Government plans to make certain qualifications and information mandatory for estate agents
Estate agents look set to face significant new obligations under government proposals designed to speed up property transactions and reduce the number of sales that collapse before completion.
The reforms would require agents and sellers to provide key information about a property at the point of listing through mandatory sales packs. These packs would include details such as the property’s condition, leasehold charges and chain status, with the aim of giving buyers greater certainty earlier in the transaction process and allowing conveyancing work to begin sooner.
Alongside the disclosure requirements, the government has proposed a new Code of Practice for estate agents and is considering the introduction of mandatory professional qualifications across the sector. The measures are intended to raise standards, improve consumer confidence and support more efficient transactions.
The proposals also include the introduction of earlier binding agreements between buyers and sellers in an effort to reduce the number of transactions that fall through after months of negotiation.
The government estimates that the changes could reduce average transaction times by around four weeks. Currently, a typical home purchase takes around 120 days to complete, while approximately one in three agreed sales fails to reach completion.
For estate agents, the reforms would represent one of the most significant changes to the homebuying process in recent years, potentially requiring new processes for gathering property information, managing compliance and preparing vendors before a property is brought to market.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said: Getting the keys to a home you can call your own is one of the biggest events in anyone’s life. But right now, the system that should provide support instead turns it into a battle, leaving people in limbo and putting that opportunity out of reach.
We’re turning the page. Our reforms will bring this outdated process into the modern age, saving people time and money, and giving them the certainty they deserve.
This is about building a stronger, fairer Britain, one that works for the next generation and makes the dream of home ownership a reality for many more hard-working people.
out nightmare of delays, hidden costs, and failed deals.
These changes will make the system faster, fairer, and more secure, giving families and first-time buyers the certainty they need all while saving them time and money.
The chancellor Rachel Reeves added: Delays, hidden costs, and deals collapsing at the last minute are not only bad for home buyers, it’s bad for the economy too.
Our reforms will cut those delays, cut costs and make the process quicker and more reliable – getting more people on the housing ladder while keeping more money in their pockets.
Having the right economic plan, getting the housing market moving, building thousands more good-quality homes in every region, and transforming rights for renters.
The government has outlined a phased timetable for the reforms:
Later this year, ministers plan to introduce a new Code of Practice setting minimum standards for estate agents, alongside guidance aimed at improving the quality and consistency of information included in property listings.
From 2027, the government intends to consult on mandatory qualifications for estate agents and expand the use of digital tools designed to support the home-buying process.
By the end of the current Parliament in 2029, legislation is expected to be introduced requiring the use of sales packs, earlier binding agreements between buyers and sellers, and digital systems that enable the secure sharing of property information throughout the transaction process.
Proposed Reforms for Estate Agents and Home Buying
- The government is proposing major reforms to make property transactions faster, more transparent, and less likely to collapse.
- Estate agents and sellers would be required to provide mandatory sales packs when a property is listed, including:
- Property condition information.
- Leasehold charges and obligations.
- Chain status.
- Other key property details.
- The aim is to:
- Give buyers more certainty earlier.
- Allow conveyancing work to begin sooner.
- Reduce delays and failed transactions.
- Additional proposed measures include:
- A new Code of Practice for estate agents.
- Potential mandatory professional qualifications for estate agents.
- Earlier binding agreements between buyers and sellers.
- Greater use of digital tools and secure information-sharing systems.
Expected Benefits
- Government estimates:
- Average transaction times could be reduced by around four weeks.
- The current average home purchase takes around 120 days.
- Approximately one in three agreed sales currently falls through before completion.
- Intended outcomes:
- Faster and more reliable transactions.
- Fewer failed sales.
- Greater transparency.
- Lower costs and stress for buyers and sellers.
- Improved consumer confidence.
Impact on Estate Agents
- Agents may need to:
- Gather and verify more information before listing properties.
- Implement new compliance procedures.
- Prepare vendors more thoroughly before marketing begins.
- Adapt to new digital systems and regulatory requirements.
- The reforms represent one of the biggest changes to the home-buying process in recent years.
Government Implementation Timeline
Later in 2026
- Introduce a new Code of Practice setting minimum standards for estate agents.
- Publish guidance to improve the quality and consistency of property listing information.
From 2027
- Consult on introducing mandatory qualifications for estate agents.
- Expand digital tools to support the home-buying process.
By 2029
- Introduce legislation requiring:
- Mandatory sales packs.
- Earlier binding agreements between buyers and sellers.
- Secure digital property information-sharing systems.
Government View
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the reforms will modernise an outdated process, provide greater certainty, and help more people achieve home ownership.
- Chancellor Rachel Reeves said delays and failed transactions harm both homebuyers and the wider economy, and the reforms should reduce costs and improve reliability.
Industry Reaction
Broadly Positive Reception
Most industry leaders welcomed the proposals, seeing them as a long-overdue modernisation of the home-buying process.
Key Benefits Highlighted
- More upfront information should:
- Reduce surprises later in the process.
- Help buyers make informed decisions earlier.
- Increase transparency.
- Reduce transaction fall-throughs.
- Earlier binding agreements should:
- Increase certainty.
- Reduce wasted time and costs.
- Digitalisation should:
- Improve efficiency.
- Speed up transactions.
- Enable trusted sharing of information.
Common Industry Concerns
- Successful implementation will be critical.
- Reforms should be developed with industry involvement.
- Careful phasing will be needed to avoid unintended consequences.
- Cross-industry cooperation will be required between:
- Estate agents.
- Conveyancers.
- Mortgage lenders.
- Surveyors.
- Managing agents.
- Removal companies.
Key Industry Views
- Ben Robinson: Agents should focus on getting properties “on the market properly” rather than simply getting them listed quickly.
- Paula Higgins: The reforms could modernise the buying process, but consumers need a clear timetable and delivery plan.
- Sheila Kumar: Digital upfront information and reservation agreements could dramatically improve confidence and speed.
- Phil Spencer: The proposals address long-standing consumer frustrations around delays, uncertainty and failed transactions.
- Paul Whitehead: Sales packs, digital property records and binding contracts could create a more trustworthy property market.
- Johan Svanstrom: More upfront information should reduce fall-throughs, but implementation will be crucial.
- Henry Jordan: Providing key information at listing stage could transform the home-buying experience.
Overall Takeaway
- The reforms aim to shift the home-buying process from a system where key information emerges gradually to one where most important details are available from the outset.
- Estate agents are likely to face increased compliance and information-gathering responsibilities.
- The property industry largely supports the direction of travel, provided implementation is practical and phased effectively.
- If implemented successfully, the reforms could lead to faster transactions, fewer failed sales, lower costs, and greater certainty for buyers and sellers.
How the industry feels to these proposed changes?
Property professionals have begun responding to the government’s proposed overhaul of the homebuying process, which would require sellers and estate agents to provide more information upfront, introduce earlier binding agreements and pave the way for mandatory qualifications across the sector.
The reforms, announced last night, are designed to reduce transaction times, cut the number of sales that fall through and improve transparency for buyers. The government estimates the changes could shorten the average homebuying process by four weeks and help tackle a system in which around one in three agreed sales fails to complete.
Industry reaction:
Ben Robinson, managing director, Landmark Estate Agency Services: For estate agents, these reforms represent a significant change, but also a real opportunity. The key shift is moving from getting a property on the market quickly to getting it on the market properly. Better-prepared listings and greater transparency from the outset should help buyers make more informed decisions earlier, improve transaction speed and certainty, and support more completed moves. That benefits home movers, agents and the wider market.
While some may see these changes as an additional burden, the right tools, data and support can make the change simple and seamless. For agents, this is an opportunity to take control, spend less time chasing, worrying and firefighting and more time focused on what drives value, winning instructions, advising clients, progressing serious buyers and growing revenue.
Whilst the suggested direction in this announcement is welcome, the implementation of these reforms will be key. It is essential that the changes are made with the industry, not done to the industry.
Paula Higgins, CEO of HomeOwners Alliance: Buying and selling a home remains one of life’s most stressful experiences, despite being the biggest financial transaction most people will ever make. These reforms have the potential to bring the process into the 21st century, but consumers have waited long enough for meaningful change.
Providing more information upfront, raising standards and embracing digital solutions should reduce delays, fall-throughs, unnecessary costs and frustration. HomeOwners Alliance welcomes the government’s ambition, but ministers must now turn that ambition into action. We look forward to seeing a clear and detailed timetable for implementation, with firm milestones to ensure buyers and sellers feel the benefits as quickly as possible.
Sheila Kumar, CEO, Council of Licensed Conveyancers said: The Council for Licensed Conveyancers strongly supports these reforms because they will deliver better outcomes for consumers and professionals alike. The CLC has a long history of championing innovation and modernisation in the legal services market, particularly where it improves the consumer experience, and we stand ready to play our part, working with Licensed Conveyancers to deliver these changes.
It is now vital that all parts of the home buying and selling market – from estate agents and lenders to conveyancers, surveyors, managing agents and removal companies – work together to implement these reforms swiftly and effectively in the public interest.
“Most importantly, digitalised upfront information that can be shared with trust, especially when combined with reservation agreements, will greatly improve confidence in transactions and allow buyer and seller to agree a date for completion much earlier in the process than at present.
This “speed to confidence” is the great prize of the industry’s efforts over many years, and we are delighted that the government has recognised its importance through this roadmap. It has the potential to make home buying and selling simpler, faster and more certain, while helping to remove a major barrier to the efficient use of the nation’s housing stock.
Phil Spencer, TV property presenter and Move iQ founder: For as long as I’ve worked in property, one of the biggest frustrations I’ve heard from buyers and sellers is that the process simply doesn’t work as well as it should. It can be slow, stressful and uncertain, with too many transactions falling through after months of time, effort and expense.
Welcome these proposals, they address many of the issues consumers have been grappling with for years, from a lack of upfront information to unnecessary delays and last-minute surprises. Giving people a clearer picture from the outset and creating greater certainty throughout the transaction process can only be a positive step.
These have the potential to make moving home a far better experience for everyone involved. Having spent decades at the heart of the housing market, I’ve seen first-hand the emotional and financial toll that a failed transaction can take. Anything that helps buyers and sellers move with greater confidence and fewer obstacles is to be applauded.
Looking forward to seeing these changes brought forward and the difference they could make to the way we buy and sell homes.”
Stuart Haire, chief executive of Skipton Group: This is a welcome step for buyers and sellers, and an important move towards a more modern and reliable housing market.
As a Group that helps people both buy and finance their homes, we see every day how delays, rising costs and failed transactions affect people trying to move forward with their lives. Better upfront information, earlier certainty and smarter use of data should help cut delays, reduce wasted costs, and give buyers and sellers a smoother route to completion.
For first-time buyers in particular, cutting weeks off the process and saving money will make a real difference to getting onto the housing ladder.
Paul Whitehead, CEO, Zoopla: Zoopla sits at the heart of the UK property market and over 6 million homeowners are tracking the value of their most important asset and planning their next move. They deserve better than a home-buying process that takes months, falls through too often, and leaves everyone poorer for it.
These proposed reforms change that. Upfront sales packs, digital logbooks and binding contracts aren’t just technical reforms – they are the foundations of a market people can trust. Zoopla will continue to be an active partner to the Government and industry in building a faster more transparent system that makes moving simple.”
Johan Svanstrom, CEO, Rightmove: 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.
Last year, fall-throughs alone meant that approximately £900 million in potential stamp duty receipts and estate agency commission in England was lost, and consumers lose both 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.
Increased mobility, transparency and certainty is key to overall economic growth. 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.
Henry Jordan, Nationwide’s group director of Mortgages: Buying a home can often be a slow, complex and stressful process, so we welcome the government’s proposals. They are a major milestone in the efforts to simplify and streamline the homebuying process.
Speeding up homebuying isn’t just about convenience – it’s about helping more people complete their purchases with less frustration and fewer surprises along the way. Giving buyers key information upfront, at the point a property is listed, has the potential to transform the process – reducing unnecessary delays and giving people greater confidence to move quickly.
We look forward to working with government and the wider industry to implement these proposals and deliver a simpler, faster and more transparent homebuying experience for everyone.
Should you be looking for a stress free sale feel free to reach out to us as we have a 97% success rate which is significantly better than the nationwide average of 67%.
