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Buying and selling a home is set to become faster, cheaper, and less stressful under major reforms unveiled today (Friday 19 June) to cut delays, reduce and digitalise paperwork, and stop sales collapsing.
At a time when families are feeling the squeeze, new changes will cut homebuying times by around four weeks, save first-time buyers an average of £650, and stop the nasty surprises that cost time, money, and heartbreak. This will ensure the chance to own a home isn’t determined by who can afford to take the biggest risk.
Sellers and estate agents will have to provide key information upfront in ‘sales packs’ at the point of listing. This will set out a home’s condition, leasehold costs, and chain status so buyers can make informed decisions, and property professionals can get to work sooner – while creating a fairer, more transparent process for everyone involved.
Changes will also see new earlier binding agreements to stop parties walking away months into negotiations without a legitimate reason. This will help to give young people confidence in the system and better plan for their next steps, not put them on hold.
In addition, a new Code of Practice will raise standards for estate agents, alongside proposals for mandatory qualifications for the sector which could ensure agents are properly equipped to support efficient transactions and rebuild trust in the sector.
With the average home purchase taking around 120 days, one in three sales falling through costing sellers around £400 million per year, and failed transactions costing the economy up to £1.5 billion every year – these reforms will fix a broken system.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:
Getting the keys to a home you can call your own is one of the biggest events in anyone’s life. But right now, the system that should provide support instead turns it into a battle, leaving people in limbo and putting that opportunity out of reach.
We’re turning the page. Our reforms will bring this outdated process into the modern age, saving people time and money, and giving them the certainty they deserve.
This is about building a stronger, fairer Britain, one that works for the next generation and makes the dream of home ownership a reality for many more hard-working people.
Housing Secretary, Steve Reed said:
Buying or selling a home should be one of life’s great moments and not a drawn-out nightmare of delays, hidden costs, and failed deals.
These changes will make the system faster, fairer, and more secure – giving families and first-time buyers the certainty they need all while saving them time and money.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves said:
Delays, hidden costs, and deals collapsing at the last minute are not only bad for homebuyers, it’s bad for the economy too.
Our reforms will cut those delays, cut costs and make the process quicker and more reliable – getting more people on the housing ladder while keeping more money in their pockets.
We have the right economic plan – getting the housing market moving, building thousands more good-quality homes in every region, and transforming rights for renters.
At the heart of the reforms is a major shift to digital – replacing the outdated paper-based systems with faster, more reliable tools.
Digital property logbooks and sales packs will allow trusted information to be shared securely between professionals and accessed by buyers and sellers in real-time, cutting out the back-and-forth that cause so many delays.
The government will also back digital identity checks, electronic signatures and AI-assisted conveyancing to strip out duplication, reduce fraud risk and accelerate transactions from start to finish. Together, these changes will create a modern, end-to-end system where people can track and progress their move more easily.
Phil Spencer, Property Expert & Move iQ Founder said:
For as long as I’ve worked in property, one of the biggest frustrations I’ve heard from buyers and sellers is that the process simply doesn’t work as well as it should. It can be slow, stressful and uncertain, with too many transactions falling through after months of time, effort and expense.
I welcome these proposals – they address many of the issues consumers have been grappling with for years, from a lack of upfront information to unnecessary delays and last-minute surprises. Giving people a clearer picture from the outset and creating greater certainty throughout the transaction process can only be a positive step.
These have the potential to make moving home a far better experience for everyone involved. Having spent decades at the heart of the housing market, I’ve seen first-hand the emotional and financial toll that a failed transaction can take. Anything that helps buyers and sellers move with greater confidence and fewer obstacles is to be applauded.
I look forward to seeing these changes brought forward and the difference they could make to the way we buy and sell homes.
Paul Whitehead, CEO, Zoopla said:
Zoopla sits at the heart of the UK property market and over 6 million homeowners are tracking the value of their most important asset and planning their next move. They deserve better than a home-buying process that takes months, falls through too often, and leaves everyone poorer for it.
These proposed reforms change that. Upfront sales packs, digital logbooks and binding contracts aren’t just technical reforms – they are the foundations of a market people can trust. Zoopla will continue to be an active partner to the Government and industry in building a faster more transparent system that makes moving simple.
Johan Svanstrom, CEO, Rightmove said:
This is an encouraging step towards a faster and more efficient property market, addressing some of the biggest frustrations that home-movers and industry participants face. By making more information available upfront, there is a clear opportunity to reduce fall-throughs and increase transparency. Our UK-wide data shows that it takes a lengthy 170 days on average to complete a transaction and that over one in five transactions initially falls through. Last year, fall-throughs alone meant that approximately £900 million in potential stamp duty receipts and estate agency commission in England was lost, and consumers lose both precious time, certainty and money when needing to repeat transaction processes. The implementation and phasing of these initiatives will be key to ensure consistency and adoption. It needs to be helpful to the vital role estate agents play in the marketplace, and to avoid any unintended consequences.
Increased mobility, transparency and certainty is key to overall economic growth. We strongly believe that further digitisation and improvements to the home-moving process can help to speed it up and reduce friction. It will require cross-industry collaboration and innovation to achieve the aims set out today.
Countries like the Netherlands, Norway, and Finland have already shown that reforms like these deliver real benefits for buyers, sellers and the industry alike.
The Netherlands uses a live tracking system for buyers and sellers to check their transaction status helping to achieve a final completion time of 20 days on average, whilst Norway’s efforts to streamline and digitalise the system has estimated savings of up to £1.4bn over 10 years.
This package will inject fresh momentum into the housing market and help people keep more money in their pockets by cutting the hidden costs and delays in buying a home to ease cost of living pressures and support a fairer housing market that works for ordinary families.
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