Earlier today, the government announced major reforms for homebuying which aim to cut delays, reduce and digitalise paperwork, and stop sales collapsing.
The changes aim to cut homebuying times by around four weeks, save first-time buyers an average of £650, and stop sales falling through.
At the heart of the reforms is a major shift to digital. 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 - creating a fairer, more transparent process for everyone involved.
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.
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.
Changes will also see new earlier binding agreements to stop parties walking away months into negotiations without a legitimate reason.
In addition, a new Code of Practice will raise standards for estate agents, alongside proposals for mandatory qualifications for the sector.
Industry experts shared their views on the new proposals.
Sheila Kumar, CEO of The Council of Licensed Conveyancers, said: “The Council for Licensed Conveyancers strongly supports these reforms because they will deliver better outcomes for consumers and professionals alike. The CLC has a long history of championing innovation and modernisation in the legal services market, particularly where it improves the consumer experience, and we stand ready to play our part, working with licensed conveyancers to deliver these changes.
“It is now vital that all parts of the home buying and selling market – from estate agents and lenders to conveyancers, surveyors, managing agents and removal companies – work together to implement these reforms swiftly and effectively in the public interest.
“Most importantly, digitalised upfront information that can be shared with trust – especially when combined with reservation agreements – will greatly improve confidence in transactions and allow buyer and seller to agree a date for completion much earlier in the process than at present.
“This 'speed to confidence' is the great prize of the industry's efforts over many years, and we are delighted that the government has recognised its importance through this roadmap. It has the potential to make home buying and selling simpler, faster and more certain, while helping to remove a major barrier to the efficient use of the nation's housing stock.”
Phil Spencer, property expert and Move iQ founder, commented: “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.”
Maria Harris, chair of the Open Property Data Association (OPDA), said: "Today's announcement represents a significant step towards fixing a homebuying process that has been crying out for reform for decades. Customers have made it clear that the current process isn't fit for purpose and doesn't meet their expectations. We welcome the government's commitment to creating a modern, digital-first property market that puts homebuyers and sellers at the heart of the process.
"Providing key information upfront through digital sales packs, introducing earlier binding agreements and embracing technologies such as digital identity checks and AI-assisted conveyancing are exactly the kinds of changes needed to deliver faster transactions, greater transparency and fewer fall-throughs. Smart data has the power to transform how we buy and sell property, creating safer and more secure processes, reducing duplication and raising standards across the sector. The government's recognition of our work to prove that not only is this achievable, it fundamentally transforms the process, is testament to our ongoing collaboration.
"OPDA's latest Future of Homebuying report found that 86% of home movers support the introduction of a digital property pack, demonstrating the clear appetite among consumers for a better way of moving home. People want certainty, transparency and access to the information they need from the outset, and with 87% of consumers happy to share their data for a better process, these reforms will help deliver that.
"The time for change is now. OPDA has been laying the foundations for the future of the property market through the development of free and open smart property data standards and by bringing together lenders, conveyancers, estate agents, technology firms, regulators and government. We are pleased to see many of the principles we have long championed reflected in these proposals.
"International examples have already shown what can be achieved through digitisation and data sharing. By working collaboratively across the industry, we have an opportunity to build a modern, fit-for-purpose property system that works better for everyone, improves the emotional and financial wellbeing of consumers and supports a more sustainable and efficient housing market."
Paul Whitehead, CEO of Zoopla, agreed: “Zoopla sits at the heart of the UK property market and over six 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 of Rightmove, added: "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."
Claire Van der Zant, CEO of Novus Strategy, concluded: “The industry has been very vocal in its demands for mandation and this is the most impactful example yet of government intervention that will drive the change everyone has been asking for. What it will mean is the complete reorganisation of the customer journey for those on both sides of each transaction from day one. It will be unrecognisable in the most exciting way.
“Sellers are desperate for more commitment and buyers will insist on more information up front, but you can’t have one without the other. That’s the central challenge. The entire industry needs to figure out how they will stop repeating each other's work, and be part of a brave new world where information doesn't arrive later than it should or get stuck in a way that creates delay. If you front load everything, the waterfall process we have at the moment vanishes, and fall-throughs with it.
“Only then will buyers have enough upfront information about a property to make an earlier, binding commitment. Without that, they’re not going to take the purchase risk if they don’t know what they’re committing to. It’s for this reason that reservation agreements today are few and far between.
“Work to make sure information flows across organisational boundaries has already started with various public and private sector initiatives trialling what a new world based on transparency and readily-available data might look like. What the Government’s intervention now signals is a recognition of the role it must play when change on this scale is required and confirmation that this is the right direction.
“We’re not yet in a world where government is mandating how these requirements will be met exactly. It will be shaped by departments like DBT around Smart Data, but they’re using their influence to create clear expectations that will ultimately unblock delays and fall throughs at critical points in the process.
“The four-week acceleration in completion times promises to be transformational but, if anything, the reforms could have an even bigger impact than that.”
