Government Proposes New Home Buying And Selling Rules

Could home buying and selling reform be on the cards? The UK government’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has proposed a series of changes to the moving process. It’s early days, and the new rules on buying and selling are far from set in stone – rather, the government is seeking feedback on the potential changes. 

Broadly speaking, these new buying and selling rules are intended to:  

• Make the property buying and selling system more transparent 
• Cut costs for first-time buyers by around £710 
• Reduce the time it takes to buy or sell 
• Lower the chance of a property transaction collapsing  

The proposals have partly drawn on existing property selling processes internationally, and in other parts of the UK. For example, in Scotland, the seller provides certain property information from the outset. The buyer’s offer is then made by a solicitor, with the deal generally becoming legally binding at an earlier point in the process.  

New home buying and selling reform proposals raise the suggestion of conditional contracts, which make the transaction binding earlier on – with a financial penalty for pulling out of the sale. It’s thought that this could reduce fall-through rates by as much as 30%. 

Some of the new proposals are aimed at offering buyers more information in the first stages of the process. For example, sellers could be required to provide information including surveys and searches before listing their property for sale. 

Digital property packs and logbooks are also up for discussion. These are already required in France for all new build homes. The idea is that digital records make information collection more efficient and transparent, reducing the time it takes to collect data ranging from title documentation to the property’s council tax band. 

However, it’s important to note that nothing is set to change until 2026 or beyond. To gauge the industry and public’s views on the home buying proposals at this early stage, an open consultation will be open from 28 September to 21 December 2025. 

Read more on Rightmove. Find the proposals and details on the open consultation on home buying and selling reform on the gov.uk site.