Lifetime Legal has welcomed the Government’s Home Buying and Selling Reform Roadmap, describing it as a significant step towards reducing transaction delays, improving transparency and cutting the number of property sales that fall through.
The roadmap, published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, outlines a programme of reforms designed to modernise the homebuying process. Proposals include mandatory upfront sales packs, greater use of digital property information, binding conditional contracts and the introduction of a new Code of Practice for estate agents.
The reforms are intended to tackle long-standing inefficiencies within the housing market, where transactions currently take around 120 days on average and approximately one in three agreed sales fails to complete.
Lifetime Legal says the proposals address many of the issues that contribute to delays and uncertainty, including missing upfront information, duplicated processes and a lack of early commitment from buyers and sellers.
PHASED APPROACH
The business also welcomed the Government’s decision to adopt a phased approach, allowing voluntary adoption before introducing legislation.
Rob Sendall (main picture), Chief Executive Officer of Lifetime Legal, said: “For too long, moving home has meant unnecessary delay, duplicated paperwork and the constant risk that a sale falls apart at the eleventh hour.
“We see the human cost of this every day. Buyers and sellers invest time, money and emotional energy, only for transactions to collapse late in the process.
“This roadmap addresses the root causes head-on: missing upfront information, weak early commitments and a lack of digitalisation.”
Lifetime Legal said the phased implementation is particularly important given lessons learned from previous reform attempts, including Home Information Packs, allowing the industry time to adapt and build the infrastructure needed to support future changes.
CODE OF PRACTICE
The company also welcomed proposals for mandatory qualifications and a new Code of Practice for estate and letting agents, alongside measures aimed at streamlining anti-money laundering checks and supporting the development of AI-enabled conveyancing technologies.
Sendall adds: “Reducing fall-throughs and bringing genuine transparency to upfront information will benefit everyone: buyers, sellers and the professionals who support them.
“We’re committed to working with government and industry bodies as these proposals develop, and to adopting best practice, including voluntary sales pack information, well ahead of any legislative requirement.”
The Government believes the reforms could reduce transaction times by around four weeks, lower costs for homebuyers and significantly reduce the number of failed sales.
For estate agents, the roadmap signals a fundamental shift towards greater transparency, earlier information gathering and increased professional standards, changes that are likely to reshape the transaction process over the coming years.
