Reform of the home buying and selling process

Emily Bartlett, trainee solicitor at Holmes & Hills, discusses the Government's proposed reforms to the home buying and selling process and how the changes are intended to reduce delays, improve transparency and provide greater certainty for buyers and sellers.

What are the home buying and selling reforms?

Whether you are buying your first home, moving into your dream home, or selling a property the conveyancing process can be littered with obstacles and complications. What should be one of life’s most exciting milestones is often overshadowed by transaction delays, property chains falling apart, and a lack of upfront information that leads to unexpected issues further down the process.

The home buying and selling reforms, announced on 19 June 2026 by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, are intended to create a more efficient process that provides greater certainty and reduces unnecessary stress for buyers and sellers.

The reforms focus on four key changes:

• Requiring sellers to provide sales packs at the outset
• Introducing binding conditional agreements earlier in the transaction
• Widening the use of digital processes and tools
• Establishing a new code of practice for estate agents

What is the aim of Upfront Sales Packs?

The Government’s aim is for sellers and agents to prepare upfront sales packs and provide key information at the point the property is listed. The intention is for this to include, title information, forms providing information regarding the property, and information on works and services which have been carried out to the property.

This will hopefully provide buyers with the information they need so they are able to make an informed decision as to whether they want to submit an offer on the property and enable potential issues to be identified and addressed earlier on, thus reducing the likelihood of unexpected delays later in the transaction.

.  Sellers may be encouraged to provide this information voluntarily at first, with a longer-term aim of introducing a formal requirement through legislation.

What is the aim of introducing binding conditional contracts?

At present, sellers and buyers do not have a legally binding agreement until they have formally exchanged contracts. The time taken to reach exchange of contracts can take anywhere between a few  weeks to several months after an offer is accepted. Up until exchange, either party can walk away at any time, for whatever reason, with no cost implication other than those which they have incurred themselves (there is currently no ability for a party to claim costs incurred from another party when a sale/purchase does not proceed). The Government is considering the introduction of binding conditional contracts, so sellers and buyers have greater commitment early in the transaction process. The aim of these measures is the help to reduce the number of property transactions falling through, ensuring that offers made/accepted a bona fide, therefore hopefully expediting the conveyancing procedure.

How can the proposed digital changes help streamline the conveyancing process?

The Government aims to expand the use of digital tools to modernise the conveyancing process and promote efficiency. These measures include the introduction of digital property logbooks, digital ID verification, electronic signatures and data-sharing platforms to improve the communications between legal professionals. This will hopefully reduce transaction delays and mean buyers and sellers have less paperwork to review and sign.

What standards are being introduced for property agents?

The Government has proposed a new Code of Practice for estate agents to establish clearer expectations across the industry, alongside consultation on mandatory qualifications and improved tailored guidance to help estate agents when providing material property information to encourage more consistent transaction management. Mandatory professional qualifications for estate agents have also been proposed. Unlike, solicitors, estate agents are not required to hold any formal qualification to practice. The Government’s aim is to improve professional standards amongst estate agents to help streamline the conveyancing process, provide protection to consumers, and accountability of estate agents.

When will these home buying reforms be introduced?

At this stage, the Government’s reforms are merely proposals, these are not yet in force. As a result, these proposed reforms will not affect your current transaction, and the conveyancing process will stay the same if you are buying or selling in the near future.

While some improvements could be achieved through guidance and voluntary cooperation between estate agents, buyers, and sellers, more substantial progress will depend on further development and the formal implementation of legislation. At present, there are no expressed timescales for when these will be introduced.

How can we help?

Holmes & Hills offer a pre-marketing service which allows you to instruct us to commence legal work and get the conveyancing process started on your sale before you even secure a buyer. As part of the pre-market service we will: carry out all ID and onboarding checks, review the property title and advise of any potential issues or defects so that these can be remedied, and review your completed Property Information Form to ensure we hold all information that is likely to be requested by a buyers solicitor.

Instructing the right property solicitor early on can significantly speed up the sales process once an offer is accepted and reduce the chance of your sale falling through.  

If you are planning to buy or sell a property and you would like advice, get in touch with our residential property team today.