Faster Sales & Less Stress: Breaking Down the Home Buying Reforms
The UK Government has published its latest Home Buying and Selling Reform Roadmap, setting out plans to make property transactions faster, clearer, and less likely to fall through. The Government reports that buying a home currently takes around 120 days after an offer is accepted, while approximately one in three transactions fail to complete.
Will the reforms apply in Wales?
The Government expects most of the proposed measures to apply in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. However, housing includes devolved areas, so the precise application to Wales will be decided separately for each new piece of legislation. The reforms are being introduced gradually. Most of the headline changes are not yet legal requirements.
What changes are proposed?
Upfront property sales packs
The Government intends to introduce legislation requiring a comprehensive sales pack to be prepared before a property is advertised.
The proposed pack is expected to include 14 key items:
Title and tenure information
An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
Council tax information
Property searches
A property condition report
Planning and building regulation information
Leasehold or managed-estate charges
Building safety information
Flood, mining, and other location-specific risks
Accessibility information
The seller’s chain position
A clear floor plan
Seller ID verification
A general property questionnaire
The seller would remain responsible for ensuring that the pack is prepared. Solicitors, surveyors, and other professionals would gather and verify the relevant information.
This is not currently mandatory. The Government is first working with the property industry to identify information that sellers and agents can provide voluntarily before legislation is introduced.
Earlier binding agreements
The Government also intends to introduce binding conditional contracts earlier in the transaction. These agreements could make it more difficult for buyers or sellers to withdraw without a legitimate reason after significant time and money have been spent. The proposals are intended to reduce failed chains, gazumping, and last-minute price reductions.
Binding conditional contracts will not be introduced until the sales-pack system has been fully tested and established.
Improved standards for property agents
A new non-statutory Code of Practice for property agents is expected later this year. The Government also plans to consult during 2027 and 2028 on mandatory qualifications for estate and letting agents. The qualification level, who must hold it, and whether experienced agents will receive transitional arrangements have not yet been decided.
Digital property information & Streamlined Checks
The reforms will mandate the use of digital property logbooks and sales packs for all property transactions via future legislation (and they will become a mandatory requirement for government homeownership schemes starting in 2027). The reforms will also encourage verified digital identification, electronic signatures, and secure information sharing.
A major benefit of this digitalisation is the streamlining of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks. By using secure digital ID, buyers and sellers will no longer have to repeatedly prove their identity to the estate agent, conveyancer, and lender separately.
Are there any immediate legal changes?
Sellers are not currently required to purchase searches or obtain a property condition report before listing their home.
However, under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, estate agents already have strict legal responsibilities to provide accurate information and avoid omitting details that could materially affect a buyer’s decision to view, make an offer, or proceed with a purchase.
The Government intends to publish further non-statutory material information guidance and a standardised information form later this year.
A Win for Leaseholders
If you are selling a leasehold property, help is on the way. Under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, the government is introducing strict, enforceable caps on both the fees charged and the time taken by freeholders and managing agents to provide sales information—addressing a major cause of current transaction delays.
How can sellers prepare?
Sellers considering moving can begin gathering important documents before their property is placed on the market, including:
Ownership and title documents
Planning permissions and building regulation certificates
Guarantees and warranties
Information about alterations or extensions
Leasehold or estate-management information
Service charge and ground rent statements
Details of boundaries, access, and parking
Records of known defects, disputes, or insurance claims
Gathering these documents early not only keeps you ahead of the regulatory curve, but it can significantly speed up your transaction and reduce the stress of last-minute hurdles.
How Silver Oak Property is preparing
Silver Oak Property welcomes measures that could make property sales more transparent and reliable. We are preparing for the proposed reforms by strengthening our pre-sale information procedures, maintaining clear evidence for important property details, and encouraging sellers to gather documentation at an early stage.
Our aim is to identify potential issues before marketing, improve communication between everyone involved, and reduce unnecessary delays after an offer is accepted. The reforms are still developing, and some details may change before legislation is passed. We will continue monitoring official announcements and updating our procedures as further guidance becomes available.
If you are thinking of selling a property, contact Silver Oak Property to discuss how you can prepare your home for a more efficient and transparent sale.
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