UK Government Announces Plans to Reform the Home-Buying Process

At first glance, it all sounds positive. Faster, fairer, clearer, and not least, cheaper… I hesitate to use the term ‘buzzword’, but as buzzwords go, these are the sort of things that get people quite excited. Who could argue with those ambitions for property sales, after all?

But whilst the headlines are encouraging, much of what has been proposed this week is already in place in one form or another, and in many ways, it is a surprise not to see that pointed out in the commentaries from the industry so far, and also – where the government announcement is concerned – to not see greater levels of reform proposed.

We welcome any change that genuinely improves the experience for buyers and sellers (and also for us agents), but reforms must be practical, properly phased, and conceived with full input from the industry. Estate agents already operate under strict legal and professional obligations, and there’s a risk of reinventing the wheel rather than – and even worse, at the expense of – making real progress.

So, what exactly is being proposed, and how much of it will actually change the way we work?

How is the Government Proposing to Reform Property Sales?

Here’s an outline of the main points tabled this week:

1. Upfront information:
Sellers – and therefore estate agents – would have to provide more key details about a property when it first goes on the market, covering things like tenure, lease length, costs, and surveys.

2. Binding offers:
Introducing legally binding commitments once an offer is accepted, to reduce the number of sales that collapse before exchange.

3. Time and cost savings:
The government suggests these changes could shave up to four weeks off a typical sale and save first-time buyers around £700 on average, potentially halving the number of failed transactions.

4. Higher standards and transparency:
Plans also include a mandatory code of practice for agents and conveyancers, plus public reporting of performance data such as average transaction times.

5. Phased implementation:
A roadmap will follow after consultation, with more detail expected in the new year.

The ideas are ambitious and, despite those caveats made earlier, they are in many respects welcome. Delays, surprises and uncertainty all add stress and cost to moving home. That said, it’s worth remembering that professional standards, redress schemes and consumer protection laws already exist, and have been strengthened repeatedly in recent years.

This is something that often fails to get recognised.

What the Public Might Not Know about Estate Agency Practices

Despite what people often think, the property industry is not the “wild west”.

Estate agents are already highly regulated under several acts of parliament, not least the Estate Agents Act 1979, which sets out duties to act honestly, pass on offers, disclose conflicts of interest and protect client money. Further obligations were mandated under the Housing Act 2004.

Agents must also comply with broad consumer and financial regulations, such as Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which absorbed the earlier Consumer Protection Regulations.

Since 2008, all residential estate agents must also belong to an approved redress scheme (such as The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme), giving the public access to compensation without going to court – albeit, agents can also be pursued by the Competition Markets Authority (CMA), which has taken over from the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agents Team (NTSELAT) earlier this year, in terms of regulation and enforcement duties.

Meanwhile, new legislation – the Renters’ Rights Bill – is progressing through Parliament to strengthen protections for tenants and landlords alike; not residential sales related, but nevertheless indicative of more general oversight and regulation of the property sector. 

So yes, there are rogue operators out there, as in any profession, but the idea that estate agency lacks rules or accountability is a misconception. The challenge isn’t the absence of regulation; it’s ensuring that existing rules are enforced consistently.

Material Information Upfront

One of the leading headlines in this week’s announcement has been the proposal for agents to provide “key information” upfront.

That is already required. 

Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (replacing the 2008 Consumer Protection Regulations), agents are legally obliged to divulge key details that could affect a buyer’s decision.

National Trading Standards issued guidance in 2023 dividing information into Parts A, B and C – covering essentials such as tenure and council tax, general details like utilities and parking, and specific issues such as flood risk or restrictive covenants.

Although that guidance was later withdrawn from the National Trading Standards website, this was only because enforcement moved to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA); the legal duty for sellers and agents to disclose material information hasn’t itself changed.

In short: agents already must provide key facts about a property when marketing, prior to decision making on the part of the buyer (and recommended therefore at the point of advertising). The proposed reforms would mostly clarify and formalise those rules, rather than introduce something brand new.

Binding Offers – A Step Forward?

Binding commitments once an offer is agreed could help prevent sales from falling through – something that causes frustration and financial loss for buyers and sellers alike.

The challenge will be in how this is formalised and implemented. When should an offer become binding? What happens if new information emerges, or a buyer’s circumstances change? How are legitimate withdrawals handled fairly?

Handled well, this could strengthen the market and reduce fall-throughs. Done badly, it could add red tape and confusion. The principle is sound, but implementation will be everything.

Raising Professional and Regulatory Standards

One of the more widely discussed elements is the government’s plan to introduce a mandatory Code of Practice, along with public performance reporting and possible qualifications or licensing for agents.

These are sensible ideas, but they overlap with what already exists.

Agents who belong to The Property Ombudsman, Propertymark, or The Guild of Property Professionals already follow their imposed Codes of Practice or Code of Conduct as a condition of membership. 

On top of that, in any case, the Estate Agents Act 1979 already provides the legal framework that these various codes follow and reinforce. 

Performance reporting has some potential to improve transparency, though similar data already exists on platforms such as GetAgent or NetAnAgent. The key question is how the government will ensure consistency and accuracy – whether through independent data or self-reported figures.

As for qualifications, it may surprise some to learn that there are no mandatory requirements for estate agents. Many professionals (ourselves included) would welcome sensible licensing to raise standards and weed out the small minority who damage public trust. The industry has long called for this through the long-discussed Regulation of Property Agents (RoPA) proposals. The question is, after successive governments have failed to take this forward, will the input that industry bodies have had so far be dropped, or will new obligations for the industry come through that accounts for those previous discussions and all that time, effort and, presumably, money? Many have felt that the industry has been largely ignored by the government during the conception of the Renters Rights Bill. It is not about creating new legislation that favours the property industry, it is about making sure any new framework can work in practice without being to the detriment of stakeholders – in the case of Renters Rights legislation, landlords and tenants; when it comes to this proposed reform, buyers and sellers. 

Nobody wants to see reforms made that makes things more difficult, more costly or in anyway detrimental to the people these things are intended to help.

In Conclusion

There’s plenty to welcome in these new proposals: faster transactions, clearer information, and a focus on higher standards. But there’s also a need for nuance and perspective.

Much of what has being suggested already exists in some form. The challenge should not be to start from scratch but to build on what is already there, making it work better, and importantly, ensuring proper enforcement. 

For change to make a real difference, it must be thoughtful, practical, and created with the industry, not imposed on it.

After all, lasting reform will only work if those who deliver it – estate agents, conveyancers, and other property professionals – are properly consulted and empowered to act.