In summary 

• The government has announced a package of proposed reforms to the homebuying process in England 

• Key changes include upfront ‘sales packs’, earlier binding agreements, a new Code of Practice for estate agents, and a wider shift to digital tools 

• The government says that, if introduced as planned, the reforms could cut average buying times by around four weeks and save first-time buyers an average of £650 

• How these changes work in practice will depend significantly on how they are phased in and adopted across the industry 

Buying or selling a home in England is, for many people, a process that can feel slow and uncertain. According to our data, the average purchase takes around 170 days, and a significant number of sales fall through altogether, often after months of effort and expense on both sides. 

The government has announced a package of proposed reforms designed to address some of these challenges. The changes, unveiled on 19 June 2026, span the entire homebuying journey: from what sellers need to share before a property even goes on the market, to how estate agents are regulated, and a broader move towards digital tools across the whole process. 

Here is a breakdown of the key proposals, and what they could mean. 

Upfront sales packs 

Under the proposals, sellers and their estate agents would be required to provide a ‘sales pack’ at the point of listing a property for sale. This pack would set out key information about the home, including its condition, any leasehold costs, and where it sits in any property chain. So that buyers have the essential details they need before making an offer, rather than weeks or months into the process. 

What could this mean? 

For buyers, earlier access to this kind of information could help you make better-informed decisions from the start, and potentially avoid investing time and money into a purchase that later unravels due to issues you weren’t aware of upfront. For sellers, providing this information at the point of listing could help attract more committed buyers and reduce the risk of a sale collapsing later down the line.  

Earlier binding agreements 

One of the more significant proposals in the package is the introduction of earlier binding agreements. In England, buyers and sellers can currently withdraw from a transaction at any point up until contracts are exchanged, often with limited consequences. The proposed change would introduce a mechanism to make the process legally binding at an earlier stage, limiting the ability of either party to walk away without a legitimate reason once they have committed to proceed. 

What could this mean? 

This proposal targets one of the most frustrating aspects of the homebuying process: the possibility of a sale collapsing after months of preparation, legal fees and surveys, through no fault of your own. For buyers, it could offer greater confidence that the property you have agreed to purchase will not be sold to someone else. For sellers, it could reduce the risk of a buyer withdrawing at a late stage. According to the government announcement, failed transactions currently cost sellers an estimated £400 million every year in England. 

A new Code of Practice and qualifications for estate agents 

The reforms also include proposals for a new Code of Practice for estate agents, setting out clearer professional standards across the sector. Alongside this, there are proposals for mandatory qualifications for people working as estate agents. At present, there is no legal requirement in England for estate agents to hold a professional qualification before they can practise. 

What could this mean? 

For buyers and sellers, this could mean working with agents who hold a more clearly defined set of professional standards. Mandatory qualifications would represent a significant change to how the industry operates and is regulated. The government’s intention is that this would help ensure agents are properly equipped to support efficient transactions. 

A move to digital tools across the process 

A central part of the reform package is a commitment to replacing paper-based systems with modern digital alternatives. The government is proposing digital property logbooks and sales packs, digital identity checks, electronic signatures and AI-assisted conveyancing. The aim is to create a more connected system where information can be shared securely between professionals and accessed by buyers and sellers in real time, cutting out the duplication and back-and-forth that can contribute to delays. 

What could this mean? 

For anyone who has been through a house purchase, the volume of paperwork will be familiar. A bigger shift to digital tools has the potential to streamline much of this, reducing the time lost to administrative delays and making the overall process more transparent. The government says the full package of reforms could cut average buying times by around four weeks, and save first-time buyers an average of £650. Countries that have already made similar changes include the Netherlands, where a live tracking system for buyers and sellers contributes to an average completion time of around 20 days. While Norway’s efforts to streamline and digitalise its process have been estimated to deliver savings of up to £1.4 billion over ten years. 

What does the industry think? 

Our CEO, Johan Svanstrom, says: “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. Fall throughs mean consumers lose 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. 

“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.” 

What happens next? 

These are proposals rather than immediate changes to the law. The detail of how each element is introduced, and the timeline for doing so, will be central to how much difference any of this makes in practice for buyers and sellers. As our data shows, the current process can take considerably longer (170 days) than even the government’s own estimates (120 days) suggest, which underlines both the scale of the challenge and the size of the opportunity. 

A homebuying process that is faster, more transparent, and better equipped to get people into their new homes with fewer costly delays along the way. Whether that ambition is realised will depend on how effectively the industry and government work together to put these changes into practice.