Oct 9, 2025
The UK Government has launched a comprehensive 12-week consultation on reforming the home buying and selling process, describing it as potentially the biggest shake-up to the homebuying system in this country's history. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the consultation on 6 October 2025, with responses accepted until 21 December 2025.
Anyone who's bought or sold property recently knows the frustration: the current process takes an average of 120 days to complete once an offer is accepted. That's four months of stress, uncertainty, and paperwork. Transaction times have increased by 60% since 2007, and the inefficiencies cost buyers and sellers approximately £400 million annually in failed transactions alone.
The numbers tell a stark story. Around 1.2 million residential property transactions take place in the UK each year, contributing approximately £100 billion annually to the economy and employing 1.2 million people. Yet the system is fundamentally broken.
One in three transactions currently fail. Think about that – if you're buying or selling, you've got a one-in-three chance of the whole thing collapsing after months of work. Most buyers report receiving virtually no meaningful information before making an offer. The process still relies heavily on paperwork and disconnected systems, as if the digital revolution never happened.
Other countries have figured this out. In Norway, transactions complete in four weeks or less. That's not because Norwegian property is simpler – it's because they've embraced digitalisation and upfront information sharing.
This is the big one. Sellers and estate agents would be required to provide comprehensive property information before listing. No more nasty surprises three months into a purchase.
Basic property data:
Legal and transactional information:
Professional assessments:
The Government estimates this could speed up transactions by four weeks. More importantly, it means buyers can make informed decisions from day one, rather than discovering deal-breaking issues months down the line.
Yes, this sounds familiar. Home Information Packs were introduced in 2007 with similar aims but were scrapped after they became bureaucratic nightmares that added costs without delivering benefits. The key difference this time? The Government plans to use real-time digital data sources and professional validation, not just seller-completed forms that nobody trusted.
Many estate agents already provide excellent service, but the consultation acknowledges there's room for improvement across the industry. The proposals focus on establishing clear minimum standards that would benefit both professionals and consumers.
The consultation proposes:
The aim is to support professional estate agents by raising the bar industry-wide, giving consumers confidence that whoever they work with meets recognised standards. This would help distinguish quality agents and create a more level playing field.
Imagine having a complete digital history of your property – all the certificates, guarantees, alterations, and searches in one place. That's the vision for digital property packs.
New build homes would lead the way, as developers already hold comprehensive property data. The consultation asks whether legislation should eventually require these for all properties.
Here's a radical idea: what if buyers and sellers couldn't just walk away after months of work? The consultation explores making transactions binding at an earlier stage.
In Scotland, where the system already works this way, only 9% of transactions fall through – compared to one in three in England and Wales. That's a game-changer for everyone involved.
However, binding agreements would only come after upfront information requirements are in place. You can't ask people to commit without giving them the full picture.
Conveyancing now takes 60% longer than it did in 2007. Much of this is down to regulatory additions like Anti-Money Laundering checks – important safeguards, but currently implemented in the most inefficient way possible.
Buyers often face the same identity checks multiple times from different parties in a single transaction. The Government wants to streamline this duplication.
The Government has published impact estimates for the proposed reforms:
For buyers:
For sellers:
Overall market benefits:
The upfront cost for sellers will be contentious. Critics worry sellers will simply add this to their asking prices. But when you consider that one in three transactions currently fail, costing everyone time and money, the trade-off starts to make sense.
The consultation runs from 28 September to 21 December 2025. A roadmap will be published in winter 2025/26 setting out implementation plans over this parliament.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed said the reforms would "fix the broken system so hardworking people can focus on the next chapter of their lives."
It's complicated. The territorial extent of reforms will depend on consultation outcomes and subsequent legislation. Scotland already has a different system with upfront surveys and more binding contracts. England and Wales would see the biggest changes.
The Government is inviting perspectives from across all four UK nations to shape the final proposals.
Property industry bodies have welcomed the consultation, though with some wariness given past failed reforms.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and The Conveyancing Association both support the direction of travel, emphasising that transparency and upfront information would benefit everyone.
However, comparisons to Home Information Packs are inevitable. HIPs were introduced in 2007 with similar promises but added costs for sellers, deterred listings, and delivered only modest improvements before being scrapped in 2010.
The success of these new proposals will hinge on digital implementation and avoiding the bureaucratic pitfalls that sank HIPs.
This is your chance to have a say. The Government wants to hear from anyone who's been through the home buying or selling process, as well as property professionals.
Visit the official consultation page to read the full proposals and submit your response: consult.communities.gov.uk/home-buying-and-selling/home-buying-and-selling-reform
Whether you're a first-time buyer, homeowner, property professional, or someone who's experienced the current system's frustrations, your input matters. The consultation closes on 21 December 2025.
If you're planning to buy or sell in the next few years, don't expect overnight changes. Implementation will be gradual, likely starting with new builds and voluntary adoption before becoming mandatory.
But the direction is clear: towards a digital, transparent, and efficient system that treats property transactions like the 21st-century financial events they are, not administrative nightmares from the 1950s.
The consultation closes on 21 December 2025. If you've got opinions about how home buying should work – and if you've been through it, you definitely do – now's the time to share them.
UK Government: Home Buying and Selling Reform Consultation, GOV.UK (Published 6 October 2025)
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