UK Home Buying And Selling Reforms Will ‘save Buyers £100s And Speed Up Process’

The average time to buy a house could be cut by 4 weeks, under a package of UK home buying and selling reforms proposed by the government.

Under the plans, sellers and estate agents would be required to give buyers vital information about a property upfront, including the condition of the home, leasehold costs, and chains of people waiting to move.

The proposals will reduce the cost of buying a house, with first time buyers set to be the biggest beneficiary of these plans: the government says ‘hundreds of thousands of first time buyers are set to save £710 on average’ when buying a home.

Announcing the home buying and selling reforms consultation on 5 October 2025, Housing Secretary Steve Reed said: “Buying a home should be a dream, not a nightmare. Our reforms will fix the broken system so hardworking people can focus on the next chapter of their lives. Through our ‘plan for change’, we are putting more money back into working people’s pockets and making a simple dream a simple reality.”

Here’s what’s proposed in the UK home buying and selling reforms:

• Sellers and estate agents must publish information from searches and surveys before a property listing is published. This means buyers will be able to see the physical condition, characteristics, and flood risk of the property online and make informed decisions sooner.

• Mandatory upfront information to include 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. 
• Buyers and sellers will have the option to sign binding contracts at an earlier stage, reducing the risk of gazumping as well as parties pulling out for other reasons, which cost the other party time and money.
• Using digital tools – including digital property logbooks, digital ID verification, and standardised data sharing.
• Introducing mandatory qualifications and ‘Code of Practice’ for estate, letting and managing agents, to raise standards across the sector and increase trust.  
• Creating a register of conveyancers and estate agents and their professional specialisms and performance benchmarks.

The average time it currently takes to buy a house from instruction to completion is over 5 months and the government estimates these reforms could speed up transactions by around four weeks.

However, these UK home buying and selling reforms will increase costs for sellers as they’ll need to provide and pay for more information upfront. And there’s speculation that sellers may just add these costs to the purchase price they’re happy to accept.

But the government says these proposed measures would reduce the number of transactions that fall through from one in three to one in seven, which would benefit both buyers and sellers.

The consultation process will cover the whole UK, even though the home buying process differs considerably depending on which country the property is in.

For example, in England and Wales, buyers aren’t currently legally required to have a survey on the property before buying it. While in Scotland, sellers must provide a “home report” before they can put the property on the market.

Industry reaction to UK home buying and selling reforms

Paula Higgins, CEO of HomeOwners Alliance, said:

“We are absolutely delighted to see the government taking decisive action to overhaul the homebuying process. Requiring material information to be provided upfront will make buying and selling homes faster, fairer and less stressful – giving families and first-time buyers the confidence they need when making such a major financial commitment.

“This is something we at the HomeOwners Alliance have long campaigned for, as our own research shows how lack of upfront information leads to delays, failed sales and unnecessary costs.

“We also strongly welcome the commitment to raise standards through better regulation and qualifications for estate agents. These reforms will help rebuild trust in the industry and ensure consumers are properly protected.”

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors welcomed the proposal to establish consistent and comprehensive upfront information for buyers: RICS CEO Justin Young said: “RICS has long supported reform of the home buying and selling process, which is too often stressful, costly, and brings uncertainty to buyers and sellers. The government’s commitment to an industry consultation is a vital step forward, and RICS will bring its expertise to the table. By embedding transparency, professionalism, and innovation into the buying and selling process, we can help build a housing market that works better for everyone.”

While Rightmove’s CEO Johan Svanstrom said: “The home-moving process involves many fragmented parts, and there’s simply too much uncertainty and costs along the way. Speed, connected data and stakeholder simplicity should be key goals. We believe it’s important to listen to agents as the experts for what practical changes will be most effective, and we look forward to working with the government on this effort to improve the buying and selling process.” 

And Law Society vice-president Mark Evans said: “We know that many feel that the conveyancing process is slow and complicated. It can also be confusing as to who should be doing what, and there is the risk of duplication of effort. Information is often not available as quickly or as easily as it should be. Making the right reforms would help address all of these issues…”

Protect your Hard Earned Cash

41% of property purchases fell through between April-June 2025 (according to Property agents Quick Move Now). That’s something we need government action to step in and fix. In the meantime, we suggest home buyers consider Home Buyers Protection Insurance which helps cover legal, survey and mortgage lending costs should your purchase fall through. Get cover today from just £74.

Have your say

• The UK home buying and selling reform consultation opened on 6 October and closes on 29 December 2025. You can find it here on the government website to have your say.
• The Material Information Consultation, which also opened on 6 October also closes on 29 December 2025, can be found here.

We’ll be sending in our views from HomeOwners Alliance to ensure home buyers and sellers get a better deal. So let us know what you think in the comments below.

The government says a ‘full roadmap to fix the broken system will be set out in the New Year’. 

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