The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government opened a consultation on Monday 6 October 2025 on proposals to change how homes are bought and sold in the UK1. The consultation covers three main areas: more information provided upfront by sellers, an option for binding conditional contracts, and regulation of estate agents1. It runs until 21 December 20251. A separate consultation on material information in property listings runs until 29 December 20252.
Under the upfront information proposals, sellers and estate agents would be required to give buyers details including the home's condition, leasehold costs and the length of any property chain1. Ministers are considering a standardised digital format for this data, drawn from verified sources such as HM Land Registry and local authorities1. The government says the changes could shorten transactions by about four weeks and save first-time buyers around £7001. The approach would bring the rest of the UK closer to the Scottish system, where valuations and surveys are provided upfront as part of a seller's home report1.
On binding contracts, buyers and sellers could choose to sign binding conditional contracts including a financial penalty if one party pulls out after an offer has been accepted1. The government says this could cut the current fall-through rate of one in three to roughly one in seven1. The Property Ombudsman said around 1 in 3 transactions currently fail, costing buyers and sellers around £400m per year in wasted costs2.
The consultation also covers mandatory qualifications and a new code of practice for estate, letting and managing agents, and publishing information about agents' and conveyancers' experience, performance and specialisms side by side1.
"We welcome any moves to make such an important and complex transaction clearer for consumers. Speaking to businesses, the industry is also supportive of clear guidance which is explicit about what information agents and sellers must disclose."
The Property Ombudsman investigated 617 cases related to material information in 20242. Its casework breaches under the Code of Practice for Residential Estate Agents included 242 written material information breaches, 180 relating to particulars agreed with the seller, and 17 concerning service charges2. Issues not disclosed during purchases included the condition or dimensions of a building or land, flood risk, restrictive covenants, utilities supply, access rights, service charges and planning permissions2.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has said a minimum 24-month implementation period will be essential, particularly for reforms to upfront information3. RICS members report that in Scotland, around 10% of buyers still commissioned an additional survey prior to purchase3. RICS has also raised concerns about capacity, warning that reforms will require additional industry resource3.
Why it matters for households
The average cost of moving home was estimated at £13,978 in research by Reallymoving published in November 2024, and that figure is now likely to have risen above £15,000, as the stamp duty threshold changes introduced on 1 April added around £2,500 in tax for property purchases over £250,0001. Reallymoving calculated the average cost of buying a first property at £2,186, and first-time buyers purchasing over £300,000 can expect this to be higher as they will now pay stamp duty1.
The proposals are at an early stage. Any legislative changes are likely to take time, so buyers and sellers will not see major differences until at least 2026 at the earliest1. RICS states there is no definitive timeframe from the government for when the reforms will be introduced, and it is not clear how many will be subject to further consultation or primary legislation3.
What happens next
The consultation closes on 21 December 20251. The government plans to publish a roadmap in winter 2025-2026 setting out how and when reforms could be introduced1. RICS states that in June 2026 the government published its response to the consultation, committing to reforms and laying out its timetable3. Under that timetable, measures for 2026 include publishing non-statutory guidance on property listings and a non-statutory Code of Practice for property agents3. Consultations on mandatory qualifications for estate and letting agents, and on leasehold and freehold estates sales information legislation, are listed for 2027 to 20283. Legislation to require sales packs prior to listing and binding conditional contracts would follow when parliamentary time allows3.
For more on the legal work involved, see conveyancing, and for how new rules are made and how to respond, see consultations and discussion papers.
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