Change is coming: Reforming the process of buying and selling a home in England

When our youngest had just turned four, my wife sent me a text at work which read: “I am never going to attempt to get a passport photo from a machine for our son again. It was the single most traumatic experience of my life. Childbirth was easier.” Since then, we have moved house twice. Neither move was quite as challenging as this particular endeavour. But neither were they a cakewalk. We were lucky to have the benefit of a proactive estate agent and an experienced conveyancing solicitor. Yet it still felt like an unduly convoluted and protracted process.

The government first announced proposals to overhaul the buying and selling process across England on the 6 October 2025. Shortly afterwards, I was asked to provide my opinion on their potential impact on national radio. It soon became apparent that my personal frustrations paled into insignificance compared to other members of the public.

And so, there is little doubt that reform is needed. But what is being proposed and what are the likely implications?

1. MANDATORY UPFRONT SALES PACKS

This would require much more information being made available before a property is brought to the market. These are expected to include title and tenure details (with leasehold costs and obligations where relevant), property searches and, to a degree at least, information on the condition of the property.

This element of reform has parallels with the Scottish Home Report, though north of the border this also requires an independent valuation alongside a prescriptive condition report. That speeds up the sales process, but only when lenders are comfortable with the findings.

And this goes to the nub of the issue.

Experience tells us that the provision of more information up front, helps to the extent that buyers, their lawyers and mortgage providers are prepared to rely on it.

Much will depend on the extent of the information required, which – for the avoidance of doubt – is yet to be confirmed. The more comprehensive the information provided up front, the smoother the process should be later down the line (accepting there is always the potential for unforeseen complications). But there is a balance.

However that balance is struck, it will almost certainly take longer and cost more to bring a property to the market, especially in the early stages of change.

Sellers will undoubtedly need to start their preparations earlier to catch the spring and autumn selling seasons.

But it is also likely that fewer people will embark on the process, unless they are wholly committed to selling. The impact on the amount of publicly available stock will be greatest in weaker market conditions (something which contributed to the demise of Home Information Packs in the wake of the credit crunch).

It should also mean fewer homeowners chancing their arm with a high asking price to test the market, assuming agents do not succumb to the temptation of pricing high to maintain a book of instructions.

2. EARLIER BINDING AGREEMENTS FOR SALE

As it stands, once the provision of more upfront information has bedded in, the government will seek to introduce binding conditional contracts for sale upon a deal being agreed. Buyers and sellers would only be able to withdraw for legitimate reasons.

And so, sellers will not only have to be more steadfast in their decision to bring their property to the market, but also in accepting an offer. But it isn’t just about tying in sellers.

During my stint on the nation’s airways, I was particularly struck by how many committed sellers had suffered from a buyer pulling out, often for spurious reasons and often quite late in the day.

And so, the effectiveness of these measures will not just depend on clarifying what does and doesn’t constitute a legitimate reason to withdraw from a purchase, it will also depend on what penalties the buyer incurs, if they decide not to proceed.

3. GREATER USE OF TECHNOLOGY DIGITISATION

In an age where your supermarket can predict when you are about to run out of granola, it seems odd that technology has been used so little to streamline the buying and selling process.

Centralised anti-money laundering checks and digital identification verification are perhaps the lowest-hanging of all the fruit that could be harvested through technological innovation. Digital document sharing and the use of electronic signatures sit not far above, provided they are supported by sufficient cyber security.

More ambitious, but no less revolutionary, are the proposals for digital property logbooks. These would centrally hold the bulk of legal and regulatory information needed to progress a transaction, avoiding the need for the repeat of a laborious collection process each time a property is bought and sold.

Their impact depends on how comprehensive they are, how much they can be tailored to more complicated situations and how easy it is to assimilate the information relating to each property. As ever, it is all about their implementation, their adoption and a need for them to become the industry standard.

4. GREATER REGULATION AND PROFESSIONALISATION OF THE ESTATE AGENCY SECTOR

Though some way ahead of social media influencers, estate agents came seventh from bottom in the 2025 Ipsos Veracity Index, with 32% of the public having faith in their honesty. Whichever way you look at it, there is room for improvement.

This is recognised in government proposals for a Code of Practice for Estate Agents, which they have indicated could be put on a statutory footing if needed. Mandatory qualifications would be subject to a separate consultation.

If anything, the case for greater professionalisation increases as more regulation is introduced. In the meantime, it remains important to use an agent who you trust to act in your best interests and minimise the stress of selling your home.

It is a shame that the same service isn’t offered to parents who need a passport photograph for an under five.

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_{Read the articles within Prime UK Residential – Autumn/Winter 2026 below}