivering the transformation people and businesses desperately want to see. If anything, the Government is undercooking the potential benefits. Cutting four weeks off transaction times is pretty conservative given how far-reaching these proposals are, and the dividend for businesses is set to run into the billions.
“If delivered successfully, we’re talking about the complete overhaul of the process and the full deployment of Horizontal Digital Integration (HDI), knitting open networks and data standards together in a way the market has only been exploring with a relatively small number of consumers so far.
“There are many organisations out there already testing these initiatives, albeit in smaller, controlled pilot phases. The Government’s plans will help to accelerate scaled delivery, with upfront information key to driving the transparency needed to prevent so many abandoned purchases.”
CHANCE TO IMPROVE
Mark Chick, Director of ALEP (the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners) and Senior Partner at Bishop & Sewell LLP, says: “ALEP welcomes the consultation on reforming the home buying and selling process and in particular the promise to improve the provision of leasehold sales information.
“This is already an objective set out in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. We feel that the task of streamlining the conveyancing process should not be underestimated and we welcome the chance of stakeholders to engage in the best way of refining these measures.
“We look forward to discussing further the opportunity for change and improvement in the conveyancing process, although do we note with caution the issues caused by previous attempts to reverse the emphasis by the introduction of ‘Home Information Packs’ and we very much hope that any proposed reforms will look to learn the lessons from the past in this area.
“We look forward to engaging with government and other bodies to ensure that the chances to improve matters for all involved in the home buying and selling process, be they leaseholders, freeholders or property managers to bring about effective and lasting change.
