Breaking down the home buying shake-up: Key reforms for buyers, sellers and agents
On 5 October 2025, the Government published its “Home Buying and Selling Reform” consultation paper which it describes as the “largest shake-up to the homebuying process in many years.”
While the proposals are primarily directed at the residential property market, the reforms are expected to have implications for developers and landlords with mixed-use portfolios, and certain measures may ultimately be applied to all property types.
The consultation claims that the average time from issuing a sales memorandum to completing a residential transaction is five months, costing the economy an estimated £1.5 billion annually. The key culprit, according to the Government, is the lack of access to standardised, essential information at the right stage of the transaction.
Most practitioners and clients will be familiar with the protracted nature of buying and selling property, but delays are arguably more prevalent in residential transactions than commercial, reflecting differences in transaction practices, length of transaction chains, drafting approaches and commercial verses personal decision-making.
Through this consultation, the Government proposes a four-pronged approach, aimed at reducing transaction times by around four weeks and cutting costs by up to £1,000 per transaction:
Upfront publication of property information: Improving Transparency for buyers
The Government proposes that sellers and estate agents must publish key information from searches and surveys before a property listing goes live. The proposed mandatory information includes: tenure, council tax band, EPC rating, property type, title information, seller ID verification, key lease terms, building safety data, standard property searches, property condition assessments, service charges, planning and alterations consents, flood risk data, chain status, floor plans, and TA6 information. Notably, the proposals also include free search refreshers to ensure information remains current, although it is unclear whether search providers have been consulted on this.
This proposal mirrors aspects of auction sales, where sellers provide some title information upfront, if available or, indeed, if they wish to. The Government seeks to standardise this information and shift the responsibility for disclosure to sellers and agents before offers are made.
Potential challenges for agents and sellers
The proposals will place a greater burden on agents and sellers, many of whom are not legally trained and may lack full access to all relevant information.
It will be interesting to see how this shift in burden then translates to reliance:
- Will buyers be able to rely on the information provided?
- Will sellers need to certify the accuracy of the information, similar to a title guarantee?
- Will insurers introduce a seller-indemnity policy for inadvertent misleading or false information on which the buyer relies? Similar policies exist in jurisdictions such as the United States but are uncommon in the UK;
- Will solicitors still need to verify the information, potentially limiting any cost savings?
- If sellers are required to commission a survey, will surveyors routinely issue reliance letters to buyers?
A central component to the success of this new framework will be to instil trust into the conveyancing process.
Binding conditional contracts: Reducing fall-throughs and delays
The Government proposes giving buyers and sellers the option to enter binding contracts at an earlier stage, aiming to “end the practice of parties pulling out of agreements months into the process, costing families heartbreak and hundreds of pounds.” This approach is more akin to the American model of residential transactions.
The current flexibility has its benefits: buyers can mitigate the risk of unforeseen defects or legal issues through conducting comprehensive due diligence before committing to a transaction; while sellers gain some protection under the “caveat emptor” principle once contracts are exchanged. Nevertheless, it is correct that the existing model exposes parties to the risk of last-minute withdrawals and price-renegotiations alongside the exhaustion, frustration and financial cost associated with aborted transactions.
Potential challenges for early-stage contracts
Conditional contracts at the offer stage could be advantageous, provided pre-offer information (see point 1 above) is sufficiently comprehensive and reliable.
However, clear, agreed-upon conditions must be established and agreed at the outset. Otherwise, parties may spend excessive time negotiating the conditions offers are even accepted or due diligence can begin, thereby merely shifting costs rather than achieving meaningful savings or efficiencies.
Digitisation of property information: Streamlining conveyancing through technology
The Government proposes the wider use of digital tools to streamline residential transactions. Measures under consideration include digital property logbooks, digital ID verification (including integration with HM Land Registry’s platform), digitised anti-money laundering (AML) logbooks to reduce AML-related delays, standardised data sharing across government and professional bodies, and real-time progress tracking.
Of particular interest is the digital property logbook proposal - a centralised, downloadable database containing comprehensive information about a property. This could significantly reduce the need for solicitors to compile property information from scratch for each transaction, while also mitigating transaction risk by verifying property provenance.
Potential challenges for digital transformation
These reforms may work well for firms that already operate robust case management systems. However, for those without such infrastructure, the economic burden of developing and implementing the necessary technology may be substantial, particularly when business costs are already allocated elsewhere than for digital innovation.
Cybersecurity is also a key concern, especially regarding the storage and verification of sensitive information such as seller identification.
Nonetheless, in this technological age, investment in digital tools and centralised disclosure systems appears unavoidable. These reforms may represent a necessary evolution in the conveyancing process.
Raising professional standards and transparency for agents and conveyancers
The Government proposes publishing detailed information on the services provided by estate agents and property lawyers, including their track record, expertise, new mandatory qualifications, and adherence to a Code of Practice. The aim is to ensure consumers are well-informed about where and how to access professional support, while simultaneously driving higher standards across the sector and increasing trust in the industry.
The proposals seek to introduce minimum professional standards for estate and managing agents, potentially reducing the legal and administrative workload for conveyancers. Given the increased responsibilities placed on agents under the reforms outlined at point 1 above, mandatory qualification requirements appear almost inevitable.
Potential challenges for implementation and enforcement
Questions remain regarding the criteria for these standards: What will the comparable metrics be? Could the estate and managing agent industry risk devolving into a “Google-review” economy? The effectiveness of this measure will largely depend on the robustness of enforcement, clarity of professional standards, and transparency of performance metrics.
What happens next?
The associated Government press release states that “A full roadmap to fix the broken system will be set out in the new year.” Stakeholders across the property sector - from buyers and sellers to agents, developers, and legal professionals - will be watching closely to understand how these proposals will translate into practical, enforceable measures.
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